Over the years, headlines have been flooded with stories of dark, grisly kidnappings. Many of these stories are so horrifying, that they're almost hard to believe. Some famous kidnapping victims return home, but others were sadly killed by their captors. Several of the most famous kidnapping victims were abducted because their families were rich, and the kidnappers wanted a hefty ransom.
Who is the most famous kidnapping victim? One of the most well-known kidnapping stories is that of Adam Walsh. The child was kidnapped at a department store in 1981. Two weeks later, his head was found by a fisherman, but his body was never recovered. The murder was unsolved for many years, but Ottis Toole was later declared responsible for the crime. Walsh's father, John Walsh, went on to host the show, America's Most Wanted.
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20 Horrifying Stories About Famous Kidnapping Victims,
Adam Walsh
Adam Walsh was kidnapped at a department store in 1981. Two weeks later, his head was found by a fisherman, but his body was never recovered. The murder was unsolved for many years, but Ottis Toole was later declared responsible for the crime. Walsh's father, John Walsh, went on to host the show, America's Most Wanted.
Toole was suspected of the crime for many years, but a changing story and retracted confessions slowed down progress in the case. At one point, people thought that Jeffery Dahmer may have been the culprit, but that was later discounted. The case was finally closed in 2008, with Toole held accountable for the crime.
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Amber Hagerman
In 1996, Amber Hagerman was kidnapped while riding her bike in a parking lot. She was later killed by her captor, who has never been identified. Her case was the inspiration for the Amber Alert notification system.
A neighbor witnessed the kidnapping of nine year old Hagerman and called the police. The girl's mother, father, and neighbors started looking for Amber, but sadly, a dog walker found her body four days after her abduction. The crime remains unsolved to this day.
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Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped at knife point back in 2002. She was held by Brian David Mitchell, and his wife, Wanda Barzee, for nine months before she was recovered.
Brian David Mitchell broke into the Smart home and kidnapped 14-year-old Smart while her sister pretended to sleep in the same room. After Mitchell brought Smart to his camp, he repeatedly raped her, often multiple times a day.
Nine months after the abduction, a biker called police when he saw Mitchell, Barzee, and Smart traveling together because it looked suspicious. Officers recognized Smart, and Mitchell and Barzee were arrested for kidnapping.
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Michael Anthony Hughes
Michael Anthony Hughes has been missing since 1994. He was abducted by Franklin Delano Floyd while he was attending school. Hughes has never been seen since, but Floyd was arrested for his kidnapping and sentenced to 55 years in prison.
The freakiest part about this case is that Sharon Marshall, Hughes's mother, was married to Floyd. Floyd actually kidnapped Marshall when she was a little girl, raised her as his daughter, and married her later in life. Sharon Marshall's real name was Suzanne Marie Sevakis. Floyd took her and her sister and brother from their home when she was a young child, and began sexually abusing her. Her brother was never seen again. Marshall/Sevakis was found dead in a suspicious hit-and-run accident in April 1990. Floyd was listed as a suspect, but never charged with her murder.
The investigation of Michael Hughes's murder is still on-going, as there are mixed testimonies associated with his disappearance. Some say that Floyd confessed to drowning Hughes in a motel bathroom in Georgia, while others say they saw Floyd bury a body in the cemetary. Floyd himself has not made any formal confessions.
Floyd is currently on death row for murdering another woman.
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Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst was kidnapped for 19 months by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974. The SLA was asking for two of their members to be freed from jail, and when that wasn't accomplished, they demanded that food be given to every needy Californian.
Later claiming a case of "Stockholm Syndrom," Hearst joined the SLA in criminal behavior before the FBI recovered her. Hearst was convicted of bank robbery, but she served a shortened sentence and was released in 1979.
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Sabine Dardenne
In 1996, 12-year-old Sabine Dardenne was kidnapped by Marc Dutroux and held captive for 80 days in a cellar. She was snatched while riding her bike to school. Another girl, Laetitia Delhez, was also kidnapped in order to give Dardenne a friend.
A witness wrote down the registration number of Dutroux's car during the abduction, and Belgian police eventually tracked Dutroux down and arrested him. Dutroux admitted to kidnapping and raping both girls. Five bodies of his previous victims were found buried in the cellar.
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Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr
Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., son of famed pilot Charles Lindbergh, was kidnapped from his bed in 1932. A ransom note was left at the scene requesting $50,000. After a 72-day search, the baby's body was found in the woods. In 1934, police arrested Bruno Richard Hauptmann for the kidnapping and murder of the child.
Investigators suspect that Lindbergh, Jr.'s cause of death was due to a massive skull fracture. Hauptmann was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was electrocuted to death in 1936.
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Graeme Thorne
The 1960 kidnapping and murder of Graeme Thorne was the first of its kind in Australian history. The culprits were trying to blackmail the child's father for a recent lottery win.
Eight year old, Thorne was taken as he waited for his ride to school. His body was found in a rug. Police suspect that he died from asphyxiation and/or a head wound. Forensic evidence was used to track down his murderer, Stephen Bradley, who died in prison in 1968.
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Jaycee Lee Dugard
Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted in 1991, when she was just 11 years old, and held in captivity by Phillip Garrido for over 18 years.
Dugard was walking to her school bus stop at the time of the kidnapping. Garrido stopped his car, and used a stun gun to capture her. While in captivity, Dugard was forced to shower with Garrido, and was repeatedly raped. She first became pregnant at age 13, and her second daughter was born three years later.
In 2009, Garrido raised suspicions after an events manager at UC Berkeley noticed that his daughters looked pale at a meeting. Officers were notified and after an investigation of Garrido's home, he was arrested. Dugard was finally freed.
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Jessica Lunsford
Jessica Lunsford was abducted from her home in 2005. Her body was found one month later behind a house where John Evander Couey was staying. Couey was later found guilty of kidnapping, murder, burglary, and sexual assault.
Couey provided investigators with a detailed confession. He raped Lunsford, and then told her to climb into a black garbage bag so that he could take her home. Instead of returning her to her parents, he buried her alive. Couey was sentenced to death for his crimes, but died of colon cancer in 2009.
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