Meet Natascha Kampusch: Real story of The Girl in the Cellar: 8 Years Underground & her hostage-taker Wolfgang Priklopil

NATASCHA Kampusch’s singular communicative of survival, aft being held captive for implicit 8 years, continues to resonate worldwide.

Her flight and resilience successful the look of unimaginable trauma rise questions astir quality spot and the volition to reclaim one's life—read connected to observe the details of her journey.

Who is Natascha Kampusch?

Natascha Kampusch is an Austrian pistillate who gained planetary attraction aft escaping from a lengthy abduction.

She was kidnapped astatine the property of 10 successful March 1998 by Wolfgang Priklopil, who held her captive for implicit 8 years successful a concealed cellar successful his location successful Strasshof, Austria.

Natascha was raised by her parent Brigitta Sirny and begetter Ludwig Koch successful Vienna.

Her parents separated erstwhile Natascha was inactive a kid and divorced aft her abduction.

She had spent clip with some of them, having conscionable returned to her mother's location from a vacation with her begetter the time earlier her kidnapping.

Natascha managed to flight connected August 23, 2006, erstwhile her captor near her unsocial for a little moment.

Her communicative captured worldwide media attention, some for the duration of her captivity and her eventual escape.

After her release, she wrote respective books, including a memoir detailing her experiences and struggles successful adjusting to beingness aft captivity.

She has besides spoken publically astir her ordeal, raising consciousness astir issues related to abduction and trauma.

How agelong was she held by Wolfgang Priklopil?

Natascha Kampusch was held captive by Wolfgang Priklopil for 8 years and 4 months, a duration that inspired the rubric of her memoir, 3,096 Days. 

She was kidnapped connected March 2, 1998, and managed to flight connected August 23, 2006.

During her captivity, Natascha was imprisoned successful a house connected the outskirts of Vienna, kept successful a hidden dungeon astir 3 metres beneath ground. 

She was forced to navigator and cleanable for Priklopil portion surviving successful a tiny cellar beneath his garage. 

The time her beingness changed everlastingly began similar immoderate mean time for a schoolchild; she headed to Brioschiweg Primary School, conscionable arsenic she had countless times before.

However, Wolfgang Priklopil was hiding successful hold successful his achromatic Mercedes van, parked on her route.

As Natascha walked past the van, Priklopil pounced, grabbing her and dragging her inside. 

Although she struggled fiercely, her attacker was physically stronger and easy overpowered her.

 A 12-year-old witnesser reported seeing her being pulled into a achromatic minibus by 2 men, though Natascha aboriginal clarified that she lone encountered Priklopil.

She recounted the harrowing moments of her abduction: “I asked him if helium was going to termination maine oregon hide maine successful the woods, but helium told maine to support quiet. 

“I was wrapped successful a broad and past carried down to the basement.

“Then I was placed successful the darkness, a acheronian room, the dungeon.

“I was successful shock. It was transportation black. 

“I kept connected reasoning that idiosyncratic would travel and find me, that my mum and schoolhouse would beryllium missing me. 

“I was convinced the constabulary would travel and prevention me, similar successful the movies and connected TV."

The entranceway to her cellar was cleverly concealed down a cupboard, featuring a factual doorway reinforced with steel. 

The country had nary windows and was soundproofed to muffle her screams.

Priklopil regularly starved Natascha to weaken her physically and forestall escape. 

He instilled fearfulness successful her by claiming the house's doors and windows were rigged with explosives, and helium often asserted that helium had a weapon that helium would usage to termination her and the neighbours if she attempted to flee.

If she cried, helium resorted to violence, further deepening her trauma.

How did Natascha Kampusch escape?

Natascha’s flight came aft much than 8 years of captivity and progressive some cautious reflection and a infinitesimal of opportunity. 

By that point, Wolfgang Priklopil had begun to spot her more, allowing her occasional privileges, similar constricted clip extracurricular the cellar and helping him with tasks astir the house.

On the time of her escape, Natascha had been cleaning Priklopil's reddish BMW sports car successful the garden. 

Priklopil received a telephone call, which distracted him.

Seizing the opportunity, Natascha saw that helium had stepped distant and wasn’t intimately watching her.

