Rescued Just in Time: A High-Risk Escape from Trafficking
Selena’s Emergency Rescue: A Story of Survival and Swift Action
At just 25 years old, Selena (name changed for privacy) had already endured years of trauma, abuse, and exploitation. But the moment she called the Rescue America 24/7 hotline, something shifted. She was desperate, still surrounded by her traffickers, and ready to risk everything for a chance at freedom.
“She told me she was in a house with multiple men,” said Ivonne, one of Rescue America’s Senior Exit Strategists. “She was terrified, but determined. We had to act fast.”
When Minutes Matter: What Makes a Rescue ‘Emergency’
While many trafficking survivors come to Rescue America after escaping their traffickers, emergency rescues are far more complex. They happen in real time, often while the survivor is still in the presence of their trafficker.
“Emergency cases are different,” Ivonne explained. “For us, the threshold is: are they still with their trafficker, or did they flee within the last few hours? Selena was still in danger.”
That danger was all too real. Selena was being held in a house, surrounded by men, and told she couldn’t leave. When she finally managed to call the hotline, she did so under the pretense of calling her aunt about a sick uncle—carefully staging the situation so she could speak without suspicion.
She sent photos to verify her identity and even sent pictures of the traffickers in the background.
“We had to act like air traffic control,” Ivonne recalled. “Texting placement partners, strategizing extraction, gathering as much intel as possible.”
A Life on the Line
As the day wore on, the urgency escalated.
“I just overheard them say they’re going to take me to Mexico and let me die there,” Selena said to Ivonne at one point.
Thanks to a trusted partner organization with experience in emergency extractions, a plan was set in motion. The team gathered intelligence, created a plan, and went in.
Incredibly, just as she was about to be moved, Selena made a run for it. She was detained by the extraction team just in time. Her traffickers were arrested. The house was raided. And Selena was finally safe.
“The organization told us, ‘You reaching out saved her life,’” Ivonne shared. “That moment still brings me to tears.”
The Hidden Epidemic
Selena’s story is far from isolated.
According to the U.S. Department of State’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report, millions of people are trafficked worldwide, and thousands of cases are reported each year in the United States. Trafficking doesn’t always look like what we see in the movies. Many survivors are hidden in plain sight—manipulated, controlled, and coerced into a life they didn’t choose.
In 2025 alone, Rescue America has received over 475 hotline calls and served over 230 individual survivors reaching out for help from their exploitation. 📖 Source: U.S. Department of State – Trafficking in Persons Report 2024
What Makes Rescue America Different?
Rescue America stands in the gap between crisis and care.
Rescue America’s unique approach offers immediate intervention—coordinating safe extractions, trauma-informed transportation, emergency shelter, and long-term restoration options through trusted partners.
Exit strategists like Ivonne walk alongside survivors in their most vulnerable moments, offering not just logistics, but compassion and spiritual care.
“This is more than a job—it’s a calling,” Ivonne shared. “We cry. We worship. We pray. We carry the weight with them until they can carry hope for themselves.”
A Call to Respond
Selena’s story is one of many. Right now, there are more women like her—hidden in homes, hotel rooms, and street corners—wondering if anyone sees them. If anyone is coming.
At Rescue America, we want the answer to be yes.
Your support allows us to fund emergency rescues, provide safe transportation, and help survivors step into long-term healing.
You can be part of the story.
👉 Donate today to help rescue and restore more lives like Selena’s.
Together, we declare war on sex trafficking—and fight for every survivor’s freedom.
If you or someone you know have been sexually exploited and want out of the life, please call Rescue America’s 24/7 Rescue hotline number at 833.599.FREE.
To report a trafficking tip, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888.373.7888.
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