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It’s late and the house is quiet.
You’re lying in bed getting to the end of the episode of The Infographics Show, “What
happens when you die.”
You think you hear a thud on the lower floor.
You hit pause and listen.
Nothing.
It was probably just the cat doing its late night prowl thing.
You hit play, but at that moment three men burst through your bedroom door, all of them
wearing hoodies; their faces hidden by gas masks.
No sooner than you drop the phone the men have your arms and are wrapping duct tape
around your mouth.
They don’t utter a word.
They’re not here to kill you; they are kidnapping you.
As you’re manhandled out of the bedroom you can just about hear the audio on the phone:
“See you next time.”
What you don’t know is there are things you should be doing right now.
The fact is some “kidnapees” are better than others.
As in the case of Machine Gun Kelly and the crime that finally brought him down.
This was the kidnapping of a wealthy businessman named Charles F. Urschel.
Urschel was what you might call a very smart kidnapee.
Why was that, you might ask?
Well, old man Urschel might have been blindfolded but he was aware immediately that he had to
start taking mental notes.
You take one now: IF YOU GET KIDNAPPED GET OVER THE FRIGHT AND START THINKING.
The men put Urschel in a car and even though the tied up man couldn’t see a thing he
knew that he had passed two oil fields that were about 30 minutes apart.
How did he know that?
You guessed it, he smelled them.
He thought he could also hear pumps.
All this time he’d been kind of counting the time as best he could.
He knew that when they stopped for gas the time was likely around 3.30 a.m.
He later told the FBI that it took about an hour for them to arrive at a house.
There was a gate that he heard being opened and then there was a second gate, all noted
by Mr. Urschel in what turned out to be a formidable memory.
That house wasn’t where they’d keep him, though.
Urschel was pushed into another car there, and because he felt around the back seat and
heard the noise it made, he guessed it was likely a Cadillac or a Buick.
He then started counting again and guessed it took about three hours to the next stop
which was a gas station.
Old Ursch pricked his ears again and he overheard a conversation at the station, which would
be very important.
He later told the FBI this is what he heard, “The crops around here are burned up, although
we may make some broom corn.”
They started driving again and he noticed there was a big rain storm, like really big,
and the men even stopped the car.
After that, they drove on and on, and when they finally stopped one of the men made a
silly mistake and told Urschel the time.
He was then led inside a house and a room that had two beds.
His bed was an iron cot.
He also heard the voice of a woman in the house, even though his abductors had filled
his ears with cotton.
Some days later he was taken to another house 15 minutes away.
There he heard barnyard animals and he also heard a man and a woman in another room, but
he hadn’t heard those voices before.
He kept memorizing this, and if you’ve seen our show on how to be a memory master, you’ll
know that old Urschel could easily have remembered everything he’d experienced so far.
To cut a long story short, over the course of a few days he heard various animals.
He heard a well being pumped and he knew that well was northwest of the house.
He heard a rope and a pulley working.
He also realized that each morning around 9.45 a plane would pass overhead.
Ok, so you amateur abductees if in his shoes might have been feeling sorry for yourself
and dreaming of bacon and eggs, but Urschel was decoding his surroundings all the time.
An important thing he noticed was that one morning it rained really hard and the plane
didn’t fly overhead that day.
What happened next is the kidnappers got their cash and they took Urschel to a town and released
him.
He then went to the police.
So, when he talked to the FBI what did he tell them of value?
Well, he thought he knew what car he’d been in.
He knew driving times to each destination.
He knew what the house might look like and what might surround it.
He also knew about weather conditions, and importantly, the time he could hear that plane.
On its own website the FBI writes the meteorologist of the United States Weather Bureau of Dallas,
Texas, was contacted.
People there said from what Urschel had said about rain he might have been at a place called
Paradise in Texas.
It made sense given what he said about travel times.
This was a place that had recently seen some corn burning.
The FBI also wrote that if he was really held at Paradise then that would make sense, too,
because he would have heard a plane each day around 9.30 a.m.
They looked at their records to see if anyone of importance lived in Paradise and lo and
behold, they got a name.
We won’t go through the whole case again but will tell you that thanks to Urschel’s
private snooping the kidnappers were eventually all arrested.
So, tip one when you get kidnapped, note everything in your mind and keep telling yourself the
story.
Your kidnapping should read like a really descriptive novel or short story in your head,
and you must tell that story over and over again so you don’t forget it.
Like any good author, Urschel envisioned the room he was in; the animals and the well outside,
the plane and the rain.
But Urschel to some extent was in good hands and those guys weren’t out to hurt him but
get the money and leave him alone.
They were actually alright with Urschel in terms of how they treated him.
With your kidnapping, that might not be the case.
Maybe you are just an average person and you or your parents don’t have much cash.
That won’t deter a sadistic killer.
He doesn’t want a pay-off, he wants to look in your eyes as he snips off some of your
most treasured body parts.
