A young woman has shared a harrowing account of how she and two of her friends narrowly escaped an attempted kidnapping while vacationing in Cartagena, Colombia.
Her detailed social media videos have gone viral, sparking urgent conversations about travel safety, particularly for women exploring international destinations.
In a series of emotional videos on her TikTok (@lexlailah), the woman describes how what began as a fun night out with friends quickly turned into a nightmare. After dining at Casa Palenque, a popular tourist area, the group attempted to take a taxi back to their hotel.
Multiple drivers quoted them an inflated fare of $50, but feeling they had no better option, they accepted the rate from a second driver.
Despite providing their hotel’s location, the driver did not use GPS, which raised initial concerns.
“We assumed he knew his way around since this was his city,” she explained.
However, as the ride progressed, more red flags emerged. The driver frequently glanced at her in the backseat, remained silent throughout the trip, and took several wrong turns. What should have been a 23-minute ride stretched into a 35-minute ordeal!
As they neared their destination, the driver suddenly reached back and attempted to snatch their phones. In a shocking turn, the three women fought back.
“Instincts kicked in,” she said. “I attacked him. She attacked him. We were going in on him. He did not expect us to fight like that.”
The driver, realizing he could not overpower all three, stopped the car and attempted to drag one of them out.
“We knew we had to stay together,” she said. “We either all stay in the car or we all get out.”
The struggle escalated as he assaulted them, kicking them with steel-toe boots and attempting to pull them from the vehicle.
The woman recalled using every means possible to defend herself, including biting and twisting his fingers.
“I even grabbed his balls and twisted them. I just kept twisting and twisting,” she recounted, a move that ultimately forced the attacker to retreat.
He then shifted his focus to another friend, who fought him off so aggressively that she broke her nails down to the nail bed. Desperate to escape, they attempted to drive the vehicle themselves, but unfamiliarity with the foreign stick-shift car left them helpless. As they fought back, the driver gave up and drove off, taking their phones with him. Alone on a pitch-black road with no means of communication, the women ran for their lives.
Eventually, a security guard on a motorcycle found them and guided them to safety. Initially distrustful due to the trauma they had just endured, they hesitated before realizing he was genuinely trying to help. Using Google Translate, security personnel were able to contact their hotel and arrange for a car to retrieve them. Even then, their instincts remained on high alert.
“I told them, if y’all security guards are not getting in this car with us, we are not going,” she said. The guards complied, and they finally made it back to their hotel.
Once back at the resort, the women were overwhelmed with emotion, breaking down in tears over their terrifying experience. The local police were eventually contacted and investigated the scene.
One friend’s phone, left in the car, provided a real-time location update, which they continued monitoring. The traumatic experience has prompted an outpouring of support online, with many commending the women’s quick thinking and fierce resistance. Others have shared similar warnings about taxi scams and safety risks in Cartagena.
“If you go to Cartagena, Colombia, do not trust the yellow taxis whatsoever,” she warned in her video.
The incident is a chilling reminder of the dangers that can arise while traveling abroad. Experts recommend using verified ride-hailing services, sharing real-time location updates with loved ones, and always trusting one’s instincts in unfamiliar situations.
