"10 Kidnapping Victims Who Returned After a Lifetime

watchMOJO.WORLD

It took years—sometimes decades—but these kidnap victims were eventually found. In this video, we explore some of the most shocking and inspiring stories of people who vanished, only to be discovered years later. From cases of long-term captivity to unbelievable reunions, these stories show the resilience of the human spirit.  Our countdown includes well-known names like Blanche Monnier, Holly Clouse, Jermaine Mann, and more.  Which of these stories shocked you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments and don’t forget to follow for more real-life mysteries and survival stories!

Transcript

00:00We found it through her children. My mother and father submitted it to Ancestry and three of me

00:06and three weeks within them submitting it, we found my sister. Like it was like boom, boom, boom.

00:12Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're looking at victims of kidnapping or imprisonment that

00:17were found after decades of being missing. God kept me safe and protected all these years

00:22and I just want you to know that.

00:30Blanche Monnier. Being kept a prisoner is terrifying enough but being locked away in

00:35your own home must feel even more hopeless. When Blanche Monnier was 27, she had dreams of

00:41marrying a lawyer. Her mother didn't approve and she expressed that by locking her daughter away

00:46in their attic. Her family kept up the ruse, pretending as though she had gone missing

00:50entirely. Her suitor passing away and her friends being left in the dark meant she was alone

00:55with no one looking for her. After 25 years, an official received word of her imprisonment.

01:01When she was finally found, they were met with the sight of an extremely emaciated older woman,

01:06a shell of the socialite she'd been before being subject to such cruel treatment.

01:10Lydia Guardo. Being imprisoned by your loved ones is a harrowing thought on its own,

01:15much less the idea of being tortured by them. Lydia Guardo's girlhood was put on abrupt hold

01:20when her stepfather entered her life. As a young girl, she became his victim. She claimed to have

01:26made attempts to escape as a child, but was always returned by the police. The abuse escalated well

01:31into adulthood, where he thwarted more of her efforts to free herself. She remained in his clutches

01:37until his fate in 1999, when she was in her late 30s. Since then, she's dedicated her days to making her

01:44story known, and criticizing the authorities that allegedly failed her throughout her youth.

01:49Germaine Mann.

01:50A mother and her son are finally back together, 31 years after the boy was allegedly kidnapped by his

01:56own father.

01:57It's estimated that a majority of kidnappings are done by the victim's own kin,

02:01including their guardians. This was unfortunately the case for Germaine Mann,

02:06who was purportedly taken across the border from Canada into the United States by his father as a

02:11toddler. The manipulation went on his entire childhood, with him being raised to believe

02:28he was born in America and that his mom had died during his birth. Mann would have gone the rest of

02:33his days believing these lies, until interviews with other relatives revealed his location to the

02:38police in 2018. Although the search for his dad continues, Germaine was able to reunite with his

02:44mother in his 30s, debunking one of the biggest lies he'd been told.

02:48And police have also confirmed, Todd, that Germaine Mann was actually also living under a fake identity

02:54for the last 31 years.

02:56Fung Lu Lu

02:56Her story is proof that everything can change in one horrific instant. In 1989, Fung Lu Lu was still

03:04a little one when she was suddenly captured. She had been sold to another family and raised as their

03:09own, being fed constant stories that her parents had sold her after supposedly not being able to

03:14afford her. While she knew that she had been adopted, she wouldn't know her true identity until

03:19the 21st century, when she was found in a database. That information made it possible for her to be found

03:25and located, finally ending her lifelong ordeal. She was in her 30s by the time she met with her mother

03:30and father. But that didn't stop them from immediately embracing her.

03:34Li Jingwei

03:35While some children who are abducted at a young age have no memories of their previous lives,

03:40some are able to cling to them. Li Jingwei was ripped away from everything he knew

03:45and bought by another household. Although they gave him a new name, he never forgot his true roots.

03:51He spent his youth drawing what he remembered of his town, keeping it in his mind. He was able to rely

03:57on those memories as an adult, posting his drawing online in the hopes of gathering information.

