May 8, 2025 • 39 mins
At just 10 years old, Natascha Kampusch vanished on her way to school in Vienna. For eight years, the world searched above ground—while she remained hidden below it, locked in a cellar by her captor. This is the story of her survival. Of a child forced into darkness, a mind pushed to its edge, and a young woman who, against all odds, made it out alive.
In this episode, ClueTrail explores the haunting case of Natascha Kampusch — based largely on her own words, through interviews and her memoir 3,096 Days.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to Clue Trail , where every story is a mystery
and every clue pulls you deeperinto the unknown, from unsolved
cases and strangedisappearances to hidden
histories and curious twists offate.
To hidden histories and curioustwists of fate, we piece
together fragments, searchingfor the truth or uncovering even
(00:31):
bigger questions.
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.
But one thing is certain Everytrail tells a story.
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(00:53):
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It helps more curious mindslike yours find the show.
It was a normal morning inVienna on March 2nd 1998.
(01:13):
A 10-year-old girl namedNatasha Kampusch left home,
walking to school like she didevery day, but she never arrived
For her family.
It was every parent's worstnightmare.
It became one of Austria'sbiggest missing persons cases.
(01:33):
For eight years Natasha wasgone, hidden in a secret cellar
beneath a seemingly ordinaryhouse, while the world surged
above ground.
But when Natasha finallyescaped, the story didn't end,
(01:54):
because surviving captivity wasonly part of what she had to
endure.
Today, on Clue Trail, we followthe haunting story of Natasha
Kampush, a story of abduction,survival and a world too quick
to judge what it couldn'tunderstand through her
(02:15):
interviews and her memoir 3096Days, where she bravely recounts
(02:38):
her years in captivity and thepath to her survival.
Natasha Kampusch was born onFebruary 17, 1988, in Vienna to
Brigitta Cerny and Ludwig Koch.
Natasha is the youngest in thefamily.
She had two older sisters fromher mother's previous marriage
and, as the baby of thehousehold, she was often the
centre of attention.
(02:58):
Her early childhood was filledwith joyful memories skiing
trips with her parents, timespent with her grandmother and
the carefree happiness thatcomes with being a well-loved
little girl.
But as she grew older, thingsbegan to change.
(03:19):
Her parents separated duringher early years and, although
both remained in her life,natasha began moving between two
homes, witnessing the emotionalweight of their conflict and
the tension that followed.
She was a quiet, observantchild and the instability around
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her began to leave its mark.
Instability around her began toleave its mark.
Life in the working-classoutskirts of Vienna wasn't
always easy.
Her neighbourhood was a mix ofstruggle and survival, where
poverty, addiction and isolationshaped the environment around
her.
Even at a young age, natashabecame familiar with the
(04:04):
struggles some adults carried,from conspiracy theories to
mental health issues.
She witnessed it all in herneighbourhood, all of which
added to a growing sense ofunease At home.
That warmth of early childhoodgave way to more difficult days.
There were moments ofdiscipline and disconnect.
(04:26):
By the age of 10, natasha wasexperiencing loneliness,
emotional pain and signs ofdepression.
She began eating compulsivelyand at times felt invisible.
At times felt invisible.
On the morning of March 2nd 1998, as she walked to school after
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returning home from a holidaywith her father, natasha was
carrying more than just herbackpack.
Her thoughts were still heavyfrom the previous night.
She was laid home after thisvacation through none of her
fault, and her mum snapped ather, leading to a small argument
.
Natasha understood her mum'sanger was aimed at her father,
(05:18):
but being taken on her made herupset.
She felt powerless.
Walking to school, a millionthoughts were going through
Natasha's mind.
She felt misunderstood, unheardand overwhelmed.
In her memoir she describesthat moment with haunting
honesty, imagining what it wouldbe like if she disappeared and
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if that would finally make theworld take notice.
And that's when she saw thewhite van.
As Natasha walked to school thatmorning, something made her
look up.
She wasn't sure what it was.
Maybe a sound, a movement inthe quiet street, a little bird?
(06:13):
That's when she saw it, a whitedelivery van parked awkwardly
along the right-hand side of theroad and in this peaceful
residential area.
It looked strangely out ofplace In the residential area.
It looked strangely out ofplace.
Standing beside the van was aman.
He was lean, not particularlytall, and appeared to be in his
(06:35):
twenties.
He kept glancing around in anuneasy, almost aimless way, like
he was waiting for something,but didn't know what.
Natasha slowed her steps.
Something didn't feel right.
A deep, instinctive fear creptin, the kind that raises the
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hairs on the back of your neck.
She thought about crossing thestreet.
Her mind was racing withwarnings she'd heard before
Don't talk to strangers, don'tgo near unknown cars, be careful
, stay alert.
All the terrifying storiesshe'd seen on the news flashed
through her head About girls whodisappeared.
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But she was just ten years old,caught between fear and the
desire to prove she was brave,and so she silenced that voice
inside her.
She kept walking, after allwhat could possibly happen?
And yet in a matter of seconds,as she was passing by, the
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worst did happen.
He dragged her into his van anddisappeared into the streets of
Vienna.
Once inside the van, natasha wasstunned and went silent for
only a moment, but then shestarted asking questions what
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size shoe do you wear?
That was the very first thingshe said to her kidnapper.
She then fired off questions,one after another, which might
seem like a strange reaction fora 10-year-old in such a
terrifying moment.
But Natasha later explainedthat she'd seen episodes on TV,
on Austria versions ofCrimewatch, and she remembered
something If you're ever taken,try to gather as much
(08:33):
information as you can.
It was an act of courage and itwas also a child's way of
trying to understand theunthinkable.
Her kidnapper didn't answer herquestions.
Instead, he yelled at her andtold her to be quiet.
(08:58):
He then drove Natasha to somewoods nearby.
She started panicking.
All she could think about wasthe news about few young girls
in Austria being molested byorganized gang, something she's
seen in the press and on TV.
In that moment, she asked himanother question Are you going
to molest me?
Question to which he finallyreplied with you're too young
(09:21):
for that, I would never do that.
You're too young for that, Iwould never do that.
He then started mumbling I'llturn you over and then I'll have
nothing more to do with you.
