MELBOURNE, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) -
A woman found wandering the streets in Melbourne claims she is a victim of human trafficking. She speaks no English, but with the help of a translator, it was determined that she is from Africa. What's still not clear is how she made it here or if she came voluntarily.
Scott Wilson, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Melbourne admits he was pretty surprised when the woman, from more than 7,000 miles away, walked by his home Wednesday night.
"My wife and boys were coming out to get in the van at that point and saw her, walking by. She indicated she was thirsty, and my wife just tried to meet that need and bring her some water and food," he said.
Wilson said the young woman had only a red suitcase, no identification and spoke a language he had never heard before. They brought to his church and called police. After officers determined she was from Ethiopia, the church was able to call in a member who happened to be from a neighboring country.
"Even came in kind of dressed in similar dress, and I know they greeted one another with the typical greeting from that culture," said Wilson. "I think, even with that, I could just see in this woman from Ethiopia, a comfort and peace you know, knowing here's someone from my region who cares about me."
The African native church member opened her home to the mysterious woman whom the pastor said appeared in her early thirties and was wearing what looked like a maid's uniform.
The unidentified woman said she has only been in the United States for a month and that she escaped from the control of a human trafficker.
"Definitely, when you hear things like that, it breaks your heart, and whether this was an instance of that or not, we know that's happening around the world and God has called us to do what we can for people like that," Wilson added.
After staying the night with the church member, the unidentified woman was taken into custody by Immigration and Naturalization Service. The United Nations identifies Ethiopia as a source country for human trafficking.
