Documentaries About Kidnappings That Made Us Want To Lock Our Doors

Abducted in Plain SightThis film tells the story of teenager Jan Broberg. A neighbor and family friend, Robert Berchtold, took her in the 1970s. The movie uses a memoir written by Broberg and her mother.Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg StoryThe film includes interviews with Jan Broberg and her parents.

Jan BrobergJan lived with her family in Pocatello, ID. They became friends with their neighbors, the Berchtold family. Jan said Robert Berchtold "was like a second father to me." Then, in October 1974, Berchtold offered to take 12-year-old Jan from piano lessons and drop her at horseback riding.

When Jan did not return home, her parents planned to call the police. Berchtold’s wife stopped them. The FBI did not find Jan missing for several days. Berchtold and Jan later surfaced in Mexico, staying in a motorhome.

Berchtold used a cassette player recording to convince Jan aliens kidnapped her. He told her the only way to save her family was to have children with him. He also told her that if she did not comply, her little sister would have to take her place. Jan believed these lies for four years. After returning to the US, Bertchtold faced charges but reduced them.

Berchtold abducted Jan a second time in 1976. This time, he took her to California. He enrolled her in a Catholic school and changed her name. The FBI found Berchtold, and he was arrested.Berchtold was arrested.He served only six months in a mental institution.

Girl in the Picture is aNetflixThis is an original documentary about Suzanne Sevakis. A man named Franklin Delano Floyd kidnapped her when she was young. He then raised her as his own.

While held hostage for decades, Suzanne's name became Sharon Marshall.Sharon MarshallFloyd repeatedly sexually assaulted her while raising her as his daughter. He later forced her to marry him.

Suzanne's mother met Floyd at church in 1975, but he gave her a false name. After she received a month-long jail sentence for a bad check, Floyd kidnapped her children. He dropped two daughters at an orphanage but kept Suzanne, the oldest.

In 1990, 20-year-old Suzanne Sevakis died in what Floyd claimed was a hit-and-run accident. At that time, Suzanne's 2-year-old son Michael went into foster care. Four years later, Floyd took Michael, and he disappeared.

The film shows Floyd's later confession about killing Michael. It also shows the search for Suzanne’s real identity, which was not known until 2014. The youngest of Suzanne’s three children, whom she adopted, provided their DNA to confirm her identity.DNAconfirms her identity.

Floyd was eventually imprisoned for abducting his son, Michael Hughes, and killing his friend Cheryl Commesso.

Captive Audience: A Real American Horror StoryThis Hulu series features brothers Steven and Corey. Steven Stayner was kidnapped in 1972 at age 7 by Kenneth Parnell. Parnell told Steven his parents wanted him gone because they had too many kids. Parnell then started calling Steven "Dennis" and acted like his father in public.

Steven spent seven years as a hostage to his abductor and faced repeated assaults.Steven escaped at age 14. He left with Timothy White, who was only five years old. Steven chose to leave to save Timothy from what happened to him.At age 14, Steven left with another victim, Timothy White, who was only five. Steven reportedly left to save Timothy from what he faced.

After returning, media attention hit Steven's family hard. Living under constant spotlight hurt everyone. Steven’s brother, Cory Stayner, grew jealous. Steven later married and had two children. Sadly, Steven died in a motorcycle accident at 24.

About ten years later, in 1999, four women in the same area were murdered. They all died the same way. Police thought a serial killer was active. Investigators later found Steven’s brother, CoryPolice later found a red wagon and the rest of the undelivered papers. At that time, the family only had the police. AMBER alerts and hotlines for missing children had not yet been made. Johnny became one of the first missing children shown on a milk carton to raise awareness.

While Johnny’s disappearance remains unsolved, people report sightings over the years. Noreen stated a man claiming to be Johnny visited her in 1997. He claimed a pedophile organization kidnapped him but still lived in fear and could not return home. People view her story with much doubt.covers the story of 12-year-old Johnny Gosch, vanished in 1982 in Des Moines, IA. The film shows Johnny’s mother, Noreen, and her push to find him. It uses old and new interviews with her, Johnny’s father, police, and others involved.

The day Johnny vanished, delivered newspapers near his home. While on his route, an eyewitness saw him enter a blue car. His parents became worried after someone reported their morning paper was missing.

Police later found a red wagon and the rest of the undelivered papers in the area. At that time, the family had only the police for help. AMBER alerts and hotlines for missing kids did not exist yet. Johnny became one of the first missing children shown on a milk carton to raise awareness.

Johnny’s disappearance remains unsolved. People report sightings over the years. Noreen stated a man claiming to be Johnny visited her in 1997. He said a pedophile group kidnapped him but still lived in fear and could not return. Skeptics question her story.

Johnny Gosch's disappearance sparked a foundation in his name. This foundation helped create the Johnny Gosch Law,which demands police action for missing children in Iowa.

The Netflix original documentary, The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, covers the vanishing of a 3-year-oldMadeleine McCannShe was on vacation with her family in May 2007. McCann vanished from the apartment while her parents ate dinner with friends about 200 feet from her bedroom.

The film covers the investigation into her disappearance and the media's huge reaction to the case.

The family stayed at a resort in Portugal namedPraia da LuzMadeleine slept in the same apartment as her twin siblings the night she vanished. Parents reportedly walked back and forth during dinner to check on the children. When Madeleine's mother entered around 10 pm, she saw Madeleine was gone.

A wrong DNA test led Portuguese police to claim Madeleine died in an accident, and her family and friends covered it up.

