Until 1984, few people outside her hometown of Eugene, Oregon knew the name Colleen Stan. Over 30 years after being kidnapped, tortured, raped, and kept in a box beneath the bed of her captors, Colleen (known to many as "the girl in the box"), shares her story in a Lifetime premier scheduled for Saturday, September 10, 2016.
On the morning of May 19, 1977, a 20 year old Colleen Stan left her hometown, on foot, heading toward Westwood, CA to surprise a friend for her birthday. By that afternoon, she had hitched a few rides (and turned down a few she'd been uneasy about), and was less than 100 miles from her destination, somewhere around Red Bluff, and surprised she'd made such good time. Hitchhiking was common in the 70's, and very popular among young adults, who often overlooked the potential danger of accepting rides from strangers, or, like Colleen, felt they could evaluate drivers and only accept rides with those who seemed "safe" to ride with. When a blue Dodge Colt pulled over, Colleen hopped in the backseat happily, having met a young, clean-cut couple with their 8 month old baby in the car.
The couple introduced themselves as Cameron and Janice Hooker. They chatted with her as they continued down the highway, and she felt comfortable responding until she noticed Cameron seemed to watch her using the rear view mirror. She reasoned that, despite the bad feeling that began to nag at her, that he would not be apt to do anything in front of his wife and infant, so she ignored her gut and continued on with them, even opting to stay in the car after they'd made a stop at a gas station.
As much as she wanted to object, she even agreed to accompany the couple to visit some nearby ice caverns. Since she was ahead of schedule, and they had assured her it wasn't far out of the way, she remained in the back seat as he drove down a lonely dirt road.
Moments later, in the middle of nowhere, Cameron stopped the car and turned off the ignition, and his wife stepped out of the car holding her baby. He held a knife against her throat and asked if she was going to do whatever he asked. In shock, and terrified, she said "yes". He handcuffed, gagged, and blindfolded her, and placed a plywood box with metal hinges over head. After a short stop along the way, she was taken to the Hookers' home. This would be the beginning of a seven and a half year long imprisonment, during which Colleen would be restrained, hung from the ceiling by leather straps around her wrists, whipped, electrocuted, burned, and repeatedly raped.
When she was not being used to satisfy the sadistic fantasies of Cameron Hooker, she was kept in a box not much bigger than a coffin, beneath the couple's bed. After a while, Cameron had her read an article about sexual slavery, and explained that he worked with the company mentioned. He told her that escaped slaves were hunted down, and that even their families would suffer punishments if they attempted to run away, all the while showing her pictures of her own sister and mentioning details about her hometown. She was convinced that he was telling the truth, and decided to obey his orders, lest he harm her parents or sister. He offered her a contract to sign, stating that if she didn't sign it, she would be taken away from him by the company and placed with someone else who was likely to brutalize her mercilessly.
The Hookers used her as a housekeeper, cook, babysitter, and to fulfill whatever twisted bondage fantasies that Cameron could imagine. Janice seemed to treat her with disdain, as though she were the "other woman" in her husband's life, and sought to steal him away from her. Though she was given more freedoms as years passed, she made no attempts at escaping, certain that if she tried, she would be severely beaten, or killed, and that her family would also suffer the wrath of this company Cameron worked for. He had even changed her name to simply a letter; the letter "K".
About halfway through her ordeal, Cameron took her home to visit her family, even leaving her overnight. She was careful not to mention anything to them, and returned with him the following day to face another three and a half years of abuse, and living in a box. He had gained total control over her and she did not dare cross him. It was his wife, Janice Hooker, who ultimately helped Colleen to escape from her sadistic husband in August of 1984. It seemed that she, too, had been a victim of his abuse, and had finally grown tired of carrying the guilt of his actions.
She would later tell People magazine during an interview that she managed to get through the physical abuse by going elsewhere in her mind. She explained that in her head, she could envision herself anywhere, and that it helped her remove herself from the situation as it happened.
After her escape, Cameron Hooker was arrested, tried, and sentenced to 104 years in prison for the kidnapping, sexual assault, and torture of Colleen Stan. His wife, Janice, testified against him, on Colleen's behalf, in exchange for immunity from charges. Janice had went to the authorities herself after speaking to her minister, and it was only because of her that Colleen was rescued, therefore, prosecutors felt that she, too, was no more than a pawn in Cameron's cruel and sadistic games.
In 2015, Cameron Hooker was denied parole, and told that he would remain in a California prison for at least another 15 years. Colleen Stan, meanwhile, has moved past this horrendous ordeal, and over the past 30 years has reached out to others who have endured an abduction, such as Jaycee Dugard. She is currently an advocate for abused women, and aspires to work with other victims of long term abductions, to help them readjust to life after living in captivity.
Now, at 52 years old, she has just celebrated the 25th anniversary of her rescue, and says that she has gotten on with her life, and is healed. She knows that things like this have a habit of trying to drag a person back down, but she refuses to let anything stand in her way.
Colleen Stan is a strong, admirable, and amazing woman who went through an unimaginable experience, but came out of it stronger, and determined to use her nightmare as a tool to help other girls live through theirs, and come out on top, too.