We'll never see each otheragain, he said, and he kept
repeating that over and over.
That undoubtedly scared Natasha, but as they kept waiting,
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nothing happened.
No one came.
He then drove her out of Viennato a quiet suburb called
Strashof.
There, behind the walls of anordinary home, he'd spent years
preparing for what he planned todo Placing a blanket over her
head.
He then carried her through hisgarage and opened a hidden
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trapdoor.
What lay beneath was somethingout of a nightmare.
To reach the room, you had togo down a staircase, pass
through a hollowed-out concretewall, crawl through a small
metal hatch concealed behind acupboard.
This wasn't only a passagedesigned to be invisible, but it
(10:30):
was designed to be nearlyimpossible to escape.
At the end of it, it was a tinywindowless room measuring only
5 by 5 meters, bare,soundproofed and constantly
filled with the dull hum of aplastic fan.
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This sounds completelynightmarish.
In.
That small room is where heplaced Natasha on the floor and
left.
The room was completely darkBeneath her.
She could only feel the coldfloor, counting seconds trying
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to concentrate her mind tosomething, but slowly Natasha
was starting to understand thegravity of her situation.
When he finally returned andlit up the room, natasha could
see what will turn to be herhome for the next eight years A
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windowless small room, stuffywith a pallet-framed bed and a
small toilet and sink.
Her captor ordered her to standat some distance from him whilst
he was working on setting thepallet bed, his voice now trying
to be gentle, reassuring,telling Natasha everything will
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be fine.
All will be fine if she will dowhat he tells her to do.
I cannot even comprehend theterror that must have gone
through her mind.
After some time, natashastarted to plead with him to let
her go.
She won't tell anyone.
She promised and promised, butit was too late.
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Her captor had no plans to lether go.
Natasha wanted to keep herschool bag, the only thing that
reminded her of now her old life, but her captor refused to let
her keep it.
You could have a hiddentransmitter, he told her.
You could use it to call forhelp.
(12:38):
It was a strange paranoidstatement.
A 10-year-old with atransmitter in her backpack?
Of course not, but Natashadidn't argue.
She'd already learned somethingat her young age.
Sometimes grown-ups say thingsthat make no sense and it's
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safer not to ask why this suddenshift in personality scared her
.
She knew she had to be cautious.
As an adult, natasha Kampuschoften reflected on how she
managed to survive that firstnight.
(13:19):
The fear was incrediblyoverwhelming would be enough to
break anyone.
But the human mind, she wouldlater say, has remarkable ways
of coping In situations ofextreme stress and fear.
Sometimes it withdraws and ittries to adapt, it tricks itself
(13:41):
into survival.
In that moment her mind didsomething extraordinary it
regressed.
The ten-year-old girlpsychologically retreated to the
mindset of a much younger childfour maybe five.
A child who in that moment,accepted the world without a
(14:04):
question, who even soughtcomfort in routine and illusion,
a child who could now endurewhat logic couldn't explain.
When her captor returned to thecellar that evening, natasha
didn't resist.
She didn't ask any morequestions, she didn't plead.
(14:24):
Instead, she asked him to staywith her, to put her to bed and
to tell her a bedtime story.
She even asked for a kiss onthe forehead something her
mother used to do each nightbefore gently closing the door
In her captor.
(14:45):
He complied.
He told her a story about theprincess and the pea.
He tucked her into bed, kissedher goodnight.
He even left the light on For afleeting moment.
The illusion held for Natashait felt almost like she was back
in her bedroom, like it wasalmost safe.
(15:07):
But when the door shut behindhim, the illusion bubble burst
and reality returned stark andinescapable.
That night, natasha didn'tsleep at all.
(15:31):
As the news that NatashaKampusch vanished from the
streets of Vienna erupted, amassive search operation was
launched.
Hundreds of officers scouredthe city looking for her,
helicopters circled overhead,dogs tracked any possible scent
At home.
The public was gripped withfear and suspicions fell quickly
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in every direction, includingher own mother, brigitta Cerny.
Theories ranged from abductionby a trafficking ring to
horrifying rumours of organtheft.
When a child reporting seeingNatasha forced into a white van,
police investigated nearly 800vehicles.
(16:14):
One of those vehicles searchedbelonged to her kidnapper.
When police first arrived atWolfgang Preklopje house to
follow up on a tip, they askedabout the van.
He calmly told them he'd beenhome all day when Natasha
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disappeared and, unbelievably,that was enough.
They didn't search the van,they didn't even press further.
I am just wondering was itbecause he didn't look dangerous
?
He didn't live in a squalor orin a run-down shack.
He was just another man in thesuburbs with a tidy home and a
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quiet demeanour.
And while police stood outsidesatisfied with the surface-level
answers, natasha was inside,trapped in total darkness
beneath their feet in a hiddenunderground cellar.
Authorities even expanded thesearch to Hungary, where Natasha
(17:19):
and her dad just returned fromholiday, but in the end no leads
came, and with each monthpassing the leads were running
cold, the search was slowingdown and every hope Natasha had
in being found was fading away.
It wouldn't be until a fulldecade later, two long years
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after Natasha's escape and inthe midst of a growing scandal
over police missteps and apotential cover-up, that the
truth would finally come tolight.
A second opportunity to rescueher had presented itself a
decade earlier.
On April 14, in 1998, viennapolice made a public witness
(18:06):
report.
A delivery van with darkenedwindows has been spotted near
Natasha's council estate on themorning of her abduction.
The van license was registeredto Gensendorf, the very district
where Strasshof was located.
A member of Vienna CaninePolice Unit had called in with a
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tip, and this wasn't a vagueone.
It named a specific individual,a man known to live in
Strasshof Nordbahn area, a lonerwho owned a white van with dark
windows.
He reportedly lived with hismother, worked for Siemens and
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may have possessed weapons.
More alarmingly, was said tohave a disturbed interest in
children.
The caller described him asapproximately 35 years old with
blonde hair, standing around 180cm tall.
That man was Wolfgang Preklopje, so think they were so close to
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finding her twice.
It's unclear why this tipwasn't followed.
Surely they could have trackedhim down using these details.
