Article content

Sometime in mid-2017, Maarib Al Hishmawi’s parents told her they had found a man for her to marry.

Soon, he would pay the family $20,000, they said, according to investigators. After that, 15-year-old Maarib would move to another city and be his bride.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Her Texan parents agreed to marry her off for $20K at age 15. When she refused, they threw hot oil on her Back to video

When Maarib balked, her parents insisted – violently. They beat her with broomsticks, Bexar (Texas) County Sheriff Javier Salazar said. They choked her “almost to the point of unconsciousness.” They threw hot oil on her.

The only way to make the violence stop was to relent – or to at least make her parents think she had.

Maarib said she would go through with the marriage. But as her wedding date neared, she was working on a plan. On Jan. 30, Maarib walked out of Taft High School in San Antonio and disappeared.

Authorities began to search for the 5-foot-5, 150-pound girl, and speculated that she may have been returned to the Middle East, according to San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT. They asked the FBI to assist, in part to help navigate language and cultural barriers that were impeding the investigation. The increased investigative scrutiny turned up the girl and what Salazar called the “heartbreaking” reason for her disappearance.