Nightmare in Fargo: Woman Held Captive for Two Years

When a maintenance worker in a Fargo apartment complex heard faint, muffled cries on a Tuesday evening, he didn’t think he’d stumble onto a scene that felt ripped from a nightmare. He called 911, and officers arrived to find a woman literally chained to a bed.

The woman, an American citizen, was bound at the ankle with a heavy chain and a padlock, the metal wrapped in a foam pool noodle to hide the harsh edges. The chain ran along the headboard and foot of the bed, bolted with washers and nuts, and a security camera pointed unblinkingly at her battered form.

Paramedics rushed her to a hospital where, through a translation app, she told investigators that she had been brought to the United States from Mexico in 2024 by a man named Arturo Calzada Becerril. He and his girlfriend, Erendira Amoles, allegedly kept her locked in the bedroom, feeding her only twice a day and forcing her to use a bucket for waste.

According to court filings, Calzada Becerril claimed he needed to keep her “under lock and key” so she wouldn’t run away and resume drug use. In reality, prosecutors say the motive was far more sinister: he wanted to exploit her to strengthen his own immigration case.

The victim’s body bore the marks of her ordeal—bruises on her arms, legs and face, a scar on her forehead from a punch, and evidence of repeated beatings. She also reported that at one point both Calzada Becerril and Amoles pinned her down, assaulted her physically and sexually.

Neighbors were stunned. “We have security walking the hallways every night from six to eleven,” said Erin Schauer, who lives in the same building. “It’s scary. We hear about this stuff on the news, but it was right over our heads.” Another resident, Reed Bertsch, admitted he never imagined anyone could be trapped in his building, calling the discovery “unbelievable.”

After the rescue, Amoles returned to the apartment with her eight‑year‑old daughter, apparently unaware that police were already on the scene. All three adults—Calzada Becerril, Amoles, and a third accomplice—were arrested and booked on kidnapping and assault charges at the Cass County Jail.

The case now heads to court, where prosecutors will argue that the captivity was a calculated scheme to manipulate U.S. immigration laws. Meanwhile, the survivor faces a long road of physical healing and emotional recovery, but at least now she is no longer chained to a bed.