But as Natasha sat alone in thedark, trapped in a makeshift
cellar beneath her captor's home, that crucial lead was quietly
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set aside.
It was never followed.
For the first six months Natashanever left the cellar.
In these early days ofcaptivity their dynamic was
strangely stable, as stable asthings could be between one
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person who is locked in in ahidden dungeon by another.
At first he brought her smallluxuries like fancy croissants,
toys and books.
He would even record TV showsand brought her a Walkman and a
computer.
Natasha was completelydependent to him and eager to
keep the peace.
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It was survival, natasha latersaid.
The idea that someone couldn'tjust make me disappear so easily
.
That hope carried me throughthose endless hours on the
ground.
But after some time the gravityof her situation hit her hard
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and she fell into a deepdepression.
That was when he finallyallowed her to leave the cellar
to take a bath.
To take a bath.
Over time his strange kindnessbegan to erode.
There were no more gifts, nomore toys, just random favors
like mouthwash or scotch tape.
(20:58):
And yet she was grateful.
Even orange juice felt like atreasure.
Then came the delusions andNatasha started experiencing
more and more his dark side.
He would threaten her, keep herin constant fear.
He even told her he was anEgyptian God and all was Natasha
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left to do is play along.
Enough to stay safe, let himbelieve it.
She started reframingeverything.
What was happening to her to beable to cope?
When he bathed her, sheimagined it was a spa.
When he brought her food, shetold herself it was a
gentleman's gesture.
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But inside she always felt theweight of this humiliation.
As she grew older, natasha'scompliance faded.
She began to resist him,refusing to call him maestro,
mocking his demands with silence.
Natasha was just trying to doanything she could, not to lose
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her identity, her free will.
But suddenly everything turnedeven darker as he started
responding with violence.
The beatings became veryfrequent.
He would punish her foranything and everything.
He would punish her foranything and everything.
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The food became scars.
He would often withhold it as aform of punishment.
The light in her cellar wouldbe removed.
In retaliation.
He even built an intercomsystem so he could scream at her
throughout the night fromupstairs.
He was so obsessed withcleanliness and he made her
clean the house for hours on end, half naked, always silent
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unless spoken to, because alwaysdisobedience meant punishment.
Natasha chose not to go intodetail about the sexual abuse in
her memoir and here on ClueTrail.
We respect that decision.
While the media oftenspeculated, we won't repeat any
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of those claims.
What Natasha did share was thateven in the most disturbing
moments, when she was tied tohim in his bed, her captors
seemed more consumed withdomination and control than with
intimacy.
For him, it was always aboutpower and control, never
connection.
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Her turning point came early onin her captivity, at age 12.
She realized she was alone,without anyone to save her, and
she imagined her future self, 18years old, speaking to her from
a vision that all the selfpromised to come back for her,
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urging her to survive, to keepfighting and to escape.
That promise carried herthrough six more years of
captivity.
Through those years ofcaptivity, natasha experienced
the worst in humanity.
This led to suicide attempts.
(24:20):
Once she used a knitting needleto try to end her pain, and the
beatings kept going.
There were nights when the onlyway to stop.
A beating was to strike herselfagain and again until he asked
her to stop.
And in all this terror thenthere would be strange,
confusing moments of warmth too.
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He would often bring smallgifts.
He would apologize, as all thiscould hide her many wounds on
her body and the psychologicalterror she was going through.
What a monster.
He had a goal.
He envisioned her as a perfectblonde hair companion, someone
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devoted, submissive.
She was made to dye her hair,humiliated her, beat her
endlessly.
He would withhold food to thepoint of starvation.
She was physically frail butstill forced to work.
She was doing everything fromhim, cleaning, cooking, help him
(25:25):
renovate his house and someother flats as well.
Her days were long, exhaustingand always filled with fear and
humiliation.
But through all this she nowbegan to look forward to the
weekends.
That was when he locked herback in the cellar, because
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during those weekends his mother, who lived nearby, would visit.
She would stay upstairs,completely unaware of what lay
beneath the floorboards.
Now the cellar, once a prison,had become Natasha's only refuge
, refuge.
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His fantasy in creating a lifetogether didn't end to just the
confinements of the house.
He took her skiing, althoughshe was barely able to stand
from exhaustion and starvationand all the beatings.
He would take her to thechemist hardware stores.
He would even allow her to swimin the neighbor's pool when
they were away and he washouse-sitting.
Thirteen times he took her outin public.
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She met strangers, even apolice officer, but she said
nothing.
By then, the years ofmanipulation and fear had taken
hold of her.
He had convinced her the worldwas dangerous.
By then, the years ofmanipulation and fear had taken
hold of her.
He had convinced her the worldwas dangerous, that her parents
had abandoned her, that he hadsaved her.
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It was all part of his delusionan entire world built for two,
with him as the god and her asthe captive believer.
Then she turned 18 and one day,whilst they were working in the
garage, another day of beinghumiliated, beaten and starved
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she looked him in the eye andsaid you have brought a
situation upon us in which onlyone of us can make it through
alive.
I am really grateful to you fornot killing me and for taking
such good care of me.
This is very nice of you, butyou can't force me to stay with
you.
I am my own person with my ownneeds.
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This situation must come to anend.
Own needs.
This situation must come to anend".
She closed her eyes, expectingonce more the worst.
But this time it didn't come.
No rage, no beating.
When she opened her eyes, shesaw something that surprised her
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.
She saw defeat.
He looked at her with sadness.
Powerless Natasha then knew shehad survived him.
A few weeks after this finalconfrontation, he made an
uncharacteristic mistake.
He left her alone in the garden.
(28:35):
The day of August 23rd 2006,began like so many others.
That morning, natasha washelping him with transit routes
from one of his rental flats tonearby stations, information he
planned to include in a propertyadvertisement.
It was routine, familiar.
(28:56):
Nothing seemed out of place.
Just before noon they steppedinto the garden to pick the last
of the strawberries that hadcrept over from the neighbour's
patch, of the strawberries thathad crept over from the
neighbour's patch.
A short while later he led herto the small garden hut at the
(29:18):
back of the property.
Wolfgang was always meticulousabout security, locking the
garden every time, even if hewas only stepping away for only
a few minutes.
