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19 Harrowing Tales of Kidnapping Victims

8.

I was walking home when a minivan pulls up alongside me & the driver, a guy I had never seen before who looked to be in his mid-50s, rolls down his window, asking me if I wanted a ride. I said no, & he insisted, rolling his car alongside me as I continued to walk. I remember he called me “little girl” which was creepy. He kept this up until I said, “I’m not going with you, please leave me alone.” At that point he pulled into a driveway in front of me to block me & another guy opened the door & started jumping out toward me. I ran as fast as I could away from them while screaming “Help!” & hoping it would scare them off. I ended up cutting through the park on that street & zigzagging my way through backyards to get to my house.

9.

One night I volunteered to walk to the corner liquor store (less than 3000 feet away). Didn’t bother bringing my phone since I’ve done it a million times. As I’m walking in the dark along some bushes, a guy pulls up next to me & asks if I need a ride. I say no thanks, he speeds off & leaves. A few seconds later, I hear tires squealing, & see the car coming back from the opposite direction, & I hear the engine rev. I broke out running at a full pace with this car following me the whole time. By the time I arrived at the liquor store, the girl inside sees the panic on my face & locks the front door & calls the cops. The guy was just sitting outside staring in. The cops arrived about 10 minutes later, in time for him to drive off. After he buzzed off, I waited a few minutes in time to see a neighbor heading to the convenience store & had him walk me home.

10.

My father kidnapped me as an infant and hid me for three days at his severely-alcoholic sister’s house with essentially no supervision. He was incredibly abusive to my mother, and after she left him due to six years of beatings and psychological torture (from ages fifteen to twenty-one) and her concern for her children (me at age one and my little brother on the way), he decided to take the one bit of happiness she had left away.

Written by Alex Cogen

Alex is a New Yorker currently living in Austin. She loves cats, grass, and latex but unfortunately is allergic to all 3. She makes mom and dad jokes more than she cares to admit (jk she'll admit it loud and proud). She isn't as funny as she thinks she is. She is the founder of thelazygurl.com.