5 Missing People That Turned Up Alive (Part 2)
Number 1: The Ariel Castro Kidnappings
Ariel Castro kidnapped three women between 2002 and 2004 after each accepted a ride from
him and they were then lured into his home in Cleveland, Ohio. These women were, Michelle
Knight, 21; Amanda Berry, kidnapped a day before her 17th birthday; and Gina DeJesus,
14. The young women were kept in locked rooms in the upstairs portion of the house, or in the cellar,
where they were fed one meal a day, showered not more than twice a week, and were made to use
plastic toilets that were not often emptied. The women kept diaries that told of sexual
and emotional abuse, being chained to walls, death threats, and the overwhelming desire
for freedom. Knight, the oldest of the ladies, was impregnated multiple times by Castro,
who would then induce miscarriages by using severe physical violence and starvation. This
would cause Knight to become deaf in one ear and, later on, require facial reconstructive
surgery. Berry, on the other hand, was allowed to give birth to a daughter who was frequently
allowed out of the room under Castro's supervision. The womens escape was set off when Berry
was able to get the neighbors' attention by screaming for help on May 6, 2013, after
Castro did not lock one of the larger inside doors. The neighbors were able to break through
the storm door, and Berry and her daughter were able to escape. She called emergency
services and police came to scene of the crime to rescue the other two women.
Cleveland 911.
Hello, police help me I'm Amanda Berry. Do you need police, fire or ambulance?
I need police! Okay and what's going on there? I've been kidnapped and I've been missing for 10
years, and I'm here, I'm free now.
Two days later, an arrested and charged Castro pleaded guilty to 937 counts of rape, kidnapping,
and aggravated murder. Castro claimed to be a coldblooded sex addict and apparently knew
he would be arrested eventually. He was given a life plus 1,000 years sentence, but one
month into serving his time, he committed suicide in his prison cell. A suicide note
in his home stated that if he was caught, all his possessions and money were to be given
to the women he had kidnapped.
Number 2: Matthew Green
On April 8, 2010, British roofer Matthew Green disappeared after telling his parents that
he was going to meet a friend in London for the weekend. With him, he took along identification
materials - including his passport, birth certificate, driving license, bank card, and
a permit for him to work on construction sites, and a significant amount of cash. His
bank account, however, remained untouched throughout his disappearance, and his passport
was not used. According to his heartbroken family, at the age of 17, Matthew was falsely
accused of rape, and these allegations led to him slipping into bad habits such as drugs
and drinking. There were six years of silence as the police failed to locate him. And then,
out of the blue, on the 16th of May 2016, it was reported that the 32 year old had been
found somewhere in Europe. This led to the closing of his case. However, authorities
refused to disclose information about the circumstances that he had been found in. This
was due to confidentiality and data protection, meaning he did not want this information to
be released. Matthew expressed wishes not to have his location revealed to his parents,
who were not even allowed to see a photograph of how he looks now. However, with the help
of a British daytime TV show, Green's parents were able to fly to spain to be reunited with
their son. Unfortuantly they very quickly learned that there son was in a psychiatric hospital
where doctors say Matthew is suffering from psychotic paranoia and possibly schizophrenia.
His parents are now trying to get him back home. How and why he travelled to Spain may
never be fully understood and a lot of mystery still surrounds this case.
Number 3: Shannon Matthews
Shannon Louise Matthews was nine years old when she was reported missing by her mother,
Karen Matthews, on the 19th of February in 2008. Her case became a major missing persons
police operation and there was plenty of publicity surrounding her disappearance. The investigation,
which involved over 250 officers, 60 detectives, and 16 specialist victim recovery dogs, became
one of the largest police search operations for a missing person in 30 years. There was
even an official website created by the West Yorkshire Police entitled 'Help Us Find Shannon'
dedicated to locating the missing girl. A reward of 20,000 pounds was offered by The Sun
newspaper for any information that could help in the investigation, but the offered amount
increased to 50,000 pounds within three weeks of her disappearance. On the 14th of March,
barely a month into her disappearance, Shannon was found at a house belonging to a man named
Michael Donovan and was discovered in the base of a divan bed. Donovan turned out to
be the uncle of Shannon's mothers boyfriend at the time. It was revealed then that Shannon's
disappearance had been planned by Karen Matthews and Donovan in order to receive the cash reward.
