7 Children Who Were Abducted and Located Alive

As a parent, the thought of your child being taken from you is horrifying. It is rare to see, but there have been cases of children returned to their families days, weeks, and even years after being abducted. It’s cases like these that parents hold onto when their child can’t be found. These parents and children were blessed to have been reunited, despite the odds.

Jayme Closs

Jayme Closs was a 13-year-old middle school student living in Barron, Wisconsin with her father, James Closs, and mother, Denise. In 2018, a 21-year-old man named Jake Patterson saw her boarding the school bus and decided then that he was going to take her. After extensive planning, Patterson went to the Closs family home and well after midnight, began beating on their front door.

When John Closs peered out the window to see who was at the door, Patterson fatally shot him with a shotgun. Stepping over his deceased body, he went in search of Jayme. Jayme’s mother Denise had barricaded herself and her daughter inside the bathroom. Patterson forced his way in and ordered Denise to cover Jayme’s mouth with duct tape. He then turned his head away and shot Denise in the head.

Patterson tied up Jayme and placed her in the trunk of his car. When he arrived at his father’s cabin, he placed her under the twin bed and barricaded her in using weights, laundry baskets, and other items. 88 days into captivity, Jayme escaped. Patterson told her that he was leaving the cabin for a couple of hours. After he departed, Jayme immediately kicked the items that surrounded her out of the way, climbed out from underneath the bed, and began walking down the deserted road.

Jayme happened upon a woman walking her dog, who recognized Jayme from the media coverage surrounding her disappearance. The woman took her to a nearby home where they called the police.

When Patterson arrived back at the cabin and realized that Jayme was gone, he began to ride around the area to try and find her. As he was driving around, the police that had responded to Jayme’s call pulled him over and arrested him.

Patterson plead guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and kidnapping and was sentenced to life in prison.

Jayme Closs Now

After the death of her parents, Jayme was placed in the care of her aunt Jennifer and uncle Bob. In May 2019, she was awarded the “Hometown Hero” award in Madison, Wisconsin for her bravery. Now 16 years old, Jayme is still living with her aunt and uncle and enjoys her time at school and dancing.

Kara Robinson

Kara Robinson was 15 years old when she was abducted from her friend’s front yard. It was 2002 in Columbia, South Carolina when a stranger pulled up and asked to show her some brochures. When she approached the vehicle, the suspect, Richard Evonitz, placed a gun to her neck and forced her into a storage container in the trunk of his vehicle. He drove her to his apartment where he drugged and sexually assaulted Kara.

Kara was determined to survive and knew that her only chance was to escape. While waiting for her chance, she memorized her surroundings, including the serial number of the container that she was put inside. She also took note of the magnets on Evonitz’s fridge, the animals inside his apartment, and even that that were strands on long, red hair in a hairbrush that she saw.

Even though she was handcuffed, Kara was able to free herself from her restraints the next morning, as her kidnapper lay asleep beside her. She ran out the door and flagged down a car, ending her 18-hour nightmare. She was taken to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department where the details she remembered helped to identify her attacker.

It was later discovered while searching Evonitz’s apartment that he had abducted and murdered three other girls in Virginia. Kara is certain that she would have been his next victim had she not escaped. After realizing that Kara was gone, Evonitz fled to Sarasota, Florida. He then killed himself after leading police on a high-speed chase.

Kara Robinson Chamberlain Now

At 34 years old, Kara Robinson Chamberlain works in law enforcement and speaks to groups around the country. She tells her story, educates those who work with victims, and empowers individuals to be their best. She is a wife and mother that is very active on social media. You can follow her on Tiktok.

Elizabeth Smart

Elizabeth Smart is probably one of the most famous of the “returned children”. Elizabeth was 14 years old when she was taken from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was held captive for nine months by street preacher Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee.

On June 5, 2002, Elizabeth was jolted awake by a man in her room who placed a knife to her throat. She was taken out of the home, with her younger sister Mary Katherine being the only witness. Elizabeth was taken to a campsite approximately three miles from her home. She later admitted that she could hear the voices of the searchers calling out for her.

Mitchell sexually assaulted Elizabeth and forced her to drink alcohol and view pornography. He also “married” her in a ceremony conducted by Barzee. Eventually, Mitchell and Barzee would take Elizabeth with them into town for supplies, forcing her to wear long robes and a veil over her face so that she wouldn’t be recognized.