She near the vacuum cleaner moving arsenic a distraction, and erstwhile Priklopil walked distant to instrumentality the call, she made a interruption for it.

She ran 200 metres done neighbouring gardens and a street, jumping fences, and asking passers-by to telephone the police, but they paid her nary attention.

After moving for immoderate distance, she came crossed a neighbour's location and begged for help. 

The neighbour rapidly called the police, and wrong a abbreviated time, authorities arrived, and Natascha was yet free.

Recalling the infinitesimal she tried to escape, she said:  “I crept to the gross which was usually closed oregon blocked by dense objects, but not connected this day.

“I could hardly breathe. I felt solidified, arsenic if my arms and legs were paralysed, jumbled images changeable done me.

"Then I saw a pistillate successful a plot location and knocked connected her model and whispered ‘Please assistance me!’

"She asked what I was doing successful her plot and past called the police."

What happened to her kidnapper and the house?

After Natascha escaped, her kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil, realised that the authorities would soon beryllium aft him.

He fled his location successful Strasshof, Austria, and aboriginal that evening, helium committed termination by throwing himself successful beforehand of a bid astatine a railway presumption successful Vienna. 

After the alleged termination of Priklopil, 2 coroners who examined the lawsuit files determined that helium mightiness person been murdered.

It is claimed that Priklopil was already dormant erstwhile his assemblage was enactment connected the railway tracks.

Natasha's ain begetter believes his girl has not revealed the afloat communicative of her years successful captivity oregon what happened connected the time she yet managed to escape.

When told that they had recovered her captor's decapitated body, she accused the constabulary of sidesplitting him and demanded to beryllium near unsocial with the coffin to commune for him.

As for the location wherever Natascha had been held captive, it became a taxable of aggravated nationalist involvement pursuing her escape.

The location was wherever Priklopil had built a concealed, soundproofed cellar to imprison her. 

The cellar was hidden down a factual doorway reinforced with steel, making it astir intolerable to flight oregon detect.

In the years pursuing her escape, determination were debates astir what should hap to the house. 

Some suggested that it should beryllium demolished owed to its acheronian history, portion others believed it should stay lasting for investigative purposes.

Natascha herself yet decided to instrumentality ownership of the house. 

She felt it was important for her to assertion power implicit the spot that had symbolised her captivity, alternatively than leaving it arsenic a grim tourer attraction oregon a awesome of tragedy. 

She has said that she didn’t privation the location to go a "macabre pilgrimage site."

Although she present owns the house, she has not lived successful it.

The gathering remains intact but is reportedly vacant, with her determination to clasp it seen arsenic portion of her idiosyncratic travel successful processing her trauma and taking backmost immoderate powerfulness from the years of power Priklopil had implicit her.

In 2020 she talked astir her struggles with socialising aft being held captive for truthful long. 

She said:“The regular interaction with chap students was truly a fearfulness script for me.

“I similar to enactment astatine location connected my own, waiting for the time I’m not truthful celebrated and nary 1 volition recognise me. 

“Alternatively, I similar to spell retired successful stormy upwind erstwhile it’s raining and I tin person a large umbrella I tin fell behind.”

What has Natascha Kampusch said astir Madeleine McCann?

Natascha Kampusch has expressed beardown enactment and empathy for the parents of Madeleine McCann, urging them to "never springiness up hope" contempt the immense challenges they face. 

During an interrogation with Good Morning Britain, Natasha encouraged Kate and Gerry McCann to enactment strong.

She expressed her anticipation that Madeleine, who went missing successful 2007 successful Praia da Luz, Portugal, would 1 time beryllium found.

Since her flight and re-telling her story, she has been subjected to vile maltreatment from online trolls and tin subordinate to what the McCanns person endured.

“I had constabulary extortion erstwhile I was archetypal stalked.

"During my clip successful captivity my parent was accused of sidesplitting me and burying maine by a backstage detective and erstwhile household justice who wrote a book. It was horrible for her.

"She mislaid her kid and past was accused of sidesplitting me. She was precise aggravated astir it and sued the person."

She said that her parent had ne'er fixed up hope, saying:"If you suffer your kid you volition judge successful thing to get her back."

Natasha hopes her communicative and words of proposal volition springiness the mates anticipation that 1 day, they volition spot their girl again.