Police Search For Woman Who Allegedly Enslaved Three Children

Monroe, NC -- The Union County Sheriff's Department are continuing their search for Mercedes Farquharson. She is accused of forcing three girls she adopted to work for her as slaves.

Police rescued the three young women at their home on Hampton Downs Road in Monroe.

The Union County Sheriff's Department says Mercedes Farquharson forced the girls she lived with into slavery.

The girls were her adopted children and lived with her for the past 12 years.

The youngest, a 15-year-old girl, is in the custody of the Department of Social Services. Her two older sisters, ages 18 and 20, are living with another woman who took them in.

Neighbors didn't want to talk to Eyewitness News on camera Monday, but said they saw the girls tending to countless farm animals on the property.

They noticed the women worked at all hours of the day. Neighbors say the girls were timid. They say they now know why.

Investigators believe Farquharson may have fled the country.