19-Year-Old Ecuadorian Woman Found Dead in Atlanta After Allegedly Threatening To Report Prostitution Ring

Tragically, 19-year-old Saraí Llanos Gómez from Guayaquil, Ecuador has been found dead in Atlanta, Georgia after having gone missing for over a month. The woman recently moved to the U.S. in search of a better life, but disappeared after refusing to work as a prostitute. 

As reported by Telemundo, Llanos emigrated to Chicago less than a year ago, but could not find work. She was then offered a job in Atlanta as a waitress and promised a substantial wage. 

However, upon arriving to Atlanta, Llanos realized she had been tricked — the job in question was to be a prostitute in a hotel. Per El Universo, Llanos was staying at SpringHill Suites by Marriott Atlanta Buckhead, and quickly threatened to report the prostitution ring. 

Llanos’ mother Gardenia Gómez, explains that her daughter was an “innocent 19-year-old,” and was brought into the scheme by a Russian woman. Llanos disappeared on June 14 at around 9:35 p.m., the last time she spoke to her mother, and the family never heard from her again.

Gómez told El Universo, “After that, we don’t know anything about her; she disappeared from the hotel she was staying at.” The mother informed the Ecuadorian government about the situation, who contacted Atlanta police to investigate.

Gómez explains that they recently called her to let her know that Llanos’ body was found near a lake. She told Univision that officials said they matched Llanos’ fingerprints to the corpse, and that she believes her daughter has been dead “for a month.”  

Gómez now hopes to travel to Atlanta to understand “the motive” behind the death.

Meanwhile, Llanos leaves behind two children aged of 1 and 3, who Gómez is currently taking care of in Guayaquil. 

Even more, as stated by William Murillo of Ecuadorian lawfirm 1800 Migrante, the Russian woman who tricked Llanos into the fake Atlanta job used a prepaid phone, and another friend at the hotel no longer answers calls. A “complex” case, the hotel has not yet made an official statement.

Llanos’ family did not hear from her in over 40 days, and Gómez explains she desperately contacted the Russian woman, who said the 19-year-old simply slept a lot. On June 16, the woman told Gómez: “Be calm, she surely left with a man, tomorrow they will leave her in a hotel. And don’t report it because it won’t lead to anything.” 

According to Telemundo, Llanos’ two children ask for their mother every time the phone rings at home.