The same white van he had usedto abduct her years ago now sat
between the hut and the gate.
It was scheduled to be pickedup within days and he needed it
cleaned.
He fetched a vacuum cleaner andinstructed her to clean its
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interior.
As Natasha worked inside thevan, his phone suddenly rang.
He stepped back a few paces,one hand covering his ear, and
said twice Excuse me please.
Natasha caught fragments of theconversation.
It had something to do with oneof his rental flats.
(30:02):
He sounded elated.
Still speaking, he turned awayfrom the van and wandered off
towards the pool and in thatmoment she was alone.
For the first time in more thaneight years, the man who had
imprisoned her was no longerwatching she froze at first,
(30:27):
standing in front of the van,the vacuum cleaner still in her
hand.
A wave of paralysis spreadthrough her limbs.
Her mind raced with chaos,images flashing like lightning,
her captor discovering she wasgone, chasing her, dragging her
back, the possibility of beingkilled.
(30:48):
Then her survival instinctkicked in With sudden, almost
supernatural strength.
She dropped the vacuum and ran.
The garden gate, usually locked,stood open.
She bolted through it,hesitating just for a moment
Left or right.
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Where were the railway tracks?
She was certain she would hearhim behind her.
She didn't look back.
She didn't care, because sheknew anything was better than
going back to that cellar, backto that life.
She kept running, her mindracing.
She was going to head towardsthe train track and just end it
(31:32):
all.
And then, when she saw threepeople on the street, she rushed
towards them pleading for help.
But they brushed her off,claiming they had no phone.
But also in that moment, sheknew one thing for certain she
wanted to leave.
She didn't want to end it all.
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Determined, she climbed over afence and ran into a garden.
She rang the bell and finally awoman appeared in the window.
Natasha begged her to call thepolice, telling her she's been
abducted and that her name isNatasha Kampush.
The woman, startled andsuspicious, asked why she was
there.
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But Natasha stood firm andinsisted on calling the police.
That day she finally made itout.
Natasha made it to the policestation and slowly started
recounting all that happened toher for eight years, all the
(32:37):
horrid details, everything.
She had only one request thatno one talks with the press.
As you see, by that point, thenews that Natasha Kampusch was
found was all over the media.
Sadly, the police will oncemore let Natasha down, as the
(33:00):
next day, at the pressure of allthe media, the police officers
who were with her in the room,talked about the details.
Meanwhile, wolfgang Prriclopier, knowing his secret was about
to unravel, confessed everythingto his friend during a
three-hour drive around Viennalooking for Natasha.
(33:22):
I am a kidnapper and a rapist,he told him Shortly after he
stepped in front of a train Atthe police headquarters.
After more than eight years incaptivity, natasha Kampusch was
finally reunited with her family.
She recognized her mother themoment she walked through the
(33:46):
door.
It had been eight years sincethat March morning when she left
their apartment without sayinggoodbye.
Now her mother stood before her, looking nearly unchanged.
Her mother sobbed, laughed andcried all at once as she rushed
forward and wrapped her armsaround her daughter.
(34:07):
The closeness felt almostteasing for Natasha After so
many years without any truehuman affection.
The embrace overwhelmed her.
Behind her mother stood hersisters.
They broke in tears, rushingforward to join the reunion,
broke in tears, rushing forwardto join the reunion.
(34:28):
In a short while later, herfather arrived.
He pulled her into a hug.
After years of darkness, fearand isolation, natasha was home.
When Natasha Kampusch escaped,austria breathed a sigh of
(34:51):
relief.
A missing child was found alive.
This was something rare, almostunheard of.
But relief quickly turned intofascination and then into
something far more toxic.
In the days that followed, theworld rushed to help Natasha.
Some were kind, others evendisturbing.
(35:14):
One author read Although I'mmarried, I'm sure we can find an
arrangement.
What a sicko.
But when Natasha didn't fit theimage of a fragile, broken
victim, many turned against her.
They expected her to crumble,but she always spoke calmly.
(35:34):
She even tried to explain whatsurvival had really looked for
her.
And that angered people.
They immediately labelled herwith Stockholm Syndrome.
But as Natasha later said,adapting to your kidnapper isn't
a syndrome, it's survival.
Adapting to your kidnapperisn't a syndrome, it's survival.
(35:54):
Despite the backlash, shereclaimed some power.
She bought the very house inStrashof where she had been
imprisoned, not as a momentum toher pain but to ensure it
didn't become a shrine for thosefascinated by horror.
In the years that followed, shetried many things hosting a
(36:20):
talk show, writing, consideringcareers as psychologist,
goldsmith and even shoemaker.
She never wanted the fame thatcame from her trauma, but she
found herself navigating lifeunder constant scrutiny, and yet
she continued forward.
Natasha often tried tounderstand her captor's psyche,
(36:40):
not to justify it, but toreclaim her own agency.
He trusted me, she said.
He shared his ideas and visionsand even though they were sick,
I saw them all.
Today, natasha lives a privatelife.
She has written books, giveninterviews on her own terms and
(37:04):
advocates for victims' rights,reminding the world that
survival isn't about fitting aspecific narrative.
Finding the world that survivalisn't about fitting a specific
narrative.
It's about enduring and, at theend, reclaiming your story.
To close today's episode, I'dlike to read a final passage
from Natasha Kampusch's memoir,a reflection written four years
(37:30):
after her escape.
In writing this account, I havetried to close the book on the
so far longest and darkestchapter of my life.
I am deeply relieved that Ihave found words for all that is
unspeakable and contradictory.
Seeing it in front of me, blackand white, helps me look into
(37:52):
the future with confidence,because what I have experienced
also gives me strength.
I survived my imprisonment inmy dungeon, freed myself and
remained intact.
I know I can master life infreedom as well, and this
freedom begins now, four yearsafter 23rd of August 2006.
(38:17):
Only now I can put the pastbehind me with these pages and
truly say I am free.
That's a wrap for today'sepisode.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
We appreciate every single oneof you.
If you enjoyed the show.
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(38:39):
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Welcome to Clue Trail , where every story is a mystery
and every clue pulls you deeperinto the unknown, from unsolved
cases and strangedisappearances to hidden
histories and curious twists offate.
