Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Missing Sarah Dunsey: Teen’s last text ‘If I die tonight…’

Episode Date: February 16, 2017

Sarah Dunsey’s last text message to her mom warned “If I die tonight, it’s a guy named…” The name is redacted so as not to tip off a person of interest in the disappearance of the Utah teen, last seen at the MGM casino in Las Vegas on January 15, 2017. “She is being held against her will and Sarah is a victim of sex trafficking,” her mom said in a video. Sarah’s aunt speaks to Nancy Grace in this episode. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. January 15th, our daughter Sarah Dunsey was abducted from Las Vegas, Nevada. She's being held against her will and Sarah is a victim of sex trafficking. A mother shares the painful reality she's been facing for the past month. Her precious daughter taken. This is Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. This is my absolute worst nightmare. We need Sarah home. We have to have her home. I cannot wonder where she is and if she's safe please help us find her sarah barrett this message is for you i want you to fight because i need you all of us need you the world needs you so fight okay we're coming to get you this is my absolute worst nightmare.

We need Sarah home. A mysterious text sent by her teen girl has one mother begging you now to help her find her daughter. This Utah mom sends a message to her little girl. I want you to fight. Sarah Dunsey's family says this teen who lives in Logan has been stolen by sex traffickers. It's happening now. We need your help now. This is Nancy Grace with Crime Stories.

Thank you for being with us. Our tip lines, our email tip lines as well at CrimeOnline.com. Right now, a girl is missing. She has been abducted from Las Vegas, Nevada. We believe she is being held against her will. Her mother says she is a victim of sex trafficking and has posted this tearful plea on YouTube. Listen. On January 15th, our daughter Sarah Dunsey was abducted from Las Vegas, Nevada. She's being held against her will and Sarah is a victim of sex trafficking.

This is my absolute worst nightmare. We need Sarah home. We have to have her home. I cannot wonder where she is and if she's safe. Please help us find her. Sarah Barra, this message is for you. I want you to fight because I need you.

All of us need you. The world needs you, so fight, okay? We're coming to get you. That's it. The mom says, Sarah Barra, this message is for you. I want you to fight because I need you. All of us need you. So fight, okay?

We are coming to get you. At this point, the family is in a spot where they can't give out a lot of details. They don't want to jeopardize the few thin leads they have. They're trying to piece everything together with detectives. We're talking about a little girl, a teen girl, Sarah Dunsey. Sarah is just five feet two inches. She only weighs 130 pounds. Brown hair, brown eyes. She's just absolutely beautiful. And when you look at her, you just see the life, the happiness, the joy shining out of her eyes. What I want to do is help find this girl. I want to help this mom bring her daughter home alive. I want to change what is happening right now.

The girl has been taken in, we believe, Mormon country. With me is Alan Duke. Alan, what more do we know? Sarah Dunsey, 17, 5'2", 130 pounds, brown eyes. Plenty of pictures so you could look online and recognize her from the Find Sarah Dunsey Facebook page. She was last seen at the MGM, that's a casino hotel on the Strip in Las Vegas, on the 15th of January. That's a month ago. And her family and investigators believe she's being held against her will and is a victim of sex trafficking. Oh, man. Hold on. Let me take this in just a moment.

Alan, we hear about sex trafficking all the time. The number one location, believe it or not, it's not Bangkok over in Thailand. It's actually the Atlanta Jackson Hartsfield Airport. More children are trafficked through that airport than anywhere else in the world, according to reports. Now, St. George News is reporting that Sarah Duncy disappears in Vegas in January, the end of January, with no phone, no ID, no extra money, no extra clothing. She wasn't packed to go anywhere. She's believed to be being held as a sex traffic victim, this teen girl in LA, Vegas, or in Utah. Tip line 435-753-7555. She has a tiny little tattoo on her rib cagege. It's a tiny, tiny lotus flower.

