Home / Crime and Justice / Kidnapped at 10, Natascha Kampusch Reclaims Her Story After 3,096 Days
Kidnapped at 10, Natascha Kampusch Reclaims Her Story After 3,096 Days
19 Oct
Summary
- Natascha Kampusch escaped captivity after 8 years, abductor died by suicide
- Kampusch was beaten up to 200 times a week, kept in a soundproof concrete bunker
- Now 37, Kampusch has written books, hosted a talk show, and bought her captor's home
In a harrowing ordeal that spanned nearly a decade, Natascha Kampusch was abducted at the age of 10 from a Vienna street and held captive in a soundproof concrete bunker beneath her captor's home. For 3,096 days, from 1998 to 2006, Kampusch endured beatings, humiliation, and confinement in the five-by-five-meter cell, accessible only through a hidden trapdoor.
Her captor, 36-year-old Wolfgang Priklopil, subjected Kampusch to severe physical abuse, with her recounting being beaten up to 200 times a week. Despite the trauma, Kampusch found ways to survive, including regressing to a dependent toddler and imagining her 18-year-old self overpowering Priklopil.
On August 23, 2006, Kampusch's opportunity for freedom arrived when she was vacuuming Priklopil's van, the same vehicle used in her abduction. As Priklopil was distracted by a phone call, Kampusch dropped the vacuum and fled, running to a neighbor's house and alerting the authorities. Hours later, Priklopil died by suicide before police could apprehend him.
Now 37 years old, Kampusch has reclaimed her story, writing several books, hosting a talk show, and even purchasing Priklopil's home to prevent it from becoming a shrine. Her remarkable resilience and compassion, even towards her captor, have drawn widespread attention and admiration.
