A 25-year-old woman called Stephanie Slater has been kidnapped. Police are waiting for her captor to make contact. The Girl in The Box: The Kidnapping of Stephanie Slater I, Channel 5 2025
This was a man who had killed before. ibid.
‘Whatever the outcome I’ll always love you. Look after the cat for me.’ ibid. Stephanie’s taped message
‘An anxious man is becoming a dangerous man.’ ibid. rozzer
In July 1991, 6 months before Stephanie’s kidnap, an 18-year-old Leeds woman called Julie Dart had gone missing. ibid.
The ransom run starting in a call box at Birmingham New Street went ahead, but the operation was a failure. ibid.
In the days that followed Julie’s murder, police in Leeds scanned for clues in the letters from the killer and the victim. ibid.
‘He wants to be considered as a compassionate psychopath.’ ibid. rozzer
His escape now meant that Stephanie’s life hung in the balance. The Girl in The Box: The Kidnapping of Stephanie Slater II,
‘Oh my God, Stephanie has just stepped through the front door.’ ibid. rozzer
The one person who knew more about the kidnapper than anyone else was about to face the press. ibid.
A joint task force was set up to investigate both cases. ibid.
By the time Crimewatch had ended that night, over 13,000 calls had been received. ibid.
‘Yes, I’ve been expecting you.’ ibid. Sams to rozzer
In 2007, 3-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from her family’s holiday apartment in Portugal. Madaleine McCann: The Unseen Evidence, Channel 4 2024
There remains one prime suspect: convicted paedophile Christian Bruckner. Currently in prison for rape, he is due to be released this year. ibid.
Police had first started investigating him in 2017 after a witness identified him. ibid.
Police were called to an address in East Germany, an abandoned box factory owned by a man living on the fringes of society, Christian Bruckner. ibid.
A wallet containing 6 USB sticks and 2 memory cards … They found 75 toddlers’ swimsuits. There were preschooler bikes and toys as well as three working guns with ammunition … ibid.
2 years before Madeleine McCann disappeared, Bruckner broke into the home of a 72-year-old American woman in the same resort. ibid.
On the night Madeleine disappeared, a call was made to Bruckner’s mobile phone at around 7:30 p.m. That data places his phone in the area on the evening she vanished. ibid.
But is there more evidence to come? ibid.
Crunch time in the Madeleine McCann investigation as police zero in. The brave woman who could shed new light on this 18-year mystery. 60 Minutes Australia: Madeleine McCann, 2025
The most high-profile child abduction case in history. ibid.
To prevent the looming freedom of the prime suspect in the case, German paedophile and rapist, Christian Bruckner. ibid.
[999 call]: Hiya, I want to report my daughter as missing please. The Hunt for Shannon Matthews I, Amazon 2025
The biggest job since the Yorkshire Ripper. ibid. rozzer
But what they do have is a great sense of community. ibid. comment
More than 200 police officers just have one thing on their mind. ibid.
The community still turned out in all weathers. ibid. rozzer
Karen’s behaviour was a little bit strange at times. ibid.
They told us Michael Donovan had been arrested for kidnapping his own child. ibid.
[rozzer]: This was a much darker story than what at first appeared. The Hunt for Shannon Matthews II
They’d found Michael Donovan also under the bed. ibid.
Within an hour all of Dewsbury knew. ibid. comment
She had been given prescription over quite a long period of time. ibid. rozzer
When Donovan was arrested he implicated Karen. ibid.
It was as if she was enjoying the publicity. ibid.
Karen came up with so many different accounts of what had happened. ibid. rozzer
She totally denied it was about the reward money. ibid.
She kidnapped her own daughter and lied about it. ibid. BBC News
[victim]: ‘They brought me to Belfast. I was made to work as a sex slave.’ The Crime I Can’t Forget s2e2: Breaking the Sex Trafficking Ring, BBC 2025
‘We were seeing many more foreign nationals being brought in. It raised some suspicions.’ ibid. Rozzer
‘I was snatched off the street. I was kidnapped.’ ibid. victim
They discovered evidence of brothels springing up right across Northern Ireland, and suspected other women were being trafficked. ibid.
This is Alex Batty. He was 11 years old when he went missing during what was supposed to be a family vacation to Spain. He just disappears without a trace. Kidnapped By My Mum, BBC 2016
I need to go back and try to understand more about my mum and about why she did what she did. ibid. Alex
They called Child Protective Services but no-one did anything. I’m so mad. ibid.
He was wary. He was very tired and disorientated. He explained that his family, his grandfather and his mother are part of a spiritual group who have rejected society. And he fled the spiritual group. ibid. rozzer
From the moment he got back the investigation started. ibid.
Threre were a lot of very, very bad days. ibid. Alex
Alex Batty went on holiday to Spain but hasn’t returned. His mother and grandfather, who are not his legal guardians, are wanted in connection with his disappearance. ibid. news
She [mom] was perfectly healthy to work, and she never did. ibid.
It was a kind of relief, to be honest, to see the police. ibid.
[comment]: Taking the girls from us has caused much pain for them, pain for us and our families. Maybe you’ve wondered how you could ever make it right. Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric and Elizabeth? I, HBO 2024
It was absolutely shocking. Elizabeth [Collins] was 8 and Lyric [Cook] was 10. When something like happens in your backyard it pisses you off. ibid.
I just knew something was wrong immediately. ibid. mom
They wanted me to identify some bikes at Meyers Lake. ibid. dad
I screamed. There was no way I could lay my head down to sleep. ibid. mom
Cedar Falls suburbs: a massive search for two little girls. ibid. Nancy Grace, TV news
There was a white van there that day across the street. ibid. witness
We’d just see more and more remains strwen across the whole area. ibid. couple
This is a fucking monster who did this. ibid. dad