# The Child Abduction Case We (Americans) Didn't Hear About **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 25, 2006, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186 "2006-08-25T12:44:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/1 "2006-08-25T12:44:45Z")
This is such a freaky thing: > [@](#): > > VIENNA, Austria (CNN) – DNA tests have confirmed the identity of a young Austrian woman believed to have been held captive in a basement “dungeon” and sexually assaulted over an eight-year period. > > Police said Friday the woman – found roaming in a residential area near Vienna earlier this week – is Natascha Kampusch, who vanished in 1998 at the age of 10. > > And in bizarre twist to one of Vienna’s most notorious and mysterious crimes, Kampusch’s alleged kidnapper committed suicide by jumping in front of a train shortly after she escaped on Wednesday. [More at this link](http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/08/25/austria.kidnap/index.html) [And here](http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/08/24/austria.missing/index.html) I’d not heard about this until yesterday when an English friend asked me if I’d heard that this girl was found. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/2 "2006-08-25T13:51:14Z")
I can’t believe anyone can be so awful. I’m glad she’ll get what’s left of her life back. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/3 "2006-08-25T14:04:42Z")
Unfortunately, the Japanese had a case to rival this one. [Kidnap victim adjusts to life after 9 years in captivity](http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/archive/news/2004/12/20041229p2g00m0dm999000c.html) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/4 "2006-08-25T14:43:48Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth] I’d not heard about this until yesterday when an English friend asked me if I’d heard that this girl was found. [/QUOTE] This made the news here, and online. It doesn’t sound like there was much news to be had until she escaped, so I’m not sure why you think that this wasn’t covered in the American press. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/5 "2006-08-25T14:46:17Z")
[QUOTE=Telemark] This made the news here, and online. It doesn’t sound like there was much news to be had until she escaped, so I’m not sure why you think that this wasn’t covered in the American press. [/QUOTE] I can’t turn a corner without hearing about the whole Karr/Ramsey thing. I hadn’t seen anything about this on the local media here, and hadn’t seen anything all about it on here, not even in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/6 "2006-08-25T14:53:58Z")
It’s the front-page picture in today’s _Toronto Star_. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/7 "2006-08-25T15:05:18Z")
I heard about it on the local news and on the American version of the BBC news that we watch in lieu of the US networks in the evening. What an awful thing – but it’s amazing that after eight years, she still had the gumption to make her escape! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Swan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Swan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Swan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/8 "2006-08-25T15:16:38Z")
[QUOTE=xnylder] Unfortunately, the Japanese had a case to rival this one. [Kidnap victim adjusts to life after 9 years in captivity](http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/archive/news/2004/12/20041229p2g00m0dm999000c.html) [/QUOTE] They sentenced the kidnapper to 14 years?!??? How can that possibly be? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/9 "2006-08-25T16:46:56Z")
[QUOTE=The Swan] They sentenced the kidnapper to 14 years?!??? How can that possibly be? [/QUOTE] Maximum sentence for a rape charge perhaps. There was a manga released here (Japan) that was about something like this. I hadn’t realised it was based on something that had recently occured. For anyone who can read Japanese, I do recommend it though. [Here.](http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4063612287/sr=1-2/qid=1156524285/ref=sr_1_2/503-7317765-5602303?ie=UTF8&s=books) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/10 "2006-08-25T16:52:09Z")
[QUOTE=The Swan] They sentenced the kidnapper to 14 years?!??? How can that possibly be? [/QUOTE] Violent crimes are extremely rare in Japan. Prison terms are generally longer because there are far fewer criminals to lock up. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/11 "2006-08-25T17:03:23Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Violent crimes are extremely rare in Japan. Prison terms are generally longer because there are far fewer criminals to lock up. [/QUOTE] That’s not longer. ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/12 "2006-08-25T17:09:20Z")
In this situation, where the kidnap victim was held for nine years, the sentence of fourteen years for the kidnapper seems a little mild. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/13 "2006-08-25T18:21:47Z")
It’s happened [more recently](http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/face/news/20060811p2g00m0dm032000c.html) (English link) in Japan than the Sato case, too. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/14 "2006-08-25T20:36:00Z")
The story is getting around–it was in my local paper (Raleigh, NC) today. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Swan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Swan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Swan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/15 "2006-08-25T21:04:21Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] Maximum sentence for a rape charge perhaps. There was a manga released here (Japan) that was about something like this. I hadn’t realised it was based on something that had recently occured. For anyone who can read Japanese, I do recommend it though. [Here.](http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4063612287/sr=1-2/qid=1156524285/ref=sr_1_2/503-7317765-5602303?ie=UTF8&s=books) [/QUOTE] I think you’re right on, since the article mentioned that the prosecutor tried to hit him with a bunch of other obscure charges. But he kidnapped a kid for 9 friggin years. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/16 "2006-08-25T22:27:35Z")
One reads such stories as _Captured Caroline_ (warning: if you search for it, it’s erotica) and then one sees the reality. I’m just glad she escaped. As for her kidnapper, well, the less said the better. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/17 "2006-08-25T22:55:24Z")
I saw the case before. I don’t know why anybody in America would be concerned about this one case over others. Out of the many missing childern, this really is tame. ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/18 "2006-08-25T23:24:39Z")
They just had this in my newspaper today. I thought it was a little strange that a story about a woman in Austria locked up for 8 years made it in but half the child abuse cases here in Carson don’t get printed (although, to give us the benefit of the doubt, the cops are notoriously closemouthed about informing us when they bust someone). ~Tasha ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/19 "2006-08-25T23:39:48Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth] I can’t turn a corner without hearing about the whole Karr/Ramsey thing. I hadn’t seen anything about this on the local media here, and hadn’t seen anything all about it on here, not even in the Pit. [/QUOTE] I agree. I just saw it too, and it made me wonder _why_ certain ones filter to the top (JonBenet and Natalee Holloway), while others, like this one, are virtually unknown in a global sense. Is it because her family isn’t rich? Or she’s not displayed to the nines like the other girls were? What? I mean, I realize with the sheer volume, that many will never come to the public’s attention. But exactly what factors keep so many minority (or poor, etc…) abductions from the CNN ticker and the whole circus? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186/20 "2006-08-26T00:52:12Z")
They’re looking for Big Stories that they can replace as much hard-news coverage as possible with. If the Big Story is not about someone White and at least middle-class, it tends to scare off the ad buyers, and then the numbers don’t look good and important people begin to get canned. :rolleyes: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-child-abduction-case-we-americans-didnt-hear-about/370186.md?page=2)