PA PA - Lauren Steele, 36, human trafficking survivor, Carlisle, 5 Aug 2024

[iusedtofloat]

https://www.newsnationnow.com/missing/lauren-steele/?ipid=promo-link-block1

A survivor of human trafficking was on her way to get treatment, but after her flight landed, there was no trace of her on board. Now, her family fears predators may have found her again.

Lauren Steele had previously rented a room in Virginia after finding an ad. But after renting the room, she discovered she was in trouble.

Her godmother, Dorothy Field, said Steele was a trusting person.

“She wouldn’t think anybody would do that,” Field said. “It’s like, ‘Lauren, you’ve got to be careful, you’re a pretty girl.’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, stop it, you are so worried. You worry too much. People won’t do that.'”

But her family said Steele told them the men she rented a room from were traffickers.

On Aug. 5, 2024, Steele was scheduled to fly from Pennsylvania to Las Vegas to get the help she needed. However, her flight was delayed due to weather conditions, and the airline accommodated her by putting her up in a hotel.

“She said that she was at a hotel and there was a man outside to help make sure she got to the airport, make sure she got on the plane,” Field said. “We don’t know who the man was, where the man came from, anything.”

That was the last time her family heard from Steele.

 

[Sweetluv]

Lauren stated there was a man outside to help get her to the airport. Not questioned as to where the man was from ?
Lauren had to have told someone she was at a Hotel..awaiting a flight IF this man was up to no good. Was cell phone records checked?

 

[GraceG]

Hopefu

Lauren stated there was a man outside to help get her to the airport. Not questioned as to where the man was from ?
Lauren had to have told someone she was at a Hotel..awaiting a flight IF this man was up to no good. Was cell phone records checked?

I wonder if LE checked the details regarding Lauren's statement that the airline put her up in a hotel due to a flight delay due to weather. Chicago did have some thunderstorms that day, Radar Data but the airline wouldn't have provided her a hotel room. Airlines are NOT required to put you up in a hotel due to a weather delay (mechanical cancellations yes, NOT weather). They may sometimes offer a voucher for meals or a hotel discount and more commonly rebooking without a fee, but providing a hotel room is NOT standard procedure (it's considered something beyond the control of the carrier so legally they have no obligation).

So far, it seems all we have is information that came from Lauren herself. The Police are (to date) simply saying she is considered endangered due to mental health/addition issues (which would be a very valid concern). Did anyone know of the name of this clinic she was going to in Vegas? If she was delayed she should have contacted them.

 

[truthfinder2019]

 

[starlightstarbright]

To me it sounds like Lauren was vulnerable and trusting, got herself in a situation where she was being taken advantage of. I think maybe the term ‘trafficking’ is being thrown around too much here. There are many women in their 30s, 40s and 50s who are taken advantage of by manipulative men. I don’t think this is trafficking as we classically know it. But I do suspect this was someone who felt afraid and like she couldn’t escape her situation because of coercion, violence, substance abuse, poor mental health, or some combination of those.

Sometimes even when people are offered an out, they find it very hard to leave and will sabotage that at every turn. Because change is hard. Manipulative people are really good at manipulating. Even more so if your mind is clouded because of substances or poor mental health, and you are afraid and paranoid.

Me personally, I don’t think the airline put her up in a hotel nor was there a man to help her waiting outside her room. If she was in a hotel room (paid for by herself or another person), I think that person either was trying to prevent her leaving or was a figment of her own mind. All of this is MOO.

But what is frustrating is that there doesn’t seem to have been any investigation to determine any of this. It would have been a super easy investigative task to confirm if the flight was cancelled, if she was put in a hotel, what flight she was re-booked on and if her ticket was scanned at boarding. And then a slightly more arduous but possible task to review video evidence of her de-planing and leaving the airport. Why was this not done?

 

[GraceG]

To me it sounds like Lauren was vulnerable and trusting, got herself in a situation where she was being taken advantage of. I think maybe the term ‘trafficking’ is being thrown around too much here. There are many women in their 30s, 40s and 50s who are taken advantage of by manipulative men. I don’t think this is trafficking as we classically know it. But I do suspect this was someone who felt afraid and like she couldn’t escape her situation because of coercion, violence, substance abuse, poor mental health, or some combination of those.

Sometimes even when people are offered an out, they find it very hard to leave and will sabotage that at every turn. Because change is hard. Manipulative people are really good at manipulating. Even more so if your mind is clouded because of substances or poor mental health, and you are afraid and paranoid.

Me personally, I don’t think the airline put her up in a hotel nor was there a man to help her waiting outside her room. If she was in a hotel room (paid for by herself or another person), I think that person either was trying to prevent her leaving or was a figment of her own mind. All of this is MOO.

But what is frustrating is that there doesn’t seem to have been any investigation to determine any of this. It would have been a super easy investigative task to confirm if the flight was cancelled, if she was put in a hotel, what flight she was re-booked on and if her ticket was scanned at boarding. And then a slightly more arduous but possible task to review video evidence of her de-planing and leaving the airport. Why was this not done?

Well said - the FBI apparently was not concerned that it was "trafficking" in the traditional sense, but as she is known to have substance and mental health issues that definately makes her vulnerable to manipultive people with possible ulterior motives.

This is where I'm puzzled -

The family has stated that Steele’s phone took a flight from Pennsylvania to Chicago to Las Vegas.

But authorities say they have no proof that Steele had her phone on those flights.

Do the authorities mean they have no proof that Steele was WITH the phone on the flights, or that the phone was on the flight(s) at all?

It's possible she boarded, left the phone in her seat than deplaned. I've seen that as a pilot many times - a passenger will board, tell the flight attendant - "Hey I forgot something" deplane and intentionally not reboard (that happens with people that found out they could get a cheaper ticket by booking to a city they never intended to go to and deplaning on that flight's intermediate stop (where they DID want to go to). No one usually notices they didn't get back on if it's really busy.

For the cops to go through the process of getting video evidence of deplaning at her intermerdiate or final destination they really have to have a reason to believe a crime has been committed. (Depending on the airport authority - that may involve a subpeona as TSA doesn't "own" those videos, the airport does)

I wish there were some more souces than News Nation" with updates, I'm not sure if they're considered a source we can cite here.

 

[Cedars]

The family has stated that Steele’s phone took a flight from Pennsylvania to Chicago to Las Vegas.

But authorities say they have no proof that Steele had her phone on those flights.

I agree this is the confusing part. I think it is most likely that they mean that evidence of where a phone went, is not the same as evidence of where a missing person went. For eg, her phone might have been stolen.

I don't know what searching was done of airline passenger lists or checking about cancelled flights in Chicago...But I noticed the missing persons report was filed in mid-December, and the last contact (seen) was early August.

So, IMO, from the Penn police perspective, whatever she did or didn't do in early August is not going to lead them to her in mid-December...

I also find parts of her story indicate possible signs of mental instability, eg her story about a man waiting outside her hotel room to ensure she gets to the airport...

I hope she is found soon...

 

[GraceG]

If her flight was August and the family didn't notify anyone until December, all surveillance records (video) at the airport would likely be gone. The actual flight booking (reservation) information will be maintained (archived in the computers) for up to 10 years, but the manifest, which lists the passenger names on board the actual flight are only required to be kept for 90 days in accordance with Federal Aviation Regulation 14 CFR Part 121.693 and 121.695. I've not seen airlines keep the records longer than that, which is why when there is a case involving a passenger (i.e. onboard federal violation such as smoking/getting drunk and trying to open the exit door inflight (yes), assault/sexual assault/ etc.) we'd have to request the records pretty much immediately or physically go to the airline and get copies ourselves.