Anji Dean Missing: Authorities Fear She Could Be Victim of Human Trafficking
A missing teenager from Camas, Washington is feared to be in great danger or possibly involved in trafficking. Police have been searching for the 17-year-old since June 23, and cryptic messages left in her journal and to her boyfriend add to the sense of urgency in finding the teen.
"If you're reading this, I'm either missing or dead," Angelic "Anji" Dean wrote.
They were the latest in a series of comments that she had reportedly made to her teachers and counselors, her parents told Nancy Grace. She repeatedly said she was involved in something she could not get out of, and on the day she disappeared, she texted her boyfriend to say that she had gotten into something very bad.
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"They were going to kill you and my family," part of the text read.
"We have no idea where she is or who she's with," Dean's mother Lynda Jorgensen said. "She can't be doing this on her own, so we're really, really afraid for her."
Police refuse to publicly speculate on what may have happened, but her parents fully believe that Dean could have been involved in human trafficking or some other sinister, illegal activity that may wind up costing her her life.
"I don't believe she left thinking she was running away," Nation Women's Coalition Against Violence and Exploitation Michelle Bart added. "I believe after speaking with law enforcement and the detective on the case that we may be dealing with a human trafficking situation here in Clark county."
They want their daughter to return home no matter what and are trying to get the message out so that people will be aware and keep an eye out for her.
"We've put her picture all over the internet … we've put out thousands of fliers but have heard nothing," Jorgensen told KGW News.
The 17-year-old is 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 135-145 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes and pierced ears. She was last seen wearing black tights, white Nike shoes with light green soles and a white tank top. She may have a white backpack with her.
According to a neighbor, Dean was seen getting out of an older-model blue Volvo filled with people. The driver was described as a black man, 25 to 35 years old with a goatee.
