We said it before, and now, we said it again, “Not all heroes wear capes.”
Trucker Kevin Kimmel is always vigilant when on the road. So when Kimmel caught a glimpse of a distraught-looking young woman behind the curtain of a recreational vehicle at a truck stop outside Richmond, Va. on Jan. 6, he knew something was wrong.
“Saw what looked like a young girl looking out the window, the black drapes didn’t make it look like a families’ RV, you know,” Kimmel told CBS affiliate WTVR. “I saw a guy come up and knock on the door then go inside the Pilot-then quickly came back and knocked again, all of the sudden the thing was rocking and rolling.”
Kimmel said it was a “no-brainer” as to what was going on, so he called the police.
“When I saw the young girl’s face, I said that’s not going to happen, I’ve got daughters and granddaughters,” Kimmel said.
As it turned out, Kimmel’s instinct was right.
Investigators searched the RV and found a couple from Iowa and a young woman who appeared disheveled and malnourished.
The 20-year-old victim had been abducted and, according to a police report, suffered horrific physical injuries, indicating she had been tortured. She had puncture wounds on the top of her feet and burns and brand marks all over her body.
A couple from Iowa, Aldair Hodza and Laura Sorenson, were arrested and face federal charges of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.
News reports indicate that the victim told police she was abducted on Christmas Eve and forced into prostitution by the couple, who was traveling from Iowa to Virginia. Sorenson and Hodza allegedly threatened to kill her family if she told anyone. Iowa authorities have stated the female victim was not reported missing.
Kimmel only learned the horrific details of what happened to the woman he saved through the news. The heroic man said modestly, “I’m just happy I helped her.”
Kimmel recounts the gripping story in the video below: