The family of kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch has revealed she is once again living in a “kind of captivity”.
They said she lives “mostly in her own world now” and they feel “helpless” in their efforts to help her.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Natascha’s escape from her captor.
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Aged 10, she was abducted by Wolfgang Priklopil, then 36 years old, on her way to school on 2 Mar, 1998.
She then spent eight years living in a soundproof basement just a few miles from her home in Strasshof near Vienna, Austria.
Natascha said: “It was five by five metres, bare, soundproofed, windowless, and filled with the rattle of a fan.”
According to Natascha, her captor would beat her “up to 200 times a week”.
He also starved the minor and raped her, sometimes chaining her to his bed at night, as reported by Need To Know.
Wolfgang never faced justice. When he realised Natascha had escaped, he killed himself by jumping in front of a train.
She admitted she sometimes “mourns for him”, adding: “Had I met him only with hatred, that hatred would have eaten me up and robbed me of the strength I needed to make it through.”
In the years since her ordeal, Natascha has written three books about her life.
She also hosted her own TV talk show Natascha Kampusch Meets… on the Austrian private channel Puls 4.
A new documentary, titled Natascha Kampusch – Trapped in Freedom, is scheduled to air on Austrian TV on 16 Mar.
As this year marks the second decade since her escape, her family is expecting renewed interest in the case and wants to address Natascha’s current state of health.
Her sister Claudia Nestelberger said she is apparently suffering a severe emotional breakdown.
She said the family “feels helpless” in their efforts to help Natascha.
Claudia said: “Everyone remembers how she used to speak in front of the cameras.
“That’s gone, she’s mostly in her own world now.
“She’s in a kind of captivity again.”
She added: “It’s heartbreaking and we feel helpless.”
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