When police found no evidence, Madeleine’s parents hiredprivate investigators, and Scotland Yard started its own case. Scotland Yard focused on the idea a stranger took Madeleine. One suspect was a German man, but this line of inquiry yielded nothing.

The case remains unsolved. The film also discusses other possible suspects, local police reactions, media coverage, and countless rumors about the case.

Amber: The Girl Behind the Alertcovers the story ofAmber Rene HagermanShe was nine years old. She visited her grandparents in Arlington, TX. Someone abducted her while she rode her bike in a grocery store parking lot. An eyewitness saw someone put her into a truck. Four days later, a passerby found her body about four miles from the store near the Forest Hill Apartments.

The case remainsunsolved, but the investigation continues. A $10,000 reward exists for information leading to an arrest. The Arlington Police Department asks anyone with information to call detectives at (817) 575-8823.

Police showed they have DNA evidence, but it has not broken the case yet. The suspect seen putting Hagerman in a vehicle was a white or Hispanic male in his 20s or 30s. He is under six feet tall with brown or black hair.

Law enforcement felt others might have seen something helpful to solve the case, but they did not know how to use the information—or if it mattered. In 1997, this caused the Dallas Amber Plan. The plan started TV and radio broadcasts to instantly tell the public about missing minors so locals knew what to look for and who to contact.

The plan became theAMBER alert system, which stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. Over 1,000 children have been helped by these alerts.

Abducted: The Carlina White StoryThis covers Carlina White's abduction. A woman named Ann Pettway took her as a baby from a New York hospital. Pettway did this because she had suffered multiple miscarriages and wanted a child.

White's parents, Joy White and Carl Tyson, brought her to the...Harlem Hospital.White got a high fever at three weeks old. She disappeared during her stay. Pettway committed the crime by pretending to be a nurse and walking the baby out of the hospital.

Pettway raised White in Connecticut as her own daughter, renaming her Nejdra Nance. As White grew, she began to doubt Pettway was her real mother.

When White turned 16, she became pregnant. She needed her birth certificate and social security number for medical care. Pettway lied, claiming she did not have them and made up a story about someone leaving White on her doorstep.

White found out her true identity by contacting theNational Center for Missing and Exploited Children.White reunited with her parents in early 2011. In July 2012, the court put Pettway on trial and sentenced her to 12 years in prison for kidnapping White.

CropseyThis film shows a New York urban legend about a boogeyman named Cropsey. It also covers the real case of convicted child abductor Andre Rand, whose crimes might link to Cropsey.

The Cropsey legend involves an unknown figure who kidnapped children and took them to an abandoned tunnel system under an old hospital to kill them. Various real and fake disappearances were linked to Cropsey. In 1987, a local man namedAndre RandAndre Rand was found connected to crimes like those Cropsey supposedly committed.

Rand worked as a janitor at a state school for children with intellectual disabilities. This setting was abusive and unsafe for students. He was homeless and lived near an old hospital and an abandoned school.

Rand had a history of crimes against children. These included sexual assault and an incident where he kidnapped a bus full of children. Rand was first arrested for the disappearance of 12-year-old studentJenifer Schweiger.Her body later surfaced on the school grounds where he lived.

Authorities think Rand might be connected to more missing children cases from that time. He later received a guilty verdict for one case and will not be eligible for parole until 2037.

Elizabeth Smart: AutobiographyThis covers Smart’s experience being abducted and held hostage. It also shows law enforcement's work locating her. The film shows Smart's current life and how she has overcome her trauma.

InJune 2002.Smart, age 14, lived in Salt Lake City, UT, with her family. Someone abducted her from her bedroom at night and held her until March 2003. Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, husband-and-wife religious fanatics, were her abductors.

Mitchell first held Smart in the forest behind her home. There, he claimed to be a prophet and polygamist, declaring Elizabeth his wife. For nine months, Elizabeth lived with the couple in Utah and California, where she faced regular assault and drugging.

Elizabeth’s sister, Mary Katherine, recalled the man who entered their room looked like a handyman who worked on their house. Authorities later identified the man as Mitchell.

His picture appeared in an episode of America’s Most WantedA passerby recognized both him and Elizabeth on March 12, 2003.

The five-part HBO documentary seriesAtlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost ChildrenThis series covers the kidnapping and murder of at least 30 African American children and adolescents in the Atlanta, GA, area from 1979 to 1981. It also shows how investigators first handled cases poorly, how they reopened them, and interviews with those involved.

The first victims are Edward Hope Smith, 14, and Alfred Evans, 13. Their bodies were found in a wooded area after they disappeared.

As victims rose, the city imposed curfews. Parents kept children inside. Over 100 FBI agents worked the case. Law enforcement then suspected the killer dumped victims in water to hide evidence. This made investigators check many bridges in the area.

One bridge crossed the Chattahoochee River. On May 22, 1981, police heard a loud splash. They then saw a white Chevrolet drive over the bridge. Police stopped the driver and identified him asWayne Williams.

Williams, age 23 then, told police he was a music producer auditioning a female singer. However, police could not find the woman or any record of the audition. Williams eventually faced indictment for the crimes. He was quickly foundguiltyHe was guilty of the murders and connected to the murders of 10 younger children. This caused many child victims' cases to close without a trial.

Some people think the case ended too fast. They feel the investigation lacked full review, leaving many open questions and doubt about Williams’s guilt. Because of this doubt, the series looks at other possible suspects and how the investigation might have been biased.