The plan was for Donovan to claim that he had found Shannon and claim the prize money,
which he would then split equally with Matthews. Donovan and Matthews were both charged for
their crimes and received eight-year prison sentences. Coincidentally, although not tied
to the crime in any way, Matthew's boyfriend Meehan was also convicted due to possessing
child pornography that was found on his personal computer.
Number 4: The Balloon Boy Hoax
On the 15th of October, 2009 in Colorado, Richard and Mayumi Heene caused an international
uproar when they claimed that their six-year old son, Falcon, was inside a helium-filled
balloon floating in the sky.
Falcon was dubbed 'Balloon Boy' by media as he flew at altitudes
as high as 7,000 feet. Falcon's flight spanned 50 miles and lasted an hour before he landed,
pursued by National Guard helicopters and local police. However, the balloon was found
to be empty. Due to reports that something had dislodged from the balloon during the
flight, authorities started a manhunt in the area which brought up nothing. Meanwhile,
Falcon had actually been spending the whole time hidden in the attic at his house. The
whole incident was revealed to be a publicity stunt by the Heenes, who had appeared on a
few reality TV shows and were trying to launch a sci-fi program about the existence of aliens.
During an interview on a news show, a reporter asked Falcon about the event on live TV, Falcon
then reponded by saying... 'You guys said that we did this for the show.'
oh man. no? you didn't erm, come out? no. Did he hear you screaming out, Falcon, Falcon?
erm he's asking you Falcon, did you hear us calling your name at any time? yes, you did?
then why didn't you come out? you guys said that we did this for the show. oh man.
Richard Heene was sentenced to 90 days in jail for the hoax and was made to pay a $36,000
fine, while his wife was sentenced to 20 days of weekend jail. Later on, the incident remained
a worldwide phenomenon, which became an internet meme and was even adapted into a musical comedy
by Billy Recce entitled 'Balloon Boy: The Musical.'
Number 5: The Fritzl Case
In April of 2008, the world was shocked when 50-year-old Elisabeth Fritzl came forward
and revealed that she had been held captive in a basement prison cell by her father, Josef
Fritzl, for 24 years. Elisabeth has been sexually abused by her father from the age of 11, but
it wasn't until she turned 18 that she was locked up in a cell that her father had been
building out of a hidden cellar in their apartment building in Austria. Upon her disappearance,
Elisabeth's mother filed a missing person report. In order to prevent a search, Josef
forced Elisabeth to write a letter explaining that she was sick of staying with her family
and was living with a friend. Over the course of her imprisonment, Elisabeth was raped repeatedly
by her father, resulting in the birth of seven children. One of these children died days
after birth and was cremated by Josef. Three of Elisabeth's children were taken from
her and raised by Josef and his wife as foundlings. The remaining three children were held captive
with Elisabeth, who taught them to read and write in the cell. The cell contained a television,
radio, videocassette player, refrigerator, and a cooker, but Josef sometimes cut off
their electricity and food for days as punishment. Elisabeth was freed when her eldest daughter
became ill in 2008, and she begged Josef to send her to a hospital. Josef attempted to
cover up his actions with more fake letters. But his story seemed suspicious to medical
staff, who reported it to the police and caused the reopening of Elisabeth's case file.
Elisabeth eventually persuaded her father to take her to the hospital to see her daughter,
where they were detained by police. Josef eventually confesed to his crimes and was
charged with rape, incest, kidnapping, false imprisonment, enslavement and murder and was
sentenced to life in prison. Elisabeth and her children were taken to a hospital were
they received medical and psychological treatment. It's been reported that all the children have
coped with their recovery remarkably well considering the circumstances and Elisabeth
has fallen in love with one of her bodyguards, and they are living in big house in an undisclosed
town in Austia. Elisabeth also has a new identity.
The Fritzl Case inspired Emma Donoghue's novel called 'Room', which was later made into a film.
Thanks for watching!