The Kidnapping of Natascha Kampusch

Natascha Kampusch was an eleven-year-old Austrian girl who was kidnapped on March 2, 1998, while walking to school in Vienna, by Wolfgang Přiklopil, a communications technician. He had spent years constructing a sophisticated soundproofed cellar beneath his garage in the Vienna suburb of Strasshof, specifically to hold a captive. Natascha was imprisoned in this 5-square-meter underground room for over three years before eventually being allowed more limited freedom within the house.

For eight and a half years, Natascha was held captive while Austria and the world had largely given up hope of finding her. Přiklopil controlled every aspect of her life — her food, her education, her physical movement — and subjected her to both deprivation and, at times, more ordinary domestic life as she grew older and he allowed her to perform household tasks. She escaped on August 23, 2006, at age eighteen, slipping away while Přiklopil was distracted speaking on the phone during an outdoor task.

Hours after Natascha's escape and the police response, Wolfgang Přiklopil threw himself in front of a commuter train and died. Natascha's first public statement, in which she expressed sorrow at his death, was met with shock and misunderstanding by much of the public unfamiliar with the psychology of long-term captivity. She subsequently wrote a memoir, "3,096 Days," which became an international bestseller and was made into a film.

Natascha Kampusch has remained a public figure in Austria, hosting a television program and speaking publicly about her captivity and recovery. She purchased Přiklopil's house — where she had been imprisoned — reportedly to control what happened to it. Her case is studied extensively in the psychology of coercive captivity, particularly the complex survival adaptations that captives develop in long-term imprisonment situations.