List of long-term false imprisonment cases

This is a list of notable long-term false imprisonment cases.

Cases involving children imprisoned by relatives

• Turpin case, Perris, California, United States, 29 years, ^{[1] [2] [3]} discovered on 14 January 2018.
• Lydia Gouardo, Val-de-Marne, France, 28 years, discovered on 20 November 1999. ^[4]
• "M" and her children, Moe, Victoria, Australia, 28 years, discovered in February 2007.
• Mirella case, Świętochłowice, Poland, 27 years, discovered in July 2025. ^{[5] [6] [7]}
• Elizabeth Wesson, her sisters, her children, her nieces and her nephews, Fresno, California, US, 26 years, discovered on 12 March 2004.
• Blanche Monnier, Poitiers, France, 25 years, discovered on 23 May 1901. ^{[8] [9] [10]}
• Sheffield incest case, UK, 25 years, discovered in November 2008.
• Alba Nidia Álvarez, Mariquita, Colombia, 25 years, ^{[11] [12]} discovered in March 2009.
• "Laura" Mongelli, Turin, Italy, 25 years, discovered on 27 March 2009.
• Elisabeth Fritzl and her children, Austria, 24 years, ^[13] discovered on 26 April 2008.
• Lucero case, Argentina, 20 years, discovered in May 2009. ^{[14] [15]}
• South Wales paternal sex abuse case, South Wales, UK, 20 years, discovered in October 2019. ^{[16] [17] [18] [19]}
• "S", Waterbury, Connecticut, United States, 20 years, discovered on 17 February 2025. ^{[20] [21]}
• Rosalynn McGinnis, Missouri, United States, 19 years, escaped in 2016. ^[22]
• "Genie", Arcadia, California, United States, 13 years, ^[23] discovered on 4 November 1970.
• Schollenberger case, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, United States, 10 years, discovered in May 2020. ^[24]
• Drenthe hermits family of six children, Ruinerwold, the Netherlands, at least 9 years, discovered in October 2019. ^{[25] [26]}
• Viktoria, Katharina, and Elisabeth (Linz sisters), Linz, Austria, 7 years. ^[27]
• "Anna", Perryopolis, Pennsylvania, United States, 6 years, discovered on 6 February 1938.
• Jürgen Bartsch, Langenberg, Germany, 6 years. ^[28]
• Jeffrey Baldwin, Toronto, Canada, 4 years, discovered on 30 November 2002. ^[29]
• Byron Anthony McCane II, Oklahoma, United States, 2 years, discovered in 1983.
• Rader/Beighley case, Pennsylvania, United States, 1 year, discovered in June 2014. ^{[30] [31] [32]}
• Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Solihull, West Midlands, England, 1 year, discovered in June 2020. ^[33]

