“Ellie” went missing last summer. She was classified as a “runaway” even though her mother had reason to believe she was being sold for sex. In California, it is not a crime for a 17-year old to run away from home, so there were no Amber Alerts nor any sense of urgency from law enforcement.
Ellie’s mother was frantic. Luckily, she reached out to a local safe home who called us. We immediately dispatched our private investigative team to find Ellie. They aggressively investigated the case, helping with search parties, interviewing her friends and family, working with computer crime specialists, and elevating the case within law enforcement.
About a month later, Ellie was found in a prostitution sting in Santa Clara County. We are trying to help her begin a new life. Like most special victims, Ellie does not want to testify against the man who hurt her. We are proactively working to bring this violent criminal to justice so he cannot continue to prey on other girls in our community.