To hidden histories and curioustwists of fate, we piece
together fragments, searchingfor the truth or uncovering even
(00:31):
bigger questions.
Some clues reveal answers,others lead to greater mysteries
.
But one thing is certain Everytrail tells a story.
Are you ready to follow it?
Let's begin, and if you enjoyClue Trail, please take a moment
(00:53):
to leave us a rating or areview.
It helps more curious mindslike yours find the show.
It was a normal morning inVienna on March 2nd 1998.
(01:13):
A 10-year-old girl namedNatasha Kampusch left home,
walking to school like she didevery day, but she never arrived
For her family.
It was every parent's worstnightmare.
It became one of Austria'sbiggest missing persons cases.
(01:33):
For eight years Natasha wasgone, hidden in a secret cellar
beneath a seemingly ordinaryhouse, while the world surged
above ground.
But when Natasha finallyescaped, the story didn't end,
(01:54):
because surviving captivity wasonly part of what she had to
endure.
Today, on Clue Trail, we followthe haunting story of Natasha
Kampush, a story of abduction,survival and a world too quick
to judge what it couldn'tunderstand through her
(02:15):
interviews and her memoir 3096Days, where she bravely recounts
(02:38):
her years in captivity and thepath to her survival.
Natasha Kampusch was born onFebruary 17, 1988, in Vienna to
Brigitta Cerny and Ludwig Koch.
Natasha is the youngest in thefamily.
She had two older sisters fromher mother's previous marriage
and, as the baby of thehousehold, she was often the
centre of attention.
(02:58):
Her early childhood was filledwith joyful memories skiing
trips with her parents, timespent with her grandmother and
the carefree happiness thatcomes with being a well-loved
little girl.
But as she grew older, thingsbegan to change.
(03:19):
Her parents separated duringher early years and, although
both remained in her life,natasha began moving between two
homes, witnessing the emotionalweight of their conflict and
the tension that followed.
She was a quiet, observantchild and the instability around
(03:40):
her began to leave its mark.
Instability around her began toleave its mark.
Life in the working-classoutskirts of Vienna wasn't
always easy.
Her neighbourhood was a mix ofstruggle and survival, where
poverty, addiction and isolationshaped the environment around
her.
Even at a young age, natashabecame familiar with the
(04:04):
struggles some adults carried,from conspiracy theories to
mental health issues.
She witnessed it all in herneighbourhood, all of which
added to a growing sense ofunease At home.
That warmth of early childhoodgave way to more difficult days.
There were moments ofdiscipline and disconnect.
(04:26):
By the age of 10, natasha wasexperiencing loneliness,
emotional pain and signs ofdepression.
She began eating compulsivelyand at times felt invisible.
At times felt invisible.
On the morning of March 2nd 1998, as she walked to school after
(04:56):
returning home from a holidaywith her father, natasha was
carrying more than just herbackpack.
Her thoughts were still heavyfrom the previous night.
She was laid home after thisvacation through none of her
fault, and her mum snapped ather, leading to a small argument
.
Natasha understood her mum'sanger was aimed at her father,
(05:18):
but being taken on her made herupset.
She felt powerless.
Walking to school, a millionthoughts were going through
Natasha's mind.
She felt misunderstood, unheardand overwhelmed.
In her memoir she describesthat moment with haunting
honesty, imagining what it wouldbe like if she disappeared and
(05:43):
if that would finally make theworld take notice.
And that's when she saw thewhite van.
As Natasha walked to school thatmorning, something made her
look up.
She wasn't sure what it was.
Maybe a sound, a movement inthe quiet street, a little bird?
(06:13):
That's when she saw it, a whitedelivery van parked awkwardly
along the right-hand side of theroad and in this peaceful
residential area.
It looked strangely out ofplace In the residential area.
It looked strangely out ofplace.
Standing beside the van was aman.
He was lean, not particularlytall, and appeared to be in his
(06:35):
twenties.
He kept glancing around in anuneasy, almost aimless way, like
he was waiting for something,but didn't know what.
Natasha slowed her steps.
Something didn't feel right.
A deep, instinctive fear creptin, the kind that raises the
(06:56):
hairs on the back of your neck.
She thought about crossing thestreet.
Her mind was racing withwarnings she'd heard before
Don't talk to strangers, don'tgo near unknown cars, be careful
, stay alert.
All the terrifying storiesshe'd seen on the news flashed
through her head About girls whodisappeared.
(07:21):
But she was just ten years old,caught between fear and the
desire to prove she was brave,and so she silenced that voice
inside her.
She kept walking, after allwhat could possibly happen?
And yet in a matter of seconds,as she was passing by, the
(07:47):
worst did happen.
He dragged her into his van anddisappeared into the streets of
Vienna.
Once inside the van, natasha wasstunned and went silent for
only a moment, but then shestarted asking questions what
(08:08):
size shoe do you wear?
That was the very first thingshe said to her kidnapper.
She then fired off questions,one after another, which might
seem like a strange reaction fora 10-year-old in such a
terrifying moment.
But Natasha later explainedthat she'd seen episodes on TV,
on Austria versions ofCrimewatch, and she remembered
something If you're ever taken,try to gather as much
(08:33):
information as you can.
It was an act of courage and itwas also a child's way of
trying to understand theunthinkable.
Her kidnapper didn't answer herquestions.
Instead, he yelled at her andtold her to be quiet.
(08:58):
He then drove Natasha to somewoods nearby.
She started panicking.
All she could think about wasthe news about few young girls
in Austria being molested byorganized gang, something she's
seen in the press and on TV.
In that moment, she asked himanother question Are you going
to molest me?
Question to which he finallyreplied with you're too young
(09:21):
for that, I would never do that.
You're too young for that, Iwould never do that.
He then started mumbling I'llturn you over and then I'll have
nothing more to do with you.
We'll never see each otheragain, he said, and he kept
repeating that over and over.
That undoubtedly scared Natasha, but as they kept waiting,
(09:44):
nothing happened.
No one came.
He then drove her out of Viennato a quiet suburb called
Strashof.
There, behind the walls of anordinary home, he'd spent years
preparing for what he planned todo Placing a blanket over her
head.