Cases involving abducted children

• Jayme Closs, kidnapped after her parents' murder and held for 88 days, discovered on 10 January 2019.
• Murder of Sylvia Likens, a teenager tortured and repeatedly held captive in the basement by her caretaker and her children and their friends for three months, discovered on 26 October 1965.
• Jaycee Dugard, kidnappers Phillip and Nancy Garrido, Antioch, California, US, 18 years, discovered on 26 August 2009. ^{[34] [35]}
• John Jamelske, serial rapist-kidnapper who, from 1988 to his apprehension in 2003, kidnapped a series of girls and women and held them captive in a concrete bunker beneath the yard of his home in DeWitt, a suburb of Syracuse, New York, US. All five of his victims were from different ethnic origins and most from different age groups.
• Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby, kidnapper Michael J. Devlin, Kirkwood, Missouri, US, 4 years, discovered on 12 January 2007. ^[36]
• Florence Sally Horner, kidnapper Frank La Salle, Camden, New Jersey, US, 1 year 9 months, discovered on 22 March 1950. ^[37]
• Tanya Nicole Kach, kidnapper Thomas Hose, McKeesport, Pennsylvania, US, 10 years, discovered on 21 March 2006. ^{[38] [39] [40]}
• Natascha Kampusch, kidnapper Wolfgang Přiklopil, Vienna, Austria, 8 years, discovered on 23 August 2006. ^[9]
• Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight, and Georgina "Gina" DeJesus, kidnapper Ariel Castro, Cleveland, Ohio, US, 9 to 11 years, discovered on 6 May 2013. ^{[41] [42] [43]}
• Katya Martynova and Lena Samokhina, kidnapper Viktor Mokhov, Skopin, Ryazan, Russia, 3 to 4 years. ^{[44] [45]}
• Anna Saito, kidnapper Kabu Terauchi, Higashi-Nakano, Tokyo, Japan, 2 years. ^{[46] [47]}
• Fusako Sano, kidnapper Nobuyuki Satō, Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, 9 years, discovered on 28 January 2000. ^[48]
• Santa Ana kidnapping accusation of 15-year-old girl, held by Isidro Garcia, Santa Ana, California, US, 10 years, discovered on 19 May 2014. ^{[49] [50]}
• Elizabeth Smart, kidnappers Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, Salt Lake City, Utah, and San Diego County, California, US, 9 months, discovered on 12 March 2003. ^[51]
• Steven Stayner, kidnappers Kenneth Parnell and Ervin Murphy, Merced, California, US, 7 years, discovered on 1 March 1980. ^[52]
• 7-year-old girl kidnapped by a school bus driver in Medellín, Colombia, in early 2012. Escaped in February 2024 after being held captive for 12 years. ^[53]

Cases involving sexual slavery of children

• Kidwelly sex cult
• Jeffrey Epstein
• Birmingham bathing cult
• Lambeth slavery case ^[54]

Cases involving adults

• Kaspar Hauser, Nuremberg, Germany, 16 years. ^[55]
• Catharina Ulrika Hjort af Ornäs, Sweden, 33 years, discovered after 11 January 1837
• Marvin L. Maple, US, arrested in 2009 for kidnapping his grandchildren, 20 years earlier.
• Colleen Stan, US, an American woman who was kidnapped and held captive between 1977 and 1984.
• Alexander Komin, Vyatskiye Polyany, Kirov Oblast, Russia. ^[56]
• Omar bin Omran, Algeria, 26 years, discovered on 12 May 2024. ^[57]

References

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2. Carly Sitzer (18 January 2018). "Quiverfull: More Children For God's Army". In Touch Weekly . Retrieved 19 January 2018.
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4. "French incest victim says world ignored her plight". 29 April 2008.
5. "Horror w Świętochłowicach? Rodzice mieli więzić ją w pokoju przez 27 lat. Służby weszły do mieszkania". Onet.pl. 14 October 2025.
6. "Została skreślona z listy uczniów, 27 lat nie wychodziła z domu". TVN24. 15 October 2025.
7. "Była przetrzymywana w domu 27 lat? Policja wydała komunikat". TVP3. 14 October 2025.
8. "Blanche Monnier was imprisoned in a tiny room for 25 years because her mother hated her choice of husband". 5 January 2018.
9. ObsoleteOddity (12 November 2017). "The French Socialite Locked in her Attic for 25 Years ▭ Blanche Monnier (Narrated Version)" – via YouTube.
10. "The Miserable Imprisonment of Blanche Monnier - Mandatory". 6 February 2015.
11. Semana (29 April 2009). "The daughter of the Colombian monster". The daughter of the Colombian monster.
12. Bronstein, Hugh (29 March 2009). "Colombia rocked by father-daughter incest case". Reuters.
13. Bell, Bethany (2 May 2008). "The Children of the Cellar". Time– via content.time.com.
14. "Urgente24 - primer diario online con las últimas noticias de Argentina y el mundo en tiempo real". Urgente24 - primer diario online con las últimas noticias de Argentina y el mundo en tiempo real.
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55. "The lingering legend of Kaspar Hauser: the semi-feral mystery child of Nuremberg". 27 May 2014.
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