Maybe he just wants to show you some wicked love before he finally decides to strangle
you with his mother’s stockings.
You might also be the victim of a gang that just needs an innocent person for some leverage
with the police.
This has happened many times, so don’t think just because you’re an everyday guy you
won’t ever get kidnapped.
Gangsters and serial killers might sometimes have a victim of choice, but some of them
embrace equal opportunities when it comes to choosing someone to abduct.
First things first, your kidnapper likely doesn’t want to kill you right away.
But, if you kick and scream and fight and make things difficult for your captor, well,
he or they might just finish you off there and then.
If you really can’t get away, then accept that and later look for more opportunities.
If you can win the fight, fight.
By the way, if you get stuffed into a car trunk you should look for a glow-in-the-dark
cord.
Pull that when the car is stopped and it will open the trunk.
Get out and scream like you never screamed before.
Run victim, run.
If there is no cord you could also try and take out the lights and stick your hands out.
Even the most apathetic driver on the road will likely call the cops and report a human
waving from a tail light.
Of course there is a big difference from someone who wants to put your removed wiener in a
roll and eat it, to someone who is merely holding you to thwart the police, but in both
cases it might help to create a rapport with your captor.
Peter Vronsky, possibly the most important writer today on serial killers, said in his
books that there have been cases of killers letting people go.
So, don’t blow your lid and don’t start giving your captor a hard time about his body
odor.
If he is what you call a psycho-sexual killer you’ll want to keep him calm and make him
like you.
If your captor is just a mean gang member then remain calm and keep that mind of yours
working.
If they ask you to do stuff, just do it.
Don’t complain.
Any chance you get to make yourself human, like a real person, exploit it.
The notorious serial killers Ted Bundy and Ed Kemper both let people go.
It’s very likely that they didn’t want to deal with a real person.
If you get a chance, humanize yourself, and that goes for any kind of kidnap experience.
Bundy once let a girl go and she said he told her, “It's your lucky day little girl...Get
the hell out of my car!”
She thought she had seemed too real for him.
Kemper once let a person go after he spilled pills in the car and the person commented
that her father was on the same meds.
That was too real for Kemper and he even asked about her father’s condition.
She got to go and didn’t end up as decapitated play-head under the big man’s bed.
You can talk about stuff, incidental stuff, but not your kidnapping, or your abductor’s
intentions; what you learned in psychology class about freaks, or why he’s making a
big mistake.
If you see a store you like, talk about it.
If a song comes on the radio, chat about that.
Just keep things real.
Of course we are not saying don’t try to escape if you see a way out, especially if
you’re at the mercy of a demented killer, but you should meticulously plan your escape.
If you get caught trying, that might be the end of you.
If you can get your hands free, great.
But first survey where you are.
Are the doors locked?
When does he sleep?
What do you think is outside?
Is there anything nearby you can use as a weapon?
How fast can he or they run?
If you are sure you can get away, then do so, but take precautions.
But let’s say you’re not going anywhere for a while.
You are waiting and you know to be calm and create a rapport with your captor.
To be brutally honest, if your captor is the kind that is as warped as Ted Bundy, the fact
you’re still alive is a miracle.
Still, you have to keep calm.
Your composure might keep you alive longer, and hey, living with trauma is better than
decomposing with the worms.
Don’t even cry in front of this person.
Speak to them kindly if you can, and don’t get worked up.
Don’t lie to him.
Don’t think you can manipulate him.
So, don’t pretend you are best buddies or you’re actually enjoying the experience.
He will see through that and it he might just expedite your death.
You are not friends, but you are also not a threat or an annoyance.
If you’re being held by a gang don’t start asking questions about these people.
Even if you’re being held by a killer don’t ask questions since knowing stuff about people
gives you a lot less chance of them releasing you.
The less you know the better.
You can pick up stuff just by observing.
Now for some really practical stuff.
Just to stay comfortable you might try and stretch as much as you can.
To keep your mind in a good place, try and meditate and focus on breathing.
Do this when there is nothing you can observe.
When you’re being held for money or for leverage, the longer you are there the better
chance you have of getting away in the end.
These people likely don’t want to kill you since they want something in exchange for
your breathing body.
Murder is the last resort and it could mean a death sentence for them if they are caught.
Bear that in mind.
Unfortunately, the psycho-sexual serial killer kidnapped you to live out a fantasy and his
intention was always to get rid of you once he had fulfilled his evil desires.
If making yourself real didn’t work, you might just have to rely on the mercy of God
or the cops or the small chance of him just retiring on the spot.
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Imagine that you were to wake up with your hands and legs tied, your mouth covered, and
you’re in the trunk of a car..
How would you deal with things from there?
What’s your secret escape plan you’ve been imagining for years?
Tell us in the comments and let’s see who can come up with the best way to get out of
it.
Now go watch Machine Gun Kelly: The Life & Crime of Public Enemy Number One.
Thanks for watching, and as always, don't forget to like, share and subscribe.
See you next time.