[Click HERE to learn the story behind this picture]
VIENNA, Austria – Police have found a woman missing since 1984, who told authorities that her father had kept her in a cellar for almost 24 years and that she had given birth to at least six children after being repeatedly raped by him. The 73-year-old father (pictured, left) was taken into custody, said Franz Polzer, head of the Lower Austrian Bureau of Criminal Affairs, on Sunday. Authorities found the woman [NOT pictured, above] Saturday evening in the town of Amstetten following a tip, Lower Austria police said in a statement. The 42-year-old woman told police that her father began sexually abusing her when she was 11 and locked her in a room in the cellar on Aug. 28, 1984. During the 24 years that followed, she said she was continually abused and gave birth to six children, the statement said. She said she gave birth to twins in 1996 but one died several days later; police said they were investigating. MORE
PREVIOUSLY IN AUSTRIA: Natascha Kampusch (born February 17, 1988 in Vienna) is an Austrian woman
who was abducted at the age of 10 on 2 March 1998, and remained in custody of her kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil, for more than eight years, until she escaped on 23 August 2006. During the eight years of her captivity, Kampusch was held in a small cellar underneath Priklopil’s garage. The entrance was concealed behind a cupboard, and had only 5 m² of space (approximately 54 ft²). The chamber, which had a door made of steel, had no windows and was soundproof.[11] For the first six months of her captivity, Kampusch was not allowed to leave the chamber at any time, and for several years after her kidnapping she was not allowed to leave the tiny space at night. MORE
PREVIOUSLY IN AUSTRIA: Three Austrian girls were imprisoned by their mother in a house in a suburb of Linz for seven years. They were kept in almost complete darkness, playing only with mice and communicating in their own language. They were rescued in 2005 when police broke into the house after a neighbour, who had reported his suspicions several times, threatened a local council official with a lawsuit. MORE
RELATED: In Colombia, a nation scarred by civil strife for close to 40 years, Ingrid Betancourt shook up the political scene and garnered national prominence with a bold campaign against drug
cartels and political corruption. In the midst of her ambitious 2002 presidential candidacy, Betancourt was silenced after she was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) — and spent election day deep in the jungle, just one more of nearly three thousand such victims each year. A film by Victoria Bruce and Karin Hayes, the CINEMAX Reel Life presentation THE KIDNAPPING OF INGRID BETANCOURT recounts the extraordinary story of one woman’s fight to purge her nation of corruption and her family’s desperate struggle to free her and keep her message alive. MORE
TIMELINE OF BASEMENT CAPTIVITY AND BREEDING AFTER THE JUMP
[via THE GUARDIAN]
1977
Josef Fritzl is believed to have begun abusing his daughter Elisabeth, who was then aged 11.
August 24 1984
Fritzl allegedly drugged and handcuffed Elisabeth, locking her in a cellar at the family home in Amsteten, north-west Austria.
September 1984
A letter in Elisabeth’s handwriting appears, telling her parents to stop looking for her. Police say they believe she could have become a member of a sect.
1988-1989
Kerstin, the first of Elisabeth’s seven children, is born in the cellar. The exact date of birth is unknown. Her second child, Stefan, is born around a year later.
May 1993
A nine-month-old baby is found outside the family home along with a note from Elisabeth asking for the child to be cared for.
December 1994
Another baby, Monika, is discovered outside the house along with another note asking for care. Elisabeth’s parents are given permission to become foster parents.
May 1996
Elisabeth gives birth to twins, but one dies after three days. Fritzl allegedly burnt the body.
1997
The surviving twin, Alexander, is moved upstairs.
2003
A new note from Elisabeth arrives, saying she had given birth to a son, Felix, a year earlier. He is bought up with Kerstin and Stefan in the cellar.
April 19 2008
Kerstin is admitted to hospital with a life-threatening illness. Police urge Elisabeth to contact them.
April 19-27 2008
Fritzl releases Elisabeth along with Stefan and Felix, the two remaining children in the cellar. He claims Elisabeth has chosen to return home.
April 26 2008
Elisabeth, now 42, and her 73-year-old father appear together at the hospital where Kirstin is being treated. He is arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse and abduction.
April 27 2008
Elisabeth and her children are taken into care. Kirstin remains in hospital in a critical condition.