(NewsNation) — The family of a 24-year-old last seen getting into a gray pickup truck in Indianapolis, Indiana believes she has been trafficked but say police aren’t taking her case seriously.
Lucille Samuels said her granddaughter, Nakyla Williams, was a family person, one who is deeply missed by her loved ones.
“I missed her 25th birthday 26th Birthday I missed two Christmases I missed two holidays,” Samuels said. “It’s heart-wrenching, not knowing if she’s dead or alive.”
Samuels showed NewsNation the so-called “party house” where Williams was seen on the day she disappeared, Nov. 9, 2021
“It’s an eerie feeling, cause we kicked in many abandoned houses’ doors trying to find her body,” Samuels said. “This supposedly was the last place she was.”
The last known image of Williams was taken from a spot less than ten minutes away. A security camera at Williams’ mother’s home caught her getting into a gray pickup. It was the last time she was seen.
The family believes there are people who know more than they’re letting on. One of those people, they say, is Bestin Hoyle. Williams’ sister, Gekyah Pope, said when they couldn’t reach her, they went to that party house. Hoyle was right outside.
“So when I pull it up, I was like, ‘Hey, have you seen Nakyla?’ He was like ‘Nakyla? Nah, we ain’t seen Nakyla,’ ” Gekyah said.
Nakia Pope, Williams’ mother, said she asked Hoyle to show her any cameras around the home, noting that her camera showed the truck picking Williams up. She said after that, people in the house started moving their stuff out.
“The guy Bestin, he left, went back to Flint immediately,” Nakia said.
Hoyle also deleted interactions he had with Williams online.
“He took all his likes away from Nakyla’s, likes on her Facebook,” Nakia said.
Within a few weeks of Williams disappearance, police put out a notice asking to speak with Hoyle. But it’s unclear if they were ever able to get in touch with him.
NewsNation was also unable to reach Hoyle. Indianapolis Metropolitan police also declined requests to be interviewed about the case, saying they were not interested but the investigation was still open.
But Samuels said a phone call she had with a detective implied otherwise.
“So then he tells me ‘well, to be honest, Miss Samuels, I think Nakyla’s just dead.’ I said ‘Is that your honest opinion?’ He said yes,” she said.
When NewsNation asked IMPD about the call, they said the detective did not recall that conversation.
Samuels continues to call police for updates. She believes Hoyle was involved in trafficking her granddaughter for sex or drugs.
Samuels worries the case isn’t getting attention from law enforcement because of Williams’ history of drug use.
“She can be the biggest prostitute in the city. She’s still my granddaughter. She’s somebody’s daughter. She’s somebody’s sister. And she’s somebody’s cousin,” Samuels said.
Samuels said Williams’ outgoing, goofy personality changed after she lost multiple friends and family members to gun violence and suicide.
That included her father, Samuel’s son, who was shot and killed in 2017.
“I never thought I would be the one to lose a child, not by gun violence,” Samuels said. “Nakyla couldn’t deal with it, she turned to other things. But Nakyla’s still a human being.”
Nakia echoed those feelings, aware her daughter had turned to drugs to cope.
“Oh, she was on drugs,” Nakia said. “She’s still mine. And she still has a family that loves her.”
The family all agree Hoyle knows more than what he has been willing to share. Barry Stewart, Williams’ cousin, said they suspect Hoyle of preying on vulnerable women.
“It’s presumed that these gentlemen are known sex traffickers and drug sellers, illegal drugs, and that they prey on young girls,” Stewart said.
One reason for their theory is a tip Samuels got from a woman who claimed she saw Williams at an Indianapolis La Quinta Inn, which is now the Norwood Inn and Suites.
She described seeing Williams in a hotel room with a white man, commenting that Williams needed her hair done.
That made her family suspect something was amiss, as Williams loved to do hair. It was her job before she disappeared.
Unfortunately, Samuels said the tip didn’t lead police to Williams. Now, Samuels has a private investigator on her side, one who believes the case is solvable.
Gerard Easley said trafficking victims can be hard to find because pimps keep moving them from place to place.
“In part, the trafficker tries to social engineer them, and give them something that was missing in their life or something that they feel is exciting. It could be alcohol, could be drugs, or something else, or a combination of all of that,” Easley explained. “And then it’s where they recruit them, they recruit them to take them shopping, to buy trendy clothes, or shoes that they are interested in.”
Traffickers use those tactics to keep victims brainwashed. Human trafficking victims may not cooperate with police because they believe their captor is trying to help them.
Easley said one way to find victims is by keeping a close eye on places where they may hide in plain sight, like hotels or fast food restaurants.
That’s the last place Samuels heard from her granddaughter, on the phone, a couple of days before she vanished. Williams called from a McDonald’s drive-thru and promised to call Samuels back. But she never did, something Samuels said was not like her.
The family just wants to have Williams back and see justice for those involved with her disappearance.
“How could you do this to somebody’s family?” Gekyah asked. “Everyone’s torn apart.”
With Williams gone, the family is left to deal with the mystery, feeling hopeless and anxious as they wonder what happened to her.
They want answers, even if people who are involved are afraid to go to the police.
“This has turned my household, my family, upside down. At the end of the day you know, I just wanna know if anybody knows anything about Nakyla or knows what happened, just talk, just tell us,” Nakia said.
Samuels prays for justice for her granddaughter.
“Before you leave this earth you’re going to pay for every young lady or boy that you have captured, trying to trap them for drugs or sex or what have you. And may God rest on your soul,” Samuels said.