Two Girls Approach Sacramento Airline Employee With First Class Tickets, But No Bags. In That Moment, She Realizes They Need Help

A quick-thinking American Airlines ticketing agent in Sacramento managed to stop two underage girls from becoming the very next victims of a suspected human trafficker in New York.

According to ABC6, Denise Miracle said she noticed immediate red flags when the two girls, ages 17 and 15, approached the front counter at the Sacramento International Airport.

The girls, who were supposedly flying First Class, carried just a couple of very small bags before boarding, which instantly gave Miracle an uneasy feeling.

“I think the way they kept looking back-and-forth at each other, like they weren’t really sure," Miracle told KOVR. "And then they were texting someone on the phone, and that person was giving them answers."

Because the teens were just one stop away from their destination, Miracle knew she had to act on her gut instinct if she wanted to make sure they were safe.

Though the girls had no identification, Miracle quickly discovered that they either had one-way tickets or multi-way tickets paid for with a fraudulent credit card.

American Airlines via KOVR

According to reports, once Miracle called the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, it soon became clear that the girls had been given their First Class tickets by a strange man they met on Instagram.

"It was a first-class ticket. It was very expensive. I told a supervisor, 'I'm going to call the sheriff. It just doesn't feel right to me,’” she said.

The man, who they knew simply as “Drey,” had allegedly told the girl they could make $2,000 just by doing some modeling and appearing in music videos.

Shockingly enough, authorities discovered that the girls had both left home without telling their parents where they were going.

Police say that when they told the girls their flights were one-way tickets, they were stunned by the horrifying truth.

"They were somewhat flippant about – ‘No, that can't be true’ – and I said, ‘No, the airline says you have a one-way ticket, and in my belief, you're going back there not to do the things that you think you were going to be doing.' And they said, 'I wouldn't let anything happen that I didn't want.' And I said, ‘Well, you probably wouldn't have a choice in the matter,’” Deputy Todd Sanderson said.

Once the girls were finally reunited with their parents, the families were told by sheriff’s deputies that their daughters likely nearly became the victims of human trafficking.

While authorities immediately attempted to track down “Drey,” he deleted his social media accounts right after the girls made contact with police.

"We attempted to look him up on Instagram. Just a few minutes after our contact with him, he erased all of his profiles on social media,” Sanderson said.

After doing a little digging, investigators believe “Drey” is an expert at luring girls away from home through social media.

As for Miracle, Sanderson says her name couldn’t be more fitting.

"She probably really was their miracle that day, whether they want to believe it or not,” he said.

Meanwhile, the girls’ parents—who were all told that their daughters were spending the night at each others’ houses—hope this story can serve as a lesson to other teens.