The girl was so brainwashed by the psychological violence and manipulation that she could not escape, although she had a chance to escape. Moreover, even his family knew that he was being held in that house, but he was unaware of the sinister side of things.
If you are ready to learn the details of the terrifying story of the girl named Colleen Stan, whose life has turned into a hell for 7 years, let’s get started.
Colleen Stan had turned from a professional hitchhiker to “the girl in the box.”
Considering herself an expert hitchhiker, Colleen Stan was hitchhiking from Oregon to northern California in May 1977. She had already turned down two different cars before meeting the psycho family.
Later, a blue van stopped. There was a man, his wife and a baby in the car. Seeing the young couple and their children, Stan got in the car, thinking it would be a safe journey. That was the first step towards the most traumatic years of his life. She would transform from a young hitchhiker to a “girl in a box.”
The psychopath family kidnapped her to fulfill their filthy fantasies.
Shortly after Stan got into the van, Cameron veered off the road into a remote area. He held a knife to the girl’s neck and said; He stuck her head in a box that covered it, blocking her access to sound, light, and air.
Seems like; Cameron Hooker, 23, and his wife, Janice Hooker, 19, were looking for a hitchhiker to kidnap. Working at the sawmill, Cameron had intense bondage fantasies. He used his wife Janice to fulfill these fantasies until he found the hitchhiker girl, but they had now found a “subject”.
The girl was only brought out of her imprisonment so that Cameron could beat and rape her.
When they reached the end of their car journey, Stan was taken to a cellar under the house and tied to the ceiling by his wrists and subjected to various tortures, including beatings, electric shocks, and whips.
Initially, they had a verbal agreement that they would not engage in sexual activities with the girl. Instead, he had to watch the couple have sex. Later that agreement changed and Cameron began to include rape as forms of torture.
Stan was kept in a coffin-like wooden box under the couple’s bed for about 23 hours a day. That’s where the name “girl in the box” came from.
The couple had two young daughters who didn’t realize Stan was being taken prisoner and didn’t even know he was living in the house. The “girl in the box” was babysitting for an hour or two a day.
Despite being beaten and raped on a regular basis, Stan didn’t see those days as the worst. What frightened him even more was the claim that Cameron was a member of an evil organization called “The Company”. He said the Company was a powerful organization that took care of him and listened to his family’s home.
The captive girl could even see her parents, but the psychopathic family’s lies so frightened her that she couldn’t even try to escape.
More than anything, Stan feared that the Company might harm his family if he attempted an escape. Thus he submitted to captivity and even signed a contract stating that he was their slave.
Stan was gaining more freedom as he conformed to Cameron and his wishes. In addition to being allowed to work in the garden and take walks, he even visited his family. Of course, Cameron accompanied her on these visits and told the girl’s family that he was her boyfriend.
In 1984, the 7th year of captivity, Cameron said he wanted Stan as a second wife. This drove his original wife, Janice Hooker, crazy.
Janice admitted to Stan that Cameron was not part of the Company and helped her escape. Initially, Janice asked Stan to say nothing, convinced that her husband could be rehabilitated. When she realized that her husband could not be saved, she reported him to the police.
The Hooker family and Colleen Stan now live different lives.
Cameron Hooker was charged with sexual assault and kidnapping with a knife. At the trial, Janice testified against her husband for full immunity. Cameron was found guilty and sentenced to a total of 104 consecutive years in prison.
Colleen Stan has had chronic back and shoulder pain as a result of her incarceration. When she returned home, she underwent extensive therapy, eventually married and had a daughter of her own. She joined an organization dedicated to helping abused women and she also earned a degree in accounting.
Colleen Stan and Janice Hooker both changed their names and continued to reside in California but were barred from communicating with each other.
The poor woman describes those days as follows:
“Every time I was taken out of the box, I never knew what to expect. The fear of the unknown was always with me as I was left in the dark both physically and mentally.”
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