Woman describes possible human trafficking situation at Lexington AirBNB

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) —  “This was the first time that I had stayed at an Airbnb home,” said Laura.

It’s a trip that Laura will never forget.

One that still leaves a lasting impact.

Laura says she recently visited Lexington from her hometown of Tampa.

She stayed at an AIRBNB in Masterson Station.

From the very beginning, she says things seemed a bit off.

“When I pulled up to the home, the front door was wide open, there was a clear storm door like a glass storm door that was closed, but the front door was open. And I kind of thought this is the right house and I kind of looked through and the furniture everything was just like the picture,” says Laura.

As the her stay went on, she continued to notice more red flags.

“The garage door also didn’t have a lock, which I thought was a little odd. We went out the next day and returned to find that the u-bolt. The safety latch had been opened, and the deadbolt was now unlocked. And kind of just had this feeling like somebody had been in the home,” she added.

Later that night, things took an unsettling turn.
While Laura and the girls were getting ready for bed, one of them noticed the bedroom window was open.
Laura said she made sure all of the windows were locked earlier that day.

“We had noticed that there was a car parked across the street earlier, a dark car with tinted windows and once we opened that window fully just check and see if there was a screen there. I kind of you know put my hand out and I was like yeah, there’s no screen there mom and the car took off, my mom called 9-1-1 right away,” she also added.

When police arrived Laura says they told her to trust her instinct. She decided to take the girls and leave.

“I feel like somebody was here to take the girls. I said, I feel like we could have woken up to something very different tomorrow morning. And he said, trust your gut. He said, I can’t say for certain that that’s what was happening,” said Laura.

Laura felt compelled to share her experience on social media, hoping to warn others.

“A couple of people have said, well, how could you say it’s trafficking? Well, I don’t know that it was trafficking. I honestly don’t know. But it sure did seem like we were being set up for trafficking,” she also says.

Deanna Spangler is the executive director of Refuge for Women, a non-profit, faith-based organization that provides specialized long-term housing and emergency housing for women who have escaped human trafficking or sexual exploitation.

Spangler says the rate of human trafficking is as high as its ever been.
Now although police said there was no indication of human trafficking, there were multiple signs that were cause for concern.
The profit for human trafficking is estimated to be $236 billion each year.

If you’d like more information on Refuge for Women click here.

For more information on human trafficking, you can click here.

DISCLAIMER: *for fear of any potential repercussions, Laura was only identified by name.