He then carried her through hisgarage and opened a hidden
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trapdoor.
What lay beneath was somethingout of a nightmare.
To reach the room, you had togo down a staircase, pass
through a hollowed-out concretewall, crawl through a small
metal hatch concealed behind acupboard.
This wasn't only a passagedesigned to be invisible, but it
(10:30):
was designed to be nearlyimpossible to escape.
At the end of it, it was a tinywindowless room measuring only
5 by 5 meters, bare,soundproofed and constantly
filled with the dull hum of aplastic fan.
(10:51):
This sounds completelynightmarish.
In.
That small room is where heplaced Natasha on the floor and
left.
The room was completely darkBeneath her.
She could only feel the coldfloor, counting seconds trying
(11:11):
to concentrate her mind tosomething, but slowly Natasha
was starting to understand thegravity of her situation.
When he finally returned andlit up the room, natasha could
see what will turn to be herhome for the next eight years A
(11:31):
windowless small room, stuffywith a pallet-framed bed and a
small toilet and sink.
Her captor ordered her to standat some distance from him whilst
he was working on setting thepallet bed, his voice now trying
to be gentle, reassuring,telling Natasha everything will
(11:55):
be fine.
All will be fine if she will dowhat he tells her to do.
I cannot even comprehend theterror that must have gone
through her mind.
After some time, natashastarted to plead with him to let
her go.
She won't tell anyone.
She promised and promised, butit was too late.
(12:16):
Her captor had no plans to lether go.
Natasha wanted to keep herschool bag, the only thing that
reminded her of now her old life, but her captor refused to let
her keep it.
You could have a hiddentransmitter, he told her.
You could use it to call forhelp.
(12:38):
It was a strange paranoidstatement.
A 10-year-old with atransmitter in her backpack?
Of course not, but Natashadidn't argue.
She'd already learned somethingat her young age.
Sometimes grown-ups say thingsthat make no sense and it's
(12:59):
safer not to ask why this suddenshift in personality scared her
.
She knew she had to be cautious.
As an adult, natasha Kampuschoften reflected on how she
managed to survive that firstnight.
(13:19):
The fear was incrediblyoverwhelming would be enough to
break anyone.
But the human mind, she wouldlater say, has remarkable ways
of coping In situations ofextreme stress and fear.
Sometimes it withdraws and ittries to adapt, it tricks itself
(13:41):
into survival.
In that moment her mind didsomething extraordinary it
regressed.
The ten-year-old girlpsychologically retreated to the
mindset of a much younger childfour maybe five.
A child who in that moment,accepted the world without a
(14:04):
question, who even soughtcomfort in routine and illusion,
a child who could now endurewhat logic couldn't explain.
When her captor returned to thecellar that evening, natasha
didn't resist.
She didn't ask any morequestions, she didn't plead.
(14:24):
Instead, she asked him to staywith her, to put her to bed and
to tell her a bedtime story.
She even asked for a kiss onthe forehead something her
mother used to do each nightbefore gently closing the door
In her captor.
(14:45):
He complied.
He told her a story about theprincess and the pea.
He tucked her into bed, kissedher goodnight.
He even left the light on For afleeting moment.
The illusion held for Natashait felt almost like she was back
in her bedroom, like it wasalmost safe.
(15:07):
But when the door shut behindhim, the illusion bubble burst
and reality returned stark andinescapable.
That night, natasha didn'tsleep at all.
(15:31):
As the news that NatashaKampusch vanished from the
streets of Vienna erupted, amassive search operation was
launched.
Hundreds of officers scouredthe city looking for her,
helicopters circled overhead,dogs tracked any possible scent
At home.
The public was gripped withfear and suspicions fell quickly
(15:53):
in every direction, includingher own mother, brigitta Cerny.
Theories ranged from abductionby a trafficking ring to
horrifying rumours of organtheft.
When a child reporting seeingNatasha forced into a white van,
police investigated nearly 800vehicles.
(16:14):
One of those vehicles searchedbelonged to her kidnapper.
When police first arrived atWolfgang Preklopje house to
follow up on a tip, they askedabout the van.
He calmly told them he'd beenhome all day when Natasha
(16:34):
disappeared and, unbelievably,that was enough.
They didn't search the van,they didn't even press further.
I am just wondering was itbecause he didn't look dangerous
?
He didn't live in a squalor orin a run-down shack.
He was just another man in thesuburbs with a tidy home and a
(16:58):
quiet demeanour.
And while police stood outsidesatisfied with the surface-level
answers, natasha was inside,trapped in total darkness
beneath their feet in a hiddenunderground cellar.
Authorities even expanded thesearch to Hungary, where Natasha
(17:19):
and her dad just returned fromholiday, but in the end no leads
came, and with each monthpassing the leads were running
cold, the search was slowingdown and every hope Natasha had
in being found was fading away.
It wouldn't be until a fulldecade later, two long years
(17:43):
after Natasha's escape and inthe midst of a growing scandal
over police missteps and apotential cover-up, that the
truth would finally come tolight.
A second opportunity to rescueher had presented itself a
decade earlier.
On April 14, in 1998, viennapolice made a public witness
(18:06):
report.
A delivery van with darkenedwindows has been spotted near
Natasha's council estate on themorning of her abduction.
The van license was registeredto Gensendorf, the very district
where Strasshof was located.
A member of Vienna CaninePolice Unit had called in with a
(18:26):
tip, and this wasn't a vagueone.
It named a specific individual,a man known to live in
Strasshof Nordbahn area, a lonerwho owned a white van with dark
windows.
He reportedly lived with hismother, worked for Siemens and
(18:48):
may have possessed weapons.
More alarmingly, was said tohave a disturbed interest in
children.
The caller described him asapproximately 35 years old with
blonde hair, standing around 180cm tall.
That man was Wolfgang Preklopje, so think they were so close to
(19:14):
finding her twice.
It's unclear why this tipwasn't followed.
Surely they could have trackedhim down using these details.
But as Natasha sat alone in thedark, trapped in a makeshift
cellar beneath her captor's home, that crucial lead was quietly
(19:35):
set aside.
It was never followed.
For the first six months Natashanever left the cellar.
