RAVENNA, Mich. — A dream vacation to see another part of the world turned into a nightmare for a Ravenna woman.
Alex Fairfield went to Thailand with a friend to check the trip of a lifetime off of her bucket list. Instead, her family says she was drugged, captured and tied up, forced to escape if she wanted to save her own life.
Her family says they aren't getting enough help to try to bring her home.
"We just really want to get her out of the country and back home," said Alex Moore, Fairfield's brother-in-law.
Relatives say Fairfield went to a bar with her friend Joe after a long day of sightseeing. When he got up and went to the restroom, she said she felt sick and tired. They say the next thing she knew she woke up with her hands bound in an unknown place.
"She was able to loosen the ropes up," Moore said.
According to Fairfield and her family, a man from Thailand law enforcement walked into the room, but he wasn't there to help.
"It wasn't until one of the kidnappers dressed in uniform came into the room and attempted to rape her that she came to her senses," Moore said.
Fairfield told her family she was able to escape from her attacker, jumping from a balcony and then hiding in some bushes for 6 hours until she could get a taxi back to her hotel. She sent her family pictures of her injuries afterward.
They say that despite the photographic proof, they're not getting much help overseas.
"There's nothing we can do at this point to try to help her," Moore said. "We contacted the U.S. Embassy over there, but we haven't gotten very far with them."
FOX 17 contacted the U.S. Embassy in Thailand. Officials there said they can't say whether the incident really happened or not, but they don't have any authority over in Thailand. They told us they asked her to complete a police report, but she refused.
"One of the kidnappers was dressed in uniform," Moore said.
Relatives say Fairfield is afraid she might see her kidnapper again if he's part of their law enforcement. Without a police report, the embassy said there's not much they can do.
Here in the U.S., friends and family are rallying around her sister's Facebook post, asking everyone to reach out to anyone they know and to share her story. They say now the last obstacle is getting Fairfield home where she belongs.
"When she attempted to go to the airport to get her ticket, the airline who she booked through said they weren't able to do that and didn't give explicit reasons to why," said Moore. "And ultimately just said 'No, you can't board this flight.' The sooner we can get her out, the better."
The U.S. Embassy said they have checked on her to make sure she is safe. They helped move her to a different hotel, and put her under an alias. Her family said they are communicating with her through Facebook Messenger since her phone was taken during the alleged abduction.
They are working to re-book her flights to get her home. Her friend Joe is with her again as well.
