The Woman Kept In A Box For Seven Years

Colleen Stan, then 20 years old, was travelling from Eugene, Oregon, where she was from, to northern California. She saw herself as a pro at hitchhiking and had declined two trips on that particular May day.

But when a blue van stopped in Red Bluff, California, Stan noticed that it was being driven by a man who had a kid in the backseat and his wife in the passenger seat. Stan agreed to the journey since she thought the child, young couple, and family were secure.

Sadly, she was unaware of what was ahead. Anything but safe applied to this family.

Colleen Stan's Kidnapping

Cameron Hooker, a 23-year-old male, and his wife, Janice, a 19-year-old woman, were involved. They discovered that they had been actively searching for a hitchhiker to abduct. A timber mill worker named Cameron had vivid thoughts about bondage. He had been using his wife Janice until they got hold of Stan to indulge his impulses.

Stan boarded the van not long after, and Cameron took a detour into a wilderness region. She was then thrown into a 20-pound "head box" while he had a knife to her neck. Only her head was enclosed in the box, which also kept outside noise and light out as well as fresh air from getting in.

The vehicle ultimately arrived at a residence where Stan was taken downstairs and put through gruesome types of torture. She was tortured, electrocuted, whipped, and burnt after being bound to the ceiling by her wrists.

The insane couple initially had a contract that stated Cameron was not permitted to have sex with Stan. Instead, after they had assaulted her, she was made to watch the pair having sex. Later, this understanding would be altered, and Cameron would start adding rape into his torture techniques.

"The Girl In The Box"

Colleen Stan earned the nickname "the girl in the box" after being imprisoned for up to 23 hours a day in a wooden box that resembled a coffin after the family moved into a mobile home.

The couple's two young girls were unaware that Stan was being kept in the house against her choice and didn't even know she was there. "The girl in the box" would clean and watch the kids for an hour or two each day.

"I was never sure what to anticipate when I was taken out of the box. I was kept in the dark psychologically and physically, so I had a constant fear of the unknown," Stan stated.

Stan didn't think her torment was the worst part of her incarceration, even though she was often beaten and raped. She was even more frightened by Cameron's assertion that he belonged to "The Company," a demonic group. She was informed that "The Company" was a strong group that kept watch on her and had bugged her family's house.

Stan was most afraid that if she tried to escape, The Company would hurt her family. In order to maintain her captivity, "the girl in the box" even signed a document saying that she was their slave.

Stan steadily gained greater independence by obediently following Cameron's instructions. She was permitted to exercise and work in the garden. Cameron joined her on the visit to her relatives, whom she claimed to be dating.

Her relatives snapped a picture of the two appearing joyful, but due to her poor communication and lack of resources, they assumed she was a member of a cult. They didn't want to put any pressure on her out for fear that it might make her permanently vanish.

She was unable to flee or provide her family any information due to Stan's dread of The Company.

Between 1977 and 1984, Colleen Stan was imprisoned for a period of seven years. Cameron said he wanted Stan as a second wife at the conclusion of that seven-year period. It was not looking good for Janice Hooker.

Since they first started dating, Janice had admitted that Cameron had tormented and indoctrinated her, and she had learned denial strategies and compartmentalized that portion of her life.

After this crucial moment, Janice told Stan that Cameron was not a member of "The Company" and asked for her assistance in escaping. Janice first begged Stan not to speak up because she thought her husband could change. Janice reported her husband to the authorities after realizing he couldn't be saved.

The Escape Of Colleen Stan

Charges against Cameron Hooker include sexual assault and knife-assisted abduction. Janice gave a false testimony at the trial to deny him full immunity. "Unparalleled in FBI history" was used to characterize Colleen Stan's experience.

104 years were added to Cameron Hooker's sentence when he was found guilty and handed consecutive sentences. He was not granted parole in 2015. Before he can apply for parole once more, at least 15 years will pass.

Colleen Stan's seclusion caused her to have persistent back and shoulder discomfort. She endured intensive counseling once she got back home before getting married and having her own daughter. She obtained a degree in accounting and joined a group that aids battered women.

Both Colleen Stan and Janice Hooker had their names changed while remaining California residents. They don't communicate, though.

Stan remarked, "I realized I could travel anywhere with my thoughts," when asked about her fortitude through those agonizing years in prison. Stan said, "You just detach yourself from the real thing going on and you go somewhere else."

For those of you, who found the story of Colleen Stan compelling - in 2016, "The Girl in the Box", a television movie based on Stan's story, was created.