U.S. News

Actions

Calif. Woman Held Captive For 10 Years Escapes

Santa Ana police say they've arrested a man for kidnapping a then-15-year-old girl and holding her captive for a decade.
Posted at
and last updated

A California woman held captive for ten years was found alive recently after she gained the courage to contact police. 

The Santa Ana Police Department says Isidro Garcia sexually assaulted the then-15-year-old, unnamed victim while living with the girl's mother, his girlfriend at the time. (Via KMIR)

Then, two months later, assaulted her mother at their Santa Ana home. The victim said Garcia then drugged her before taking her to a home in Compton.

Over the course of ten years, police claim Garcia went to extraordinary lengths to avoid getting caught.

"Provided her with a new name, kept her in a garage so she could not escape, got the two of them jobs so they worked side-by-side at an overnight cleaning service, moved multiple times." (Via Fox News)

Investigators say Garcia forced his victim to marry him in 2007 before she had his child in 2012.

In many cases like this, kidnapping victims become too afraid of their captors to attempt to escape, but the victim finally gained the courage after contacting her sister on Facebook. (Via Psychology Today)

The now 25-year-old woman is one of the 80 percent of non-family kidnapping victims who survive, according to Parents Magazine.

The same is true of other victims including Jaycee Duggard who was held captive for nearly 20 years by the Garridos. (Via ABC)

And Amanda Berry, Georgina DeJesus and Michelle Knight who were held for ten years by Ariel Castro in Cleveland. (Via CBS)

As for the latest decade-long kidnapping case, the Santa Ana Police Department arrested Garcia for kidnapping for rape, lewd acts with a minor and false imprisonment.