An Austrian girl held captive for eight years after being kidnapped as a 10-year old has been found while her presumed abductor committed suicide, police believe, resolving one of the country’s longest-running mysteries.
Austrian police said on Thursday that a young woman found wandering in a Vienna suburb the day before had been identified by her family as the kidnapped girl.
The woman identified herself as Natascha Kampusch, whose abduction in 1998 while she was on the way to school provoked national anguish and one of the most intensive police investigations in Austrian history.
Her presumed captor, 44-year old telecommunications technician Wolfgang Priklopil, apparently committed suicide late on Wednesday by throwing himself under a train in Vienna.
It was not immediately clear if Natascha had been sexually molested but an investigation is under way into the motives of the kidnapping, police officer Nikolaus Koch told reporters.
Natascha’s parents, Brigitta Sirny and Ludwig Koch, recognised their daughter — in part by the presence of a distinctive scar — but police are awaiting the results of DNA tests for additional confirmation of her identity.
Extremely pale but apparently in good health, the young woman says that she listened to the radio and read newspapers during her captivity, but was never allowed by her captor to leave the compound where she was sequestered, in the village of Strasshof.
Her captor had apparently tutored her and kept up her schooling, Austrian television said, citing a police source.
Police said the girl was held captive in a small chamber under the garage of Priklopil’s cottage-like house, and has been gently questioned about the conditions of her captivity.
Psychologists cited by a local radio station said she probably suffered from “Stockholm syndrome”, a condition in which captives develop a positive relationship with their captors over time.
Natascha’s parents, clearly emotional in photos appearing in the Austrian media on Thursday, asked in a written statement that journalists “show patience and understanding” by “refraining from asking for interviews in the three coming days”.
Psychologists interviewed by the state radio ORF said that Natascha was well but may suffer from psychosomatic problems in the years to come.
Police said that Priklopil had been questioned at the time of the kidnapping, along with more than 1 000 other potential suspects who owned or drove a white van, identified at the time by a friend of Natasha as the vehicle used in the March 1998 abduction.
“There were not enough concrete elements against him to draw up an arrest warrant,” said police investigator Erich Zwettler. As a result, Priklopil’s house was never searched.
Natascha escaped from her suburban prison on Wednesday night, and was found wandering the streets hours later.
The police officer Koch said Priklopil “was less careful than at the beginning” of the kidnapping and that Natascha had fled “at a favourable moment”.
Natascha’s passport was found at Priklopil’s house. — AFP