CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — Investigators are hoping the public can help in a search for a woman who was able to escape her traffickers but has left her Pennsylvania residence and has not been in contact with her family for more than a year.

Pennsylvania State Police – Bureau of Criminal Investigation is looking to find Lauren Steele, who was living in a Carlisle hotel in August 2024, and has not contacted her family since, investigators said Friday. She was 36 years old when she was reported missing.

Steele is originally from New York, but previously lived in Virginia before moving to Pennsylvania. State Police said it is possible she could have traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pennsylvania State Police are asking for the public’s help in finding Lauren Steele. Photo from PSP.

Pennsylvania State Police are asking for the public’s help in finding Lauren Steele. Photo from PSP.

Pennsylvania State Police are asking for the public’s help in finding Lauren Steele. Photo from PSP.

Pennsylvania State Police are asking for the public’s help in finding Lauren Steele. Photo from PSP.

Pennsylvania State Police are asking for the public’s help in finding Lauren Steele. Photo from PSP.

Pennsylvania State Police are asking for the public’s help in finding Lauren Steele. Photo from PSP.

Steele is reportedly a survivor of human trafficking and left where she was living in Carlisle to head to Las Vegas for a program that would help give her rehabilitation care for what she went through, according to a report in June 2025 from Newsnation.

The report says Steele was supposed to fly to Las Vegas from the Keystone State to get help, but her flight was delayed and she was put in a hotel. That was the last time her family heard from her.

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The family told Newsnation that after she got to the hotel, she contacted them, saying there was a man outside who was going to help her get on a plane. Since that, her family said they haven’t heard from her.

Investigators described Steele to be 5’4”, weigh 115 pounds, and have green eyes with strawberry blonde hair.

There is a $5,000 reward that is offered for information that helps solve the case, investigators said.

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