In these early days ofcaptivity their dynamic was
strangely stable, as stable asthings could be between one
(19:56):
person who is locked in in ahidden dungeon by another.
At first he brought her smallluxuries like fancy croissants,
toys and books.
He would even record TV showsand brought her a Walkman and a
computer.
Natasha was completelydependent to him and eager to
keep the peace.
(20:16):
It was survival, natasha latersaid.
The idea that someone couldn'tjust make me disappear so easily
.
That hope carried me throughthose endless hours on the
ground.
But after some time the gravityof her situation hit her hard
(20:36):
and she fell into a deepdepression.
That was when he finallyallowed her to leave the cellar
to take a bath.
To take a bath.
Over time his strange kindnessbegan to erode.
There were no more gifts, nomore toys, just random favors
like mouthwash or scotch tape.
(20:58):
And yet she was grateful.
Even orange juice felt like atreasure.
Then came the delusions andNatasha started experiencing
more and more his dark side.
He would threaten her, keep herin constant fear.
He even told her he was anEgyptian God and all was Natasha
(21:23):
left to do is play along.
Enough to stay safe, let himbelieve it.
She started reframingeverything.
What was happening to her to beable to cope?
When he bathed her, sheimagined it was a spa.
When he brought her food, shetold herself it was a
gentleman's gesture.
(21:44):
But inside she always felt theweight of this humiliation.
As she grew older, natasha'scompliance faded.
She began to resist him,refusing to call him maestro,
mocking his demands with silence.
Natasha was just trying to doanything she could, not to lose
(22:08):
her identity, her free will.
But suddenly everything turnedeven darker as he started
responding with violence.
The beatings became veryfrequent.
He would punish her foranything and everything.
He would punish her foranything and everything.
(22:32):
The food became scars.
He would often withhold it as aform of punishment.
The light in her cellar wouldbe removed.
In retaliation.
He even built an intercomsystem so he could scream at her
throughout the night fromupstairs.
He was so obsessed withcleanliness and he made her
clean the house for hours on end, half naked, always silent
(22:54):
unless spoken to, because alwaysdisobedience meant punishment.
Natasha chose not to go intodetail about the sexual abuse in
her memoir and here on ClueTrail.
We respect that decision.
While the media oftenspeculated, we won't repeat any
(23:15):
of those claims.
What Natasha did share was thateven in the most disturbing
moments, when she was tied tohim in his bed, her captors
seemed more consumed withdomination and control than with
intimacy.
For him, it was always aboutpower and control, never
connection.
(23:39):
Her turning point came early onin her captivity, at age 12.
She realized she was alone,without anyone to save her, and
she imagined her future self, 18years old, speaking to her from
a vision that all the selfpromised to come back for her,
(24:00):
urging her to survive, to keepfighting and to escape.
That promise carried herthrough six more years of
captivity.
Through those years ofcaptivity, natasha experienced
the worst in humanity.
This led to suicide attempts.
(24:20):
Once she used a knitting needleto try to end her pain, and the
beatings kept going.
There were nights when the onlyway to stop.
A beating was to strike herselfagain and again until he asked
her to stop.
And in all this terror thenthere would be strange,
confusing moments of warmth too.
(24:42):
He would often bring smallgifts.
He would apologize, as all thiscould hide her many wounds on
her body and the psychologicalterror she was going through.
What a monster.
He had a goal.
He envisioned her as a perfectblonde hair companion, someone
(25:03):
devoted, submissive.
She was made to dye her hair,humiliated her, beat her
endlessly.
He would withhold food to thepoint of starvation.
She was physically frail butstill forced to work.
She was doing everything fromhim, cleaning, cooking, help him
(25:25):
renovate his house and someother flats as well.
Her days were long, exhaustingand always filled with fear and
humiliation.
But through all this she nowbegan to look forward to the
weekends.
That was when he locked herback in the cellar, because
(25:46):
during those weekends his mother, who lived nearby, would visit.
She would stay upstairs,completely unaware of what lay
beneath the floorboards.
Now the cellar, once a prison,had become Natasha's only refuge
, refuge.
(26:12):
His fantasy in creating a lifetogether didn't end to just the
confinements of the house.
He took her skiing, althoughshe was barely able to stand
from exhaustion and starvationand all the beatings.
He would take her to thechemist hardware stores.
He would even allow her to swimin the neighbor's pool when
they were away and he washouse-sitting.
Thirteen times he took her outin public.
(26:36):
She met strangers, even apolice officer, but she said
nothing.
By then, the years ofmanipulation and fear had taken
hold of her.
He had convinced her the worldwas dangerous.
By then, the years ofmanipulation and fear had taken
hold of her.
He had convinced her the worldwas dangerous, that her parents
had abandoned her, that he hadsaved her.
(26:58):
It was all part of his delusionan entire world built for two,
with him as the god and her asthe captive believer.
Then she turned 18 and one day,whilst they were working in the
garage, another day of beinghumiliated, beaten and starved
(27:20):
she looked him in the eye andsaid you have brought a
situation upon us in which onlyone of us can make it through
alive.
I am really grateful to you fornot killing me and for taking
such good care of me.
This is very nice of you, butyou can't force me to stay with
you.
I am my own person with my ownneeds.
(27:44):
This situation must come to anend.
Own needs.
This situation must come to anend".
She closed her eyes, expectingonce more the worst.
But this time it didn't come.
No rage, no beating.
When she opened her eyes, shesaw something that surprised her
(28:05):
.
She saw defeat.
He looked at her with sadness.
Powerless Natasha then knew shehad survived him.
A few weeks after this finalconfrontation, he made an
uncharacteristic mistake.
He left her alone in the garden.
(28:35):
The day of August 23rd 2006,began like so many others.
That morning, natasha washelping him with transit routes
from one of his rental flats tonearby stations, information he
planned to include in a propertyadvertisement.
It was routine, familiar.
(28:56):
Nothing seemed out of place.
Just before noon they steppedinto the garden to pick the last
of the strawberries that hadcrept over from the neighbour's
patch, of the strawberries thathad crept over from the
neighbour's patch.
A short while later he led herto the small garden hut at the
(29:18):
back of the property.
