Fears grow missing Waterloo teens fell into sex traffickers' clutches
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Fears are growing for the safety of two Waterloo teens who vanished in Brampton a week ago.
Now, the mother of Aleena Sawatzky is frightened that her 15-year-old daughter and her friend Sophia, 17, may have been lured into the clutches of human traffickers.
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“I’ve had a literal nervous breakdown in the process. All we want is for these girls to come home,” Julie Sawatzky told the K-W Record. “We are devastated right now.”
Cops say the two girls were last seen at the Bramalea City Centre in Brampton on March 29. Sawatzky told the Record human traffickers have been preying on her daughter for months.
The family has been working closely with detectives from the Waterloo Regional Police’s major crime unit.
There have been reported sightings of Aleena in the Niagara Region, Brampton and Peel. But there have been few definitive answers.
Police had issued a missing person alert for Aleena and then issued an alert for both missing girls on Monday.
Aleena is 5-foot-6 with an athletic build and long curly brown hair. Sophia is 5-foot-4, with a slim build and long dark hair.
Julie Sawatzky added: “We are hoping and praying for their safe return as soon as possible and we are working with everyone that we can think of to try and get them back.”
On Facebook, Sawatzky voiced fears that there is a possibility the girls were given bogus passports and whisked over the border into Mexico.
She said: “If you need me, I will be going boldly Before the Throne and begging God to please, please, please send her home!”
Anyone who saw the teens after March 29 is asked to contact the Waterloo Regional Police Service at 519-570-9777, ext. 8191. Anonymous tips can also be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Police ask anyone with information concerning potential human trafficking to contact WRPS’ Human Trafficking Team.
“Waterloo Regional Police want to remind victims of human trafficking that support can be facilitated without contacting the police, via Victims Services of Waterloo Region, at 519-585-2363,” said communications officer Bradley Hickey.
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