Texas teen abducted from Dallas Mavericks NBA game shares what lured her from dad

A Texas teen abducted from an NBA game, enactment trafficked and held against her volition astatine a edifice 200 miles distant has opened up astir the horrific week of maltreatment she endured earlier investigators traced her photograph successful an online enactment advertisement backmost to her captors.

Natalee Cramer, present 18, was conscionable 15 years aged erstwhile she and her begetter attended a Mavericks crippled astatine American Airlines Center in Dallas April 8, 2022. 

Cramer, who is present sober and pursuing a GED, said she was babelike connected marijuana and intoxicant to header with her anxiousness astatine the time, and erstwhile the crippled started, she began to consciousness anxious, she told WFAA.

"I was feeling bully and conscionable acceptable to bent retired with [my dad]," Cramer told the outlet. "We got there, sat down successful our seats. ... First 4th happened, and I started getting this anxious feeling. This craving for similar getting precocious oregon drunk."

TEXAS GIRL TRAFFICKED FROM DALLAS MAVERICKS GAME HELD AT HOTEL BY MEN WITH 'AK-47 STYLE' RIFLE: LAWSUIT

The Oklahoma City Police Department arrested Saniya Alexander, Melissa Wheeler, Chevaun Gibson, Kenneth Nelson, Sarah Hayes, Karen Gonzales, Thalia Gibson and Steven Hill successful the trafficking lawsuit of 15-year-old Natalee Cramer from a Dallas Mavericks game. (Oklahoma City Detention Center)

Cramer told her begetter she was going to the bathroom, but she near her telephone astatine her spot and did not return.

On the arena's concourse, Cramer made oculus interaction with her alleged abductor, 33-year-old Emanuel Cartagena. 

"I'm conscionable walking around, and that's erstwhile I caught that guy's eye," Cramer recalled. "I told him, 'I'm conscionable truly looking to smoke. Do you smoke?"

Cramer said she walked with Cartagena backmost to his car, wherever helium said helium had marijuana for them to smoke. A 2nd idiosyncratic met them successful the parking garage, and the 3 drove to a location successful North Texas. 

TEXAS GIRL, 15, TRAFFICKED FROM MAVERICKS GAME IN DALLAS; 8 ARRESTED IN OKLAHOMA: POLICE

"He didn’t archer maine determination was anyone other determination with him," Cramer said. "It was conscionable him. He told maine we would locomotion backmost to his car that was parked successful the parking batch … successful the store … and that’s erstwhile the 2nd feline came. They told maine the weed was conscionable successful the car.

"They did springiness maine weed," she told WFAA. "But determination was much that they had successful mind."

Cramer was kept astatine the location against her volition for respective days earlier she was sold to a enactment trafficking ringing in Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, her father, Kyle Morris, reported his girl missing astatine the arena erstwhile she ne'er returned to her seat. But helium was told helium would request to study her arsenic a runaway astatine their location constabulary section 30 miles away. Cramer had antecedently near her parents' location respective times and had been reported arsenic a runaway before.

A antagonistic reappraisal for the ESA - Oklahoma City Airport Hotel describes prostitution taking spot wrong the establishment. (Dallas County lawsuit)

Desperate for answers, the household hired a backstage researcher successful Houston who specializes successful these types of cases. Within minutes, helium was capable to find photos of Cramer posted successful an online enactment advertisement and hint her determination to Oklahoma City. 

Kenneth Levan Nelson, 1 of 8 suspects arrested by Oklahoma City authorities successful Cramer's kidnapping, allegedly posted the nude photos online. 

Nelson, a convicted enactment offender, "rented astatine slightest 2 edifice rooms" astatine the Extended Stay America Oklahoma City Airport Hotel "and was associated with astatine slightest 2 different edifice rooms" nether a mendacious name, according to a suit filed against the edifice by Cramer's parents.

Cramer was plied with "alcohol and galore narcotics, including methamphetamines," according to the lawsuit. She recalled seeing a household successful the edifice arsenic she walked intoxicated done the hall, flanked by men carrying battle rifles. 

TEXAS GIRL TRAFFICKED FROM DALLAS MAVERICKS GAME LISTED AS A 'RUNAWAY' BEFORE NUDE PHOTOS SURFACED

Oklahoma City authorities arrested and charged 8 individuals aft Natalee Cramer, past 15, was allegedly trafficked from a Dallas Mavericks crippled astatine the American Airlines Center April 8, 2022.  (Getty Images )

"I was much amazed to spot a household with tiny children there, and they looked maine successful the eyes and could spot that each of these radical were older than maine and inactive not accidental anything," Cramer said. "The dada of these small children looked astatine me, and helium couldn’t archer astatine the hotel. [The antheral who trafficked her] had a full firearm by his side, and the household conscionable walked connected similar thing happened."

On April 18, a police officer noticed the teen walking extracurricular an flat analyzable and asked if she was Natalee Cramer. She told the serviceman she had been raped and was rescued. 

She described her rescue arsenic an answered prayer. 

"I was conscionable praying to God," she said. "‘I’m tired. I can’t bash this anymore. I request someone. Please nonstop someone.'"

The serviceman snapped an unrecognizable photograph of her successful the backmost of his cruiser. 

"I had braces astatine the time, and I was punched successful the rima by 1 of the guys," Cramer told CBS News of the picture. "My full feature was conscionable scratched. My braces were similar wrong my cheek."

A presumption of American Airlines Center earlier the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves lukewarm up for a crippled successful Dallas Dec. 17, 2020. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)

Cramer said it was a substance of minutes aft she talked to the serviceman earlier 8 radical — Saniya Alexander, Melissa Wheeler, Chevaun Gibson, Kenneth Nelson, Sarah Hayes, Karen Gonzales, Thalia Gibson and Steven Hill — were arrested. 

Cartagena, the antheral who allegedly initially led Cramer backmost to his car earlier she was trafficked, was arrested by U.S. Marshals successful January 2023 and charged with intersexual battle of a child, according to WFAA. But a Dallas County expansive assemblage decided determination was not capable grounds to prosecute him.

"I cognize that determination are things I could person done to forestall this, but I cognize not each of the choices that were made were my choices," Cramer told WFAA. "Part of maine felt guilty, but I had to travel to the information that this is my life, and they person ruined my life. I cannot consciousness atrocious for them due to the fact that they did not consciousness atrocious for me."

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Cramer said she didn't recognize thing was incorrect until she was being raped and that her kidnapping wasn't the emblematic "guy with candy successful the backmost of his van."

"It looks similar a mean speech until it’s not. You don’t cognize you’re successful information until you’re successful the mediate of it. And you don’t cognize what to do, and you can’t get out," Cramer said. "There’s nary country to justice radical due to the fact that they can’t get out. If they could leave, they would.

"I did not cognize however to permission due to the fact that I was scared," she continued. "I could person asked for the phone, but they would person been close there. What was I expected to do? Even if I had run, wherever would I go? I didn’t cognize wherever I was."

Cramer's household has since started an organization called Aisling to assistance survivors of intersexual battle and quality trafficking.