In July 2002, Mitchell broke into Elizabeth’s cousin’s home, where he intended to abduct her cousin and make her another of his brides. Fortunately, he was unsuccessful and the incident was reported to police.

In September of 2002, Mitchell, Barzee, and Elizabeth took a bus to San Diego, CA, where they moved between campsites and homeless shelters. Elizabeth revealed that Mitchell attempted to kidnap another young girl during this time.

On October 12, 2002, Elizabeth’s sister, Mary Katherine had a striking revelation. She remembered the handyman that had come to fix the family’s roof the previous year. She was certain that his voice was the voice of the man who had taken her sister that June.

After disagreements with law enforcement over the issue, the Smart family released a sketch of the man they only knew as “Immanuel” to the media, with hopes of assistance from the public. A woman came forward stating that the suspect may have been her brother, while Mitchell’s stepson identified him after seeing the sketch on America’s Most Wanted.

Elizabeth was able to talk her abductors into taking her back to Salt Lake City after telling them that she “believed” that God wanted them to return there. On March 12, 2003, Elizabeth, Mitchell, and Barzee were sighted walking down a street in Sandy, Utah. Elizabeth was taken into police custody and reunited with her family.

Wanda Barzee was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for her role in Elizabeth’s kidnapping and an additional one to 15 years for the attempted kidnapping of Elizabeth’s cousin, to be served concurrently. Mitchell was given a life sentence for his crimes.

Elizabeth Smart Gilmour Now

Elizabeth is now a child safety activist and commentator for ABC News. The founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, she works to bring an end to the victimization and exploitation of children through prevention, recovery, and advocacy. She is married and has three children.

Jaycee Lee Dugard

Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped in 1991 when she was only 11 years old. She spent the next 18 years of her life being held captive, sexually assaulted, and was forced to give birth to two children.

Jaycee was abducted outside of her home in South Lake Tahoe, California by Phillip and Nancy Garrido. Garrido rolled down the window of the car and tased Jaycee with a stun gun. Her stepfather witnessed the abduction but was unable to catch up to the vehicle that Jaycee was forced into.

Over the years, Jaycee’s case was featured on several TV shows, including America’s Most Wanted, but without any new leads, her case went cold. For 18 years.

In 2009, convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido visited the University of California-Berkeley police office with two adolescent girls. He was there to get a permit to hold a special event on campus as part of his “God’s Desire” program. They were reported to authorities due to their suspicious behavior. Garrido’s parole officer ordered him to take the girls to a parole office. Garrido and the girls were accompanied by a woman, who was identified as Jaycee, the girls’ mother. He and his wife Nancy were arrested by police.

It was later determined that for the past 18 years, Jaycee had been confined in tents, sheds, and lean-tos behind the Garrido house in Antioch, California. She was repeatedly raped by Garrido, which led to her becoming pregnant and giving birth to two daughters. At the time she was located, her daughters were 11 and 15.

Garrido was sentenced to 431 years in prison and his wife Nancy was sentenced to 36 years to life.

Jaycee Dugard Now

Jaycee now lives a mostly normal life. She was reunited with her family, obtained custody of her daughters, and completed animal therapy to cope with her ordeal. Jaycee works with organizations to help create a more victim-focused approach among law enforcement agencies. She also operates the JAYC, Just Ask Yourself to Care, Foundation, which helps others recover from major life traumas.

Carlina White

In 2005, Nejdra Nance was a senior in high school in Bridgeport, Connecticut when she discovered she was pregnant. She needed prenatal care and knew that she could get free services from the state. She just needed to fill out the forms and provide documentation, such as her birth certificate.

Nejdra, also known as Netty, asked her mother, Ann Pettway, for a copy of her birth certificate. After Ann continued to stall in providing one, Netty visited the Connecticut Bureau of Vital Statistics, where she was told that they were unable to find any records under her name and date of birth. She was even accused of attempting to obtain a false identity.

A few days later, Ann admitted to Netty that she was not her biological mother, and told her that she had been abandoned at birth. In 2013, while living in Atlanta, Netty located a photo on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s Website of a baby that looked just like her baby pictures and of her daughter, Semani.

