A 17-year-old girl was able to save herself from trafficking by texting 911.
The teen, who authorities say was a victim of human trafficking, began texting the emergency number with “pleas for help” around 3 a.m. on May 9, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
The text messages were sent to the Sheriff's Office communications center, where staff began translating the messages from Spanish.
In a news release, the department said the teen began texting about landmarks and other “identifiable information” she was seeing, which helped the agency quickly send officers to the correct area. The teen was located in Casitas Springs.
Investigators said they believed the victim was trafficked to Ventura County approximately two months ago from Mexico. According to the release, she has been assigned to the county's Children and Family Services until authorities can locate her family.
The department arrested Gerardo Cruz, 31, originally from Veracruz, Mexico. His bail is set at half a million dollars.
Ventura County began allowing people to contact 911 operators via text in 2021.
The change was intended to make emergency services more accessible to people with speech impairments or people in emergency situations who cannot make phone calls, such as victims of domestic abuse, the Ventura County Star reported at the time.