I'm trying to figure out the leads that they've gotten that make them think, including police, that this American teen girl has been stolen and put into sex trafficking. What can you tell me in a nutshell, Alan, emphasis nutshell, about a mysterious text she sent. It's the last text from Sarah. And if you watch that video, you'll see it.

If I die tonight, it's a guy named, and then it has a guy's name that is blurred out. They feature this in this video because it was the last communication from Sarah Dunsey to her family on the 15th of January. So she texted her mom. But why then do we believe that she's without her phone if she texted her mom? How can that be? There's a lot we don't know about the case. I believe that the police are on to something.

I think they've got a lead. But I don't know what that lead is. Listen to what Sarah's aunt has to say. With me right now is Sarah's aunt. Ms. Hollinger, thank you so much for being with us. Everyone, Leah Hollinger, Sarah's aunt is with us now answering questions, hoping to lead to the discovery of this teen girl. Ms. Hollinger, when did Sarah go missing and what were the circumstances surrounding her going missing? So unfortunately right now we can't disclose very much information

just because we have gathered some information. We do have some leads and we don't want to tip anyone off we want to we want to be able to continue to look at these things and so um but sarah she did go down uh to las vegas with a with several friends and um she was last seen at the mgm on jan 15th. And then there was some correspondence. There were texts between friends, and she did reach out to Amy once up until the 18th. But between the 15th and 18th, nobody knew where she was. And then the 25th is when we lost all contact. And so we haven't

heard anything since then. When did her parents realize she was gone? Some friends contacted her on the 18th. So it had been several days before Amy knew. Why do her parents believe that she has been forced into sex trafficking? What makes them think that? You know, unfortunately we can't share a lot of those details because that would alert or tip off some people. But within text messages and a different, several other things, everything is pointing to that. And then we have been working with a sex trafficking,

an organization that fights sex trafficking. They've been doing an amazing job, and consulting with different experts presenting what we have, and all of them have come to the conclusion that Sarah was trafficked. Leah Hollinger with us. This is Sarah's aunt. Ms. Hollinger, what can you tell me about the last text that Sarah sent her family before she went missing? That is the text that really alerted Amy to the seriousness of what was going on. And I can't share, I mean, we don't have like a like a specific name that where we could just go and pick that person up right now. But I can't tell you anymore about what, you know, what the last part of that text was. But that's when we knew that things were really serious.

Leah, why was Sarah in the casino? Because you can't get into a casino to gamble or anywhere where there's alcohol at her young age. So why was she there? Was she meeting friends, trying to piece this together? I mean, I think a lot of people, you know, the kids go to Vegas, kids do things with friends. And so that's really all I can say about that. But there have been rumors flying around, or there was, from the very beginning, there was an assumption that Sarah was planning to run away, that she was a runaway, and those claims are unfounded, which is unfortunate because from the very beginning, when the word runaway is attached, it makes it very difficult. Police, you know, different authorities,

they don't want to get involved and pursue anything if it's a runaway case versus a trafficking case. So we've really been having a difficult time. The family, we've all band together and we have been working around the clock to piece together everything and then working with this organization. So to be totally honest, we're not trying to hide. Sarah did have some trouble. She may have gone to Vegas with a group of friends, you know, at 17.

But she is a loving, kind, wonderful girl who loved her family, who especially loved her siblings so much. So she definitely, we do not believe she is a runaway. Everything points to her being abducted, her being held against her will, and her being a victim of sex trafficking. So I'm trying to get a mental image of Sarah Dunsey, a teen girl, having dinner or going to see one of the many shows. There's Britney there. Elton John has been there.

Celine has been there. I'm trying to think of what would appeal to a 17-year-old girl. Well, there's David Copperfield is there at the MGM. Okay, Alan. It's a family show. I disagree that a 17-year-old girl wants to go see David Copperfield, but that's, you know, your worldview. But regardless of what she was seeing,

regardless of what restaurant she was at, I'm trying to imagine, Alan, sex traffickers lurking there that could nab her and get her. And I'm wondering if the casino video has been reviewed. You know, you go into a casino in Vegas, it's like NASA is on you. They have some of the best surveillance in the world.

