Is Buying Back My Daughter on Lifetime A True Story?

Buying Back My Daughter is an absolutely incredible story airing as part of Lifetime’s Ripped from the Headlines 2023 lineup. It tells the true story of a loving mother who is incredible desperate to find her daughter after she vanished.

In the Lifetime movie, Meagan Good and Roger Cross portray parents Dana and Curtis. When their 16 year old daughter named Alicia, played by Faith Wright sneaks out of the house to go to an end of school party, the unthinkable happens. Alicia might have been rebelling a bit in order to go to the party, however when she decides to leave the party and head home early, she is swiftly kidnapped right off the street by an unsuspecting woman.

How Was She Kidnapped?

You may believe this can only be made for TV, but sadly this is an actual true story. It is speculated that “Buying My Daughter Back” is based off the true life events of Kubiiki Pride and her daughter. In April 2009, Kubiiki’s daughter was targeted by a female trafficker who brought her into a life of terror.

The female trafficker spotted Pride’s daughter walking down the street as she was leaving the school party and offered her a ride. This is when she was held against her will and brought to a horror house – literally.

How Did Her Mother Find Her?

In order to sell her, Kubiiki’s daughter’s photos were posted on a website called Backpage by her trafficker. They were explicit. This is how her mom discovered what happened – 9 months after her daughter disappeared without a trace.

What is Her Daughter’s Name?

Kubiiki Pride’s daughter’s name cannot be divulged but the family is from Atlanta, Georgia.

In court documents, her daughter went by the initials MA.  She never even imagined she would become one of the over 150,000 people who fall victim to human trafficking in the US.

MA is portrayed as Alicia in the Lifetime movie.  Alicia plays a 16 year old high school student, though we learned the real MA was only embarking on her teen years, as she was 13 years old when taken into human trafficking.

Her mother had to take the reigns on the search efforts.  It may have taken 9 grueling months to locate her daughter, but nothing stops a mother’s love and determination.

She told The Sun, “I use Backpage, and my husband was like, they have an escort section on there too.” She continued, “And then I opened it and there was my little girl.”

Upon discovering her daughter, Pride contacted the police but was transferred to another department.  Desperate to accelerate efforts, she took matters into her own hands.  She decided to call her trafficker to book her daughter.

How Was She Rescued?

Her mom still remembers when her daughter stepped off of the train.  “She just fell on the ground and started crying,” referring to her daughter’s reaction.  It had been almost one year since she was kidnapped so her mom said, “she had lost so much weight – it had been almost a year and she was taller.”

Getting MA home was just the beginning of the recovery journey.  Nobody quite knew just how deep her wounds were.  Upon coming home, MA’s mom discovered that her hair had been shaven off, and she had several bruises all over her body in addition to stab wounds.  It didn’t stop there.  She sadly was also addicted to drugs after being raped repeatedly.  

Life After Being Trafficked

Her mother knew that her daughter needed professional help after being through such a horrible ordeal in her life.  MA was in and out of hospitals over the next year.  She even attempted to run away a few times. The trauma continues as she struggles to live a normal life going to school and work.  “She sleeps at odd times because she still has nightmares,” the mother told The Sun.

The family attempted to sue Backpage for continuing to keep MA’s photos live on their website but lost that battle in court.  The website was found to not be liable for content posted by users.  

Listen to Kubiiki Pride discuss human trafficking

To see photos of Kubiiki and her daughter, go here.

Buying Back My Daughter, the Lifetime depiction of this true story premieres on the Lifetime Network on October 7, 2023 at 8pm EST.