ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV.com) -
Chameka Mengistu says she wants what could have been a tragedy for her family, to serve as a warning to parents.
Last month she knew something was wrong when her 16-year-old daughter didn't come home from summer camp and was missing for two days.
"Maybe she's just with a friend, maybe she just wanted to stay out but as time goes on and you have that bond you really feel that your child is in danger," said Mengistu.
After going through her social media accounts and tracking her location through her phone's app, she frantically learned she was with people she’d met on Facebook.
Those people, Mengistu says, were holding her daughter against her will, demanding money, and making her engage in sexual acts. Thinking quickly, a family friend posed as a person who wanted to pay for sex with her daughter, by sending a message to the people she was with.
They met at the agreed location and Mengistu says her family was stunned to see her daughter walking down Adelaide with a woman.
"She was heavily drugged, she was under the influence," said Mengistu.
She says it was knowing her daughter's password to her social media accounts, that lead them to the people who took her.
Mengistu this incident has impacted her daughter mentally and she has scheduled therapy sessions.
News 4 has learned police have launched an investigation, but details of the investigation aren't being released at this time.
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