And I mean every square inch of the best surveillance in the world. And I mean, every square inch of every casino is covered with surveillance. What, if anything, can we learn? What went down on a Sunday night at a casino with a teen girl there for dinner or a show? That's what I want to know. Well, from the text message, something caused her to fear for herself and her life. While she was at the casino, I mean, look at the text message, and she seemed to know who was the threat. But why couldn't she get away? She could send a text message. Well, it could be as simple as she gets in the car, and then it's all over.

Once you're in the car, it's done. It's over. You don't have a chance once you're in the car. Ellen, what do we know about her hometown? I mean, her going to Vegas for dinner or to see a show with friends really would not be out of the ordinary for her. St. George, Utah is in the southern part of it, southeastern corner, right near Arizona and Nevada. It's just a short skip and a hop to get down to Las Vegas. So that's not unusual that somebody from there would go down there. Of course, it's St. George's heavily Mormon area. It's oil fields around there. It's kind of a small

town, and Vegas is the nearest big town. The mom says the, quote, what if surrounding her disappearance is almost too much to bear. I can't imagine what the mother and the father, the family is going through right now to believe your daughter is out there right now being beaten, being forced into sex trafficking within your reach. And you can't find her is the proverbial needle in a haystack. And at any minute, I mean, to sex traffickers, these young girls mean nothing. They're like a paper cup. You can just dispose of it when you're done with it. It's over. Killing them will mean nothing to them. That's why it's so urgent we help find this girl. I don't know why they think this, but the family and the searchers believe there's a chance she was brought to Los Angeles. And there is a Los Angeles group out here working with her. They also have a tip line that I could share. Go ahead. If you are in the Los Angeles area and you

think you'd have some information, if you're anywhere, credible information, call this number. It's 310-310-9701. 310-310-9701. And that's a Santa Monica-based group that helps find missing teenagers. Yeah, they're saying LA, Vegas, or Utah, but you are saying that from your understanding, they're focusing on LA? LA is L.A. is a prime target. As you said, Las Vegas, that's where she was last seen. Utah, that's where she's from. And Los Angeles is the other area that they're focusing on. But we don't know exactly why they are.

There may be some information that they're not telling us. I want to just pause and thank our sponsor for making this podcast and our search to find Sarah possible. It is Simply Safe Home Alarm Systems. Now more than ever, you've got to protect your family. And it's so easy to install. Install, hence the name Simply Safe Simple. It is so simple. They even have a video online that explains to you how to do it really I think

John David and Lucy could install this it's so easy to do and it works also what I like about it is it's not dependent on your landline or your cell phone line in case those become inoperative. This has its own sell line. Go to simplisafe.com slash Nancy and save 10 more percent off the low price of $14.99. SimpliSafe, thank you for making our search for Sarah possible today. Alan, I want to hear the mother again. I want to hear her words again. Could you please play her message again? January 15th, our daughter Sarah Dunsey was abducted from Las Vegas, Nevada.

She's being held against her will. And Sarah is a victim of sex trafficking. This is my absolute worst nightmare. We need Sarah home. We have to have her home. I cannot wonder where she is and if she's safe. Please help us find her. Sarah Barra, this message is for you. I want you to fight because I need you. All of us need you. The world needs you, so fight, okay? We're coming to get you. That's it. And again, thank you, SimpliSafe, for making our search for Sarah possible today.

SimpliSafe, for making our search for Sarah possible today. SimpliSafe.com. Home security. Affordable. Finally. For people that want their home secured with an alarm system and have always thought you couldn't afford it, you can. At $14.99 a month, it gives you peace of mind. My home is armed, as is my mom's. You know, if I had to work

another job, I would to do that. But luckily, with Simply Safe, you don't have to. Everyone, thank you for being with us today. Please help us bring Sarah home. Nancy Grace, signing off from Crime Stories. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.