She contacted the center, who assisted her in narrowing down the search for her biological parents. After comparing her photos and birthmark to that of baby Carlina, the NYPD contacted Joy White and Carl Tyson for DNA samples. Even before the DNA analysis had been completed, Netty felt that these were in fact her parents.

Netty reached out and began talking to Joy and Carl and even planned a trip to New York to meet them. As she was about to board her plane, the NYPD contacted her and confirmed that she was in fact Carlina White, the missing baby girl of Carl Tyson and Joy White.

Netty began a relationship with her birth parents and Ann Pettway turned herself into authorities in January of 2011. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

It was determined that in 1987, Carlina had been taken to the Harlem Hospital in New York by her parents due to running a high fever. During shift change, a woman, later identified as Pettway, posed as a nurse and walked out of the hospital with 19-month-old Carlina.

Carlina “Netty” White Now

Netty revealed that she planned to take back her birth name, but would still go by “Netty” as it was not the name that the Pettway family nor the White family gave to her. It’s what she gave herself. While she initially was estranged from her biological parents after being reunited due to misunderstandings and her continued loyalty to Pettway, they have since made headway. After the media attention died down, they were able to work on the relationship that they were denied for so long.

She participated in a few speaking engagements, including the 2014 Crimes Against Children Conference. Now, she prefers to live a private life with her daughter.

Steven Stayner & Timothy White

Steven Stayner was 7 years old in December 1972, when he was kidnapped by Kenneth Parnell and Ervin Murphy in Merced, California. After accepting a ride that he thought was going to take him home, Parnell, a sex offender, took Steven to his home and began abusing Steven immediately.

Steven’s family reported him missing to police and searched tirelessly for their son. Unfortunately, the “missing” fliers that were created with Steven’s picture were never distributed by police. Had they, they would have been located in the park that Parnell often took Steven to and one of the schools where Steven would be enrolled.

Parnell told Steven that his family no longer wanted him and were actually relieved because of the financial strain that he caused. Parnell also told him that he was now Steven’s legal guardian. Steven was forced to use the name Dennis Parnell and refer to Kenneth as his father.

Steven was enrolled in several schools over the next few years as the pair moved frequently around California. Parnell allowed the young boy to drink alcohol and basically come and go as he pleased.

On Valentines Day 1980, after deciding that the pubescent Steven was now too old for him, Parnell took another boy. Timmy White was 5 years old when he was kidnapped.

Steven said “I couldn’t see Timmy suffer. I just didn’t think it was right for him to have to go through the same thing that I did. He really didn’t have to. There was someone there who could stop it.”

16 days later, Steven took Timmy and hitchhiked 40 miles to Ukiah, California. There, they went to the local police station, where Steven told them about Timmy and said “I know my first name is Steven.” Both boys were taken into protective custody and reunited with their families later that day.

Ervin Murphy served only two of a five-year sentence for the kidnapping of Steven and was released in 1983.

Kenneth Parnell received eight years for his crimes and served only five of the eight. The sexual assault charges were not included due to the statute of limitations. He was released in 1985. He went back to prison in 2003 for attempting to purchase a 4-year-old boy. He died there in 2008.

Steven Styner Now

Steven had a difficult time adjusting after his return home to his family. At first, he was impressed by all of the media attention but after a while, he felt hounded and just wanted to be left alone. Discipline issues, dropping grades, and family squabbles played their parts.

He seemed to have gotten his life together after marrying a woman named Jody and started raising a family. They had two children together and Steven began putting more effort into his career. He even spoke on the subject of child abductions and gave lectures at local schools.

Unfortunately, on September 16, 1989, he headed home from work, and his motorcycle collided with a car that pulled out in front of him. The driver of the car fled the scene and Steven died almost immediately from severe head trauma.

Timothy (Timmy) White Now

Timothy, like Steven, married and had two children. He also spoke on the prevention of child abductions. Timothy worked as a contractor in Southern California and became a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy in 2005. Sadly, in April 2010, he died from a pulmonary embolism.

If you see anything remotely suspicious, especially involving a child, please contact your local authorities. You never know when one tiny piece of information could bring a missing child back home to their family. If you see something, say something!

***Note: Story previously published by author on Medium.com***