Disturbing new theory emerges over missing Australian tourist in Las Vegas: 'She may have already been trafficked'

By KARLEIGH SMITH - SENIOR REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 08:12, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 08:26, 1 July 2026 Sally Grace Contarino, 26, disappeared on a solo two-week holiday to the US, visiting Palm Springs in California before travelling to Las Vegas, where she stayed at a backpacker hostel in a seedy part of town. Ms Contarino was due to take a Greyhound bus from Nevada to Los Angeles on June 20 and fly home that night, but her ticket was never used.  Las Vegas Metro Police Department has now declared her 'missing and endangered'. Ms Contarino's unusual movements around Las Vegas in the days before she vanished prompted fears among locals that she may be a victim of human trafficking. The dark criminal industry is a significant problem in Nevada, where authorities have estimated there are as many as 58 victims per 100,000 people. Ms Contarino's documented movements include being filmed outside a 7-Eleven in the east of the city on June 17, visiting a bar in north-west Las Vegas on June 19, and a sighting near a large mall on the north-west outskirts of the city on June 20. Human trafficking expert Mike Bartel confirmed she matched the profile of victims, and a local told the Daily Mail of her fears when she saw Ms Contarino's movements were far from the usual tourist haunts on the Las Vegas casino strip. Sally Contarino was approached by a man filming with Meta glasses on June 17 Her movements in the days before she vanished have confused Las Vegas locals and triggered the human trafficking fears Las Vegas police have classified Ms Contarino as 'missing and endangered'  'It seems she was getting all around town which is odd in itself and she may have already been trafficked,' said the woman, whose high-school aged daughter had been targeted by traffickers.  'The areas she was seen in...that's not normal behaviour or safety measures for someone who usually travels alone.' Human trafficking victims are often forced into the sex industry or slave labour using fraud or physical threats, and usually targets vulnerable women and children. Speaking on a true-crime podcast last week, Ms Contarino's sisters Amy and Lauren suggested she had 'mental health struggles' and only had 'a bit of money'. Another local, commenting on a true-crime forum, said: 'I live in Las Vegas and know the area well. There's absolutely no reason to be at a 7-Eleven in that part of town, unless she got lost, or got taken there by someone she met or knows.' 'That's a very bad area, heavy drug use and sex trafficking in that part of the city, arguably even worse than where she was staying,' they said. An Instagram video taken on June 17 by @epicDamianpov showed him filming a young woman with an Australian accent who appeared to be Ms Contarino outside the 7-Eleven store on Boulder Highway. Using Meta glasses to film his point-of-view footage, Damian, a content creator who posts social media videos of himself trying to pick up women, approached her as she smoked a cigarette in the shade.  CCTV vision of Ms Contarino was captured across Las Vegas, including near a mall She was also seen at Timbers Bar and Grill near Summerlin on June 19 'Sorry, I saw that you were very beautiful and I was wondering if I could get your number, by chance?' he told her.  Ms Contarino smiled politely and shrugged off his advance, telling him: 'I have a boyfriend.' Daily Mail does not suggest Damian was involved in Ms Contarino's disappearance, and it is understood he has handed the video to the LVMPD.  On June 19, Ms Contarino had texted friends: 'I’m about to hike up Lone Mountain then go home - I fly back tomorrow.' Later that day, CCTV footage showed she was at Timbers Bar & Grill from 8.45pm to 10.28pm, north of Summerlin. Detectives said she appeared calm before leaving alone on foot. Staff at the bar said Bungalows Hostel, the hostel where she was staying between The Strip and Downtown Las Vegas, was located in a neighbourhood that is 'not great for a girl alone'. Ms Contarino's family said they have not heard from her since June 20, when CCTV captured her returning to Bungalows Hostel in the early hours of the morning. It is understood she told staff she would return for her luggage, visited a café nearby where she ordered breakfast and a protein smoothie, then boarded a bus to Mount Charleston, a hiking area north-west of Red Rock Canyon National Park. She is described as having brown hair and eyes, and a slim build Ms Contarino checked out of the Bungalows Hostel but left her luggage on June 20 Sally's sisters Lauren and Amy - who travelled to the US - are desperately trying to find her She was seen on CCTV near 9700 W Sky Canyon Drive about 1pm, and police believe she then went to hike at Mount Charleston - despite her plans to travel to Los Angeles on a Greyhound bus to catch her flight home to Australia.  To make an evening flight to Australia, she would have needed to leave Las Vegas on the morning of June 20. When Daily Mail asked LVMPD whether human trafficking was a possibility in this case, a spokesperson responded by sharing a press release about her disappearance and gave no further details. Leading Australian criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro said trafficking could not be ruled out, given Las Vegas's reputation for the crime.  The problem in Nevada is so rife that New York-based FREE International organisation to combat human trafficking moved to Las Vegas in 2010. 'We relocated it here precisely because of that reputation,' founder Mike Bartel told the Daily Mail.  Mr Bartel has intervened in hundreds of cases of women and girls, ranging from children to women in their 50s, being taken from Las Vegas for the illegal sex trade.  He said the city's pimps are skilled at identifying vulnerable women, usually isolated from their family or under the influence of drugs and alcohol when the pimps strike. 'Once you identify someone's vulnerability, it becomes a little easier to manipulate them and get them making money for you anywhere, but in particular Las Vegas where there is unlimited money flowing through,' he said. Mike Bartel and his wife Denise founded FREE International to fight human trafficking 'We've done work with young ladies who have become separated from their friends and intervened as they were [being approached] by known pimps who were taking the opportunity to try and "reel them in",' he said. He said any solo woman who is in Vegas and 'away from their network, community or family' could be vulnerable. He said a known tactic was pimps befriending a lone target and inviting her to come to a party, when in reality they are attempting to isolate her 'from a public place where there are eyeballs'. If a pimp is successful, the victim often ends up working in a brothel somewhere in Nevada, or 'on the circuit' - meaning they are transported around the country to big events where cash is flowing. 'Pimps will break their girls in on Figueroa Street [Los Angeles's sex-trafficking hub, colloquially known as The Blade] and then bring them to Vegas or Orange County when the big conferences are in town,' Mr Bartel said.  'That's part of the control they have. You keep [the victims] from being able to develop relationships or community by having them in constantly different environments.' He said a common misconception is that human trafficking victims are children - and that adult women are often used because it's harder to prove they have been manipulated. 'A lot of people think of sex trafficking in a certain way, but then you miss the 27-year-old who lives seven houses down,' he said.   Las Vegas is a known hunting ground for pimps searching for human trafficking victims Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has now opened a missing persons case for Ms Contarino and is seeking public assistance to locate her. Local hospitals have also been alerted and asked to review records in case she has been admitted. It is understood police have recovered Ms Contarino's luggage, used search dogs with her clothing and undertaken a grid search of the areas where she was last seen. Ms Contarino is 165cm tall, weighs 59kg and was last seen wearing a grey or blue sweatshirt, denim shorts, black and white shoes and a bag. She has brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on Ms Contarino's disappearance is urged to email missingpersons@lvmpd.com.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.