The Woman Who Was Kidnapped and Kept in A Coffin-Sized Box for 7 Years
By: Swati Suman
Tags: Justice, History, True Crime, Crime, Psychology

At times, tightly enclosed spaces can send shivers down the spine. Especially if one is claustrophobic, the situation can feel like a nightmare. Claustrophobia, the fear of confined spaces, is one of the most common phobias in the world.

One study indicated that approximately 5 to 10% of the global population suffer from severe claustrophobia, but only a few receive treatment. And the majority of those experiencing it can relate it to the scary ordeal of Colleen Stan, popularly known as “The Girl In The Box.”

It was the year 1977. Twenty-year-old Colleen Stan was hitchhiking for days from her hometown in Oregon to attend a friend's birthday party in Northern California.

Unfortunately, Colleen never made it to that party. She considered herself an experienced hitchhiker. On the beautiful day of May 19th, she had already turned down two rides before accepting the ride that turned her life upside down.

The Misfortune Begins —

After refusing the previous two rides, Colleen Stan finally accepted a ride from a family in a blue van. The lively vibe of the people inside the van made her opt for the unfamiliar ride.

The van was driven by a friendly-looking young man and his wife who sat in the passenger seat. The couple had a baby tied safely in its baby chair in the backseat of the van. To Colleen Stan, the family looked like the perfect blend of merry people. This couple was 23-year-old Cameron Hooker and his 19-year-old wife Janice Hooker, a pair of honest working-class people from Red Bluff, California.

The couple seemed innocent. But as the saying goes, looks are deceptive until the reality is unearthed.

For years, Cameron, a lumber mill worker, had been torturing his wife with beatings, whippings, electrical shocks. The man is a sadistic psychopath with some genuinely horrible bondage fantasies.

Janice, who deeply loved her husband and for the sake of her child's safety, silently suffered his violence. Surprisingly she also helped him fulfill his evil fantasies of holding innocent women captive and subjecting them to immoral torture.

Shortly after sitting inside the van, Colleen felt the air inside it awry. The initial friendliness of the young couple later gave her suspicious vibes. As the ride continued, the young man was continuously staring at Colleen, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. Her instincts uttered a voice of simply escaping the ride, but the excitement wrapped in attending her friend's party is what made her instincts rest and continue with the ride.

The peaceful drive didn't last long.

The Girl In The Box —

The draped personality of Cameron Hooker swapped with his original identity— the sadistic psychopath.

As time passed, Cameron soon veered off the road and drove to a remote location. He then pulled out a knife, held it up to Colleen’s neck, and threatened her not to utter a sound or else she will be killed. She was then chained inside a homemade soundproof wooden “headbox” that weighed twenty pounds.

The box caricatured a life of hell. By the odd twist of fate, Colleen Stan had to experience a difficult phase of her life. The box only confined her head, blocked the radiating sunlight, the pleasant sounds of the surroundings, and prevented fresh airflow.

The couple eventually drove the van to their house in California, where Colleen was held captive. She was then victimized through brutal forms of torture. Her wrists were tied to the ceilings; she was beaten, electrocuted, raped, whipped, and subjected to near-death experiences. The man’s wife, Janice, remained as a spectator to the torture the girl was subjected to. The man’s fantasies rested on imprisoning women as slaves, confining them to tortures with the victim’s voice silenced.

Unlike her husband's sadistic personality, it's unclear how much pleasure Janice derived from the merciless behavior. In many ways, it's quite possible that she remained the victim of her husband's violent behavior, which made her unsympathetic. Still, it does not excuse her for the crime she committed by supporting her evil husband.

The pain Colleen Stan endured incremented over time. She was trapped inside the coffin-like wooden box underneath the Hookers bed for entirely 23 hours of the day. Cameron selectively starved Colleen over the years by giving her occasional meals. She was then stretched on a medieval-style rack, was kept there for hours, and then punished severely. For an hour or two, she was made to do the household chores and babysit the children. The rest of her day was subjected to darkness — both physically mentally.

The cyclical routine of abuse that Cameron established: Isolation, fear, starvation, and torture.

In reality, Cameron and his wife had no interest in killing Colleen Stan. Instead, they just wanted her to dehumanize, manipulate, objectify, and torture her for the years to come.

The Satanic Organization —

The coffin-shaped box was a living ordeal of misery. But to Colleen Stan, the experience of immoral tortures and abuse didn’t feel much worse until one diabolical disclosure. It was the revelation that ran her impulses into fear.

The disclosure was of an evil organization — “The Company” and Cameron claimed that he was a group member. He warned Colleen that she was being eyed on by the organization, and they had already been harassing her families. Whether his claims were valid or not, the threat made Colleen believe his words.

Individual pain can be bearable, but when it involves family, we become petrified. And Colleen feared the same too. More than anything else, she started experiencing concerns about her family. She felt that her attempt to escape from the confinement might lead to the satanic organization harming her family even more. For her family's sake, she decided to stay in captivity and even signed a contract that asked her to remain the slave of the couple forever.

Earlier the family of Colleen Stan filed her missing report. Efforts were put to trace her, but they always met with failure. The investigators later reported that she was either kidnapped or killed.

The Change Of Feelings —

The signing of the contract brought about life changes. Adhering to the wishes of Cameron, Colleen Stan got to leverage few freedoms.

She was allowed to breathe fresh air, jog around, and work in the garden. Surprisingly in March 1981, she was allowed to visit her family for a day. Cameron accompanied her, and she addressed him as her boyfriend in front of her family. However, the family suspected something odd in her behavior. But they shifted their concern, fearing that it might lead to their daughter disappearing again.

Collectively, Cameron's fear and the scare of the satanic organization made her step back from escaping, rebelling against the confinement, or disclosing any information to her family.

Colleen Stan was held in captivity for seven years. Towards the end of the seven years, Cameron expressed his desires in wanting Colleen as his second wife. The husband's aspirations left Janice agitated.

Justice Served —

Janice Hooker’s resentment grew. Her husband's desire to marry Colleen Stan fuelled her with anger. Later, her conscience wrapped with guilt made her realize the immoral sins that she was part of, which had led her to commit merciless deeds.

After seven years of Colleen Stans’s captivity, Janice told her the truth: The contract she signed was bogus, and an organization called “The Company” never existed. After disclosing the facts, Janice helped her escape and pleaded mercy upon her husband, thinking that he might become humane after rehabilitation. However, when she realized that her husband would not change, she eventually reported him to the police.

Cameron Hooker was found guilty of his horrific crimes. He was charged with kidnapping and sexual assault and was sentenced to 104 years in prison. Surprisingly, Colleen Stan and Janice Hooker both live in California with names changed — but— the duo doesn't communicate.

Colleen Stan experienced a fate that, in the eyes of many, would be worse than death. Ever since then, her life was not easy. She experienced chronic back and shoulder pain due to her confinement — yet made a positive impact by working as a mental health professional and social worker. In 2016, a movie named “Girl In The Box” featured the real-life abduction story of Colleen Stan.

Her willpower, faith, and optimism made her survive the tough times.

In the words of Colleen Stan, the psychological mindset she adapted during the tragic time was: