I was kidnapped when I was 19. I was a waitress at a 24-hour diner, my shift was 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. Nearly all customers were regulars, including this grandfatherly guy (in his 60s). I sat at the counter and talked with the regulars for about 15 minutes before my shift. When I began working, I for some reason could not pour coffee into a cup - only beside the cup. Other motor problems ensued. The cook and the manager were really worried about me and the grandfatherly guy offered to take me home (he lived in a nearby apartment complex). My bosses thought that was a good idea. Unknown to us, the guy put drugs in my coffee.
Got in his car and was taken to his apartment. Saw my first square coffee table and u-shaped sofa. Realized something was super wrong and kept telling myself not to eat or drink anything he offered. He offered, and I declined. He showed me my bedroom. He said I could lock it -- it was a lock any idiot could open with a bobby pin. He had a little dog whom I had fun playing with. He said he was going down the street to a convenience store, but I didn't know if he was really hiding in the bushes waiting to see if I tried to escape. He carried a gun and threatened to shoot me if I didn't do what he said.
I was terrified. I went in the bedroom and moved a heavy, tall chest of drawers in front the door. Nothing happened all night.
Next day, he sat me down to explain that I was overworked and needed a rest, and that he was going to take me to his fishing camp and pay me to be his personal assistant. I was terrified of that fishing camp, but pretended it was a fantastic plan and thank you so much! He made me write a list of ammo to buy for his many guns.
We left the apartment. First stop, vet, where he abandoned the dog. I was real upset about that, and I had to go in with him while he had a gun pointed at me through his jacket pocket, and had taken out the gun to show me how easy it would be to kill me. He said if I said anything, he would shoot the people at the vet's.
We went to a mall because he wanted me to get a haircut. Another warning about shooting the people in the store. He took out his gun and showed me how he would shoot me. He was still holding me at gunpoint too, through his pocket. I told him that I wanted him to choose the hairstyle, and he was delighted to do so. I went to the bathroom and considered leaving a note (on a paper towel) for someone to call 911. I decided that was too risky, and he actually searched the bathroom when I left it, so that was a close call.
Next, he was going to take me to a mall to buy a whole new wardrobe. During our conversation about that, I told him I felt really badly about him wasting his money on clothes for me when I had an entire wardrobe at my apartment. To my amazement, he agreed to take me there. We walked in and I introduced him as "a friend" to my roommate (whom I barely knew and didn't like). I went upstairs to get my clothes and asked him to wait for me. I was worried he would kill my roommate, so I called to her and asked her to come upstairs because I wanted to borrow some of her clothing. For some reason, she came -- probably didn't want me to take her clothes! I pulled her into my room and whispered about what was going on and she was terrified.
It's odd, but what I was terrified about was that the man would kill everyone in the beauty salon, the vet's office, and my roommate.
I called 911 and asked them to send the police without sirens or flashing lights on, and to hurry because we were both in danger because the man was going to kill us with his gun.
A couple of minutes later, the man got super angry and screamed that my roommate and I were Lesbians and he was coming up to take care of us. We were terrified. I yelled down at him that the police would be here in a minute and he should leave or get arrested. He did leave. The cops did not pass him on the way. He had a distinctive car - a bright green VW.
So the police took me to the station. 8 detectives questioned me, after I had waited for 1/2 hour in waiting area. I thought they didn't believe me because they asked the same questions over and over, and I answered them all the same. Then I realized I'd left my purse in the waiting area. In it was the list of ammo, a subject I knew nothing about. Plus, they could call the vet. After they retrieved the purse and read the list, they believed me.
The police told me the man would have taken me to his fishing camp and raped and killed me. That terrified me, too.
I still had to work. The police went to the diner and told the cook and manager what was going on. The next night, I returned to work. The police were afraid the man would come back to kidnap me. My roommate moved out and I moved in with another waitress from the diner. The police covered my shifts, sitting at the counter, the entire time I worked. They did it by using their meal breaks. They also conferred with the manager and the cook about what to do if the man showed up, in case no police were there.
The man showed up, but the police went outside and he drove away before they could follow him. The diner had huge walls of plate glass, so everyone was easy to see, and the parking lot was well lighted. The police told me to leave town for my own safety, so the waitress friend and I moved about an hour away, got an apartment, and got jobs next to the complex at a place like Waffle House/Huddle House.
I had pretty bad PTSD from this. It used to be that if I typed my story (for self-therapy) my entire body would be shaking extremely the whole time. Eventually I could type it without shaking. I am not shaking now, just feeling a bit anxious. For 2 decades, I could not relax in public. I was always on the lookout for someone who had a gun - either in their pocket or in plain sight. I didn't know what relaxing was until I finally experienced it and my best friend said, you are finally relaxed. We had taken our kids to train amusement type park with a small carnival. I had talked to each carnie, watched them for 2 hours, determined they were not carrying guns in pockets or on themselves, and finally felt this very odd feeling called relaxation.
I still look for guns everywhere I go. I have gone target shooting once, and shot 30 different guns. Turns out I am a really good shot. However, I get this horrible feeling when I shoot a gun that guns are for killing people. So I don't own a gun. I am not opposed to legally killing someone in self-defense or in defense of others. But if in a situation that didn't meet the legal requirements, if I am terrified, I might shoot and ask questions later.
I never talked to the police again after I moved to another city. I wanted to forget what had happened. I had been told that the man had escaped from a large mental hospital and would be returned to it because he was crazy. They did catch him, I found out later. By now, he is dead.
It was years before I recalled that my mom had frequently warned me to watch my drinks in public places -- she was worried about drugs being slipped into them in bars and nightclubs. It never dawned on me that anyone in a diner would do that too, but that is what the police determined had happened.