Wolfgang was always meticulousabout security, locking the
garden every time, even if hewas only stepping away for only
a few minutes.
The same white van he had usedto abduct her years ago now sat
between the hut and the gate.
It was scheduled to be pickedup within days and he needed it
cleaned.
He fetched a vacuum cleaner andinstructed her to clean its
(29:41):
interior.
As Natasha worked inside thevan, his phone suddenly rang.
He stepped back a few paces,one hand covering his ear, and
said twice Excuse me please.
Natasha caught fragments of theconversation.
It had something to do with oneof his rental flats.
(30:02):
He sounded elated.
Still speaking, he turned awayfrom the van and wandered off
towards the pool and in thatmoment she was alone.
For the first time in more thaneight years, the man who had
imprisoned her was no longerwatching she froze at first,
(30:27):
standing in front of the van,the vacuum cleaner still in her
hand.
A wave of paralysis spreadthrough her limbs.
Her mind raced with chaos,images flashing like lightning,
her captor discovering she wasgone, chasing her, dragging her
back, the possibility of beingkilled.
(30:48):
Then her survival instinctkicked in With sudden, almost
supernatural strength.
She dropped the vacuum and ran.
The garden gate, usually locked,stood open.
She bolted through it,hesitating just for a moment
Left or right.
(31:09):
Where were the railway tracks?
She was certain she would hearhim behind her.
She didn't look back.
She didn't care, because sheknew anything was better than
going back to that cellar, backto that life.
She kept running, her mindracing.
She was going to head towardsthe train track and just end it
(31:32):
all.
And then, when she saw threepeople on the street, she rushed
towards them pleading for help.
But they brushed her off,claiming they had no phone.
But also in that moment, sheknew one thing for certain she
wanted to leave.
She didn't want to end it all.
(31:54):
Determined, she climbed over afence and ran into a garden.
She rang the bell and finally awoman appeared in the window.
Natasha begged her to call thepolice, telling her she's been
abducted and that her name isNatasha Kampush.
The woman, startled andsuspicious, asked why she was
there.
(32:15):
But Natasha stood firm andinsisted on calling the police.
That day she finally made itout.
Natasha made it to the policestation and slowly started
recounting all that happened toher for eight years, all the
(32:37):
horrid details, everything.
She had only one request thatno one talks with the press.
As you see, by that point, thenews that Natasha Kampusch was
found was all over the media.
Sadly, the police will oncemore let Natasha down, as the
(33:00):
next day, at the pressure of allthe media, the police officers
who were with her in the room,talked about the details.
Meanwhile, wolfgang Prriclopier, knowing his secret was about
to unravel, confessed everythingto his friend during a
three-hour drive around Viennalooking for Natasha.
(33:22):
I am a kidnapper and a rapist,he told him Shortly after he
stepped in front of a train Atthe police headquarters.
After more than eight years incaptivity, natasha Kampusch was
finally reunited with her family.
She recognized her mother themoment she walked through the
(33:46):
door.
It had been eight years sincethat March morning when she left
their apartment without sayinggoodbye.
Now her mother stood before her, looking nearly unchanged.
Her mother sobbed, laughed andcried all at once as she rushed
forward and wrapped her armsaround her daughter.
(34:07):
The closeness felt almostteasing for Natasha After so
many years without any truehuman affection.
The embrace overwhelmed her.
Behind her mother stood hersisters.
They broke in tears, rushingforward to join the reunion,
broke in tears, rushing forwardto join the reunion.
(34:28):
In a short while later, herfather arrived.
He pulled her into a hug.
After years of darkness, fearand isolation, natasha was home.
When Natasha Kampusch escaped,austria breathed a sigh of
(34:51):
relief.
A missing child was found alive.
This was something rare, almostunheard of.
But relief quickly turned intofascination and then into
something far more toxic.
In the days that followed, theworld rushed to help Natasha.
Some were kind, others evendisturbing.
(35:14):
One author read Although I'mmarried, I'm sure we can find an
arrangement.
What a sicko.
But when Natasha didn't fit theimage of a fragile, broken
victim, many turned against her.
They expected her to crumble,but she always spoke calmly.
(35:34):
She even tried to explain whatsurvival had really looked for
her.
And that angered people.
They immediately labelled herwith Stockholm Syndrome.
But as Natasha later said,adapting to your kidnapper isn't
a syndrome, it's survival.
Adapting to your kidnapperisn't a syndrome, it's survival.
(35:54):
Despite the backlash, shereclaimed some power.
She bought the very house inStrashof where she had been
imprisoned, not as a momentum toher pain but to ensure it
didn't become a shrine for thosefascinated by horror.
In the years that followed, shetried many things hosting a
(36:20):
talk show, writing, consideringcareers as psychologist,
goldsmith and even shoemaker.
She never wanted the fame thatcame from her trauma, but she
found herself navigating lifeunder constant scrutiny, and yet
she continued forward.
Natasha often tried tounderstand her captor's psyche,
(36:40):
not to justify it, but toreclaim her own agency.
He trusted me, she said.
He shared his ideas and visionsand even though they were sick,
I saw them all.
Today, natasha lives a privatelife.
She has written books, giveninterviews on her own terms and
(37:04):
advocates for victims' rights,reminding the world that
survival isn't about fitting aspecific narrative.
Finding the world that survivalisn't about fitting a specific
narrative.
It's about enduring and, at theend, reclaiming your story.
To close today's episode, I'dlike to read a final passage
from Natasha Kampusch's memoir,a reflection written four years
(37:30):
after her escape.
In writing this account, I havetried to close the book on the
so far longest and darkestchapter of my life.
I am deeply relieved that Ihave found words for all that is
unspeakable and contradictory.
Seeing it in front of me, blackand white, helps me look into
(37:52):
the future with confidence,because what I have experienced
also gives me strength.
I survived my imprisonment inmy dungeon, freed myself and
remained intact.
I know I can master life infreedom as well, and this
freedom begins now, four yearsafter 23rd of August 2006.
(38:17):
Only now I can put the pastbehind me with these pages and
truly say I am free.
That's a wrap for today'sepisode.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
We appreciate every single oneof you.
If you enjoyed the show.
Don't forget to follow us onsocial media to stay updated on
(38:39):
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