Our Story

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 In April 2022, our daughter was lured from a sports event, raped, drugged, and trafficked locally before being sold online and transported out of state. After 10 days, she was recovered, but the trauma left a profound impact. Despite this, she refuses to be defined by what happened and is transforming her pain into something beautiful. This horrific experience is part of her story, but it doesn't define her—and her story is far from over. 

When our daughter was recovered, we knew we needed to create change—not just for ourselves, but for trafficked teens across the country. Our first thought: legislation.

During her disappearance, Dallas law enforcement refused to take our report, directing us to our home jurisdiction 30 miles away—despite knowing she was in Dallas with video evidence.

At the hospital after her recovery,  we voiced frustration that immediate action might have prevented this. I said we needed to change laws to stop cases from being dismissed as "runaways" and passed between jurisdictions. Someone responded, "Keep dreaming..."

So that's exactly what we did.

 Almost exactly one year later, we found ourselves in Austin, Texas, sharing our story with the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee. The result was a unanimous 7-0 vote approving legislation that now provides absolute clarity regarding which jurisdiction is responsible for a missing child case.  

Please read more about SB 2429 below.

After our daughter's trauma, we were fortunate to have the resources to provide her with top-tier care: the best wilderness therapy program, excellent recovery centers, and high-quality trauma therapy. However, we recognize this isn't the case for everyone. Without proper aftercare and treatment for trauma, substance exposure, and other issues, victims are more likely to re-enter prostitution and exploitation—not out of habit, but out of necessity. 

We have a roster of therapy options, legal resources and aftercare programs that are a proven success; completely vetted by our team at Aisling.  We fundamentally believe that trauma-informed care should never be cost prohibitive.