04:01It was spread far and wide, allowing officials to eventually find his biological mom.

04:07They were able to embrace for the first time since he was a boy, bringing an end to their long

04:12nightmare.

04:13Mao Yin

04:13The feeling of being with your child one second, only for them to vanish the next,

04:18is every parent's worst fear. In 1988, that unfortunately came true for Mao Yin's father,

04:24who had been the last one to see his son before his unexpected disappearance.

04:28Yin's mother proceeded to spend the following decades attempting to get him back,

04:31no matter what. Her efforts helped dozens of other families be reunited, with no luck of her own.

04:37With the use of facial recognition software, authorities were able to eventually track him

04:42down. His identity was confirmed in 2020, allowing them to reunite. After 32 years and several

04:49families reformed, she was able to relax and finally bond with her son, Holly Klaus.

04:54Oh my goodness. I know you've run your picture.

04:58Her world was turned upside down before she could even walk. Holly Klaus was a baby when

05:03her parents were killed, and she was whisked away from the scene of the crime. Investigators

05:08had no idea she had been relocated from Texas to Arizona and raised by an unsuspecting pastor.

05:13God kept me safe and protected all these years, and I just want you to know that.

05:23Indeed, for more than 40 years, until her parents' bodies were identified,

05:28the police didn't even know there was a child missing. In 2022, they found her alive and well.

05:35She lived a full life, unaware of the horrific event that led to her adoption.

05:39She connected with her relatives for the first time as an adult.

05:42Well, we're not going to give up all the people that did this.

05:46No, ma'am.

05:46We'll find out.

05:47That's right. I promise that. One day we will. We will know.

05:52Melissa Highsmith

05:53Do you think you'll see Melissa again?

05:55As an infant, Melissa Highsmith had been left with a babysitter and subsequently stolen.

06:00She grew up believing her captor was her matriarch, and amazingly, was relocated just 10 minutes

06:06away from her true family. After years of being excessively sheltered and told she had brain damage,

06:11she eventually ran away at 15. This inadvertently put even more space between herself and her true

06:17family.

06:17We found it through her children. My mother and father submitted it to Ancestry,

06:22and three of me, and three weeks within them submitting it, we found my sister. Like,

06:28it was like boom, boom, boom.

06:29Eventually, a DNA test confirmed a link between one of her own children and her dad,

06:34allowing her to reunite with her parents. Shortly afterwards, she legally changed her name

06:39back to Melissa Highsmith, reclaiming the moniker that had once been taken from her.

06:44It is overwhelming, but at the same time, it's just the most wonderful feeling in the world.

06:50Susan Gervais

06:51What started out as a potential trip to Disney World ended in something much more insidious.

06:57In the late 1960s, a child named Susan Gervais was allowed to travel with a couple under the

07:01guise of going on vacation. That was a lie, resulting in her being transported from the United Kingdom to

07:07Canada and then Australia and New Zealand. She made it to adolescence without realizing anything

07:12was amiss. Even after learning the truth at 16, she was content to not know every detail.

07:19It wasn't until later on that she realized the reality of her situation and set out to find her

07:24birth parents. She had an answer within a half hour, enabling her to see her father again after

07:29over half a century. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to

07:35get notified about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all

07:40of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.

07:47Dolly Ann Henson

07:48She is living proof of how resilient some people can be. When Dolly Ann Henson was lured away and taken

07:54across the country as a young girl, she had no idea just how long she'd remain missing. Her birth

07:59certificate was rumored to have been changed along with her name, making it impossible to trace her

08:05origins. Although her kidnapper attempted to sour her against her family, she never lost hope. When

08:10her records were lost to a fire, it seemed like her efforts would end there. However, in 2009,

08:16she was finally able to locate and meet several relatives, including her sister. At 61,

08:22she had finally found what she had spent a lifetime searching for, allowing her to finally be at ease.

08:29Did any of these cases leave an impact on you? Let us know in the comments below.

08:33Never give up. God never gives up on us.

08:36Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,

08:40and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.

Category

Transcript

Recommended