3225 – Natascha Kamputsch ORF

 

VO: A week has passed and Natascha Kampusch is still the most searched for person in Austria.

On newspaper: 10 YEAR OLD MISSING

POLICE EXPECT THE WORST

She is being searched for round the clock, day after day, with a variety of surveillance techniques.

SHE COULD NOT HAVE VANISHED INTO THIN AIR

The whole of the 22^nd district in Vienna has been combed through. The police have collected 140 leads from the inhabitants.

NATASCHA’s MUM: I HAVE GIVEN UP HOPE

VO: Yet Natascha seems to have disappeared without a trace. Her parents are torn between and hope and resignation.

Natascha’s mum : I still have hope that we can find her here somehow but seeing as more than 48 hours have passed – I know that she can’t have been hiding out for this long or been in a corner somewhere – you know – then normally she would have come out by now.

If one thinks about all the things that could have happened...

But strangely during the 48 hours, as more and more time went by I had more and more hope that we would find her alive.

VO: What really happened on Monday the 14^th March? There is a lot of speculation and no certified clues.

Man in suit: Natascha woke up around 6.45am on Monday morning and left the apartment at almost exactly 7am.

VO: Natascha had just had a fight with her mother

Shortly after 7, Natascha walked across the estate.

Mother: As soon as she left I looked out the window – as I do every time she leaves - and saw that she was walking very quickly. And that afternoon when I was waiting for her to come back, I remember still thinking that she had been in a rush because she wanted to be on time for school.

VO: Natastcha walked to school on these busy streets. Hundreds of people pass by here early morning.

Man: Natascha took her usual route to school  and crossed Wagramstrasse in front of the cars, where there is a small roundabout - she was less than a few hundred metres away from the apartment the last time she was seen.

One week later, her father is waiting round the clock for new clues. Since his divorce with Ms Sirny, Ludwig Koch lives with his mother. Her kitchen has become a crisis response centre.

Father:  Please call this number 313640130 Please try your best.

VO: Mr Koch is in constant contact with the authorities. Every few minutes he picks up the telephone how. No call has resulted in any concrete clues but this father will stop at nothing to find his daughter.

Natascha’s father: I have to say since she has been gone, I worry more and more every day. The word worry doesn't even cover it anymore. I can't imagine that she would have gone away with someone of her own free will.

He must have known her somehow. I spoke to the police and they haven't found anything. It's strange that no one witnessed anyone being confronted by a stranger on the street.

VO: The atmosphere at the local school is tense. They fear for Natascha’s safety but also that of the other children.  Could a criminal be lurking around the area unnoticed? There are lots of rumours. Natascha’s teacher Susanna Brauneder is under permanent stress. She is constantly confronted with scared parents and children. Natascha’s empty chair is a disturbing reminder for all.

Teacher: When they are in the middle of working, all of a sudden the children will say that they are too sad because Natascha is not here. Sometimes, they’ll be wild and boisterous and then they’ll revert back to being sad. Everything is very derailed. 

VO:  The teacher tries to help the children work through the trauma of Natascha’s disappearance by talking about it together in a circle.

Susanna: And what have your parents said about this? Have you all spoken with your parents about Natascha?

Children: Yes

Girl: My mother hopes that we find her and she is alright.

Ginger child: My mother thinks that she is already dead because a child can’t survive for so long by herself.

VO: ...And the teacher is just as affected by this as the children.

Susanna: I’m really making an effort to focus on Natascha as much as possible. She had problems which meant that she didn't get the care she needed. She needed appreciation and affection. And she knew that she could get this from me - the children all know that anyone who is having problems can come see me and they're not forced to talk about it.

VO: Natascha Kamputsch - was she really the victim of a crime or did she simply run away from home? One thing is sure, her family situation was not easy. She suffered from her parents’ divorce. She was greatly affected by her parents' dispute over child custody. Her mother worked a lot and so she felt neglected by her. The 10 year old spoke about this openly.

Natascha’s mother: I have two grown up daughters and four grandchildren and I think she felt left out when my grandchildren came over. They come over a lot you see, and sleep here. By often I mean when my kids have something to do I say sure you can bring them over here. So Natascha said that I always wanted them to come  over “ But you always scold me” she said “You’re embarrassed by me. You don’t like me as much”.

 6:36 Natascha’s father: I can only hope it's what I suspect – that she took it too far and wanted to punish us. But you can't do things like that! Why her? What have we done!

That's my suspicion. That she wanted to give us a scare, a hint so that we..

I am of the opinion that in a relationship, no one is ever guilty, and why should the child, the most important one, almost always suffer?

VO: It's been a week full of self-reproach and guilt for Natascha’s family. Mrs Zirn, her daughters and their respective husbands have got together to keep searching for the missing child. They are constantly looking for clues which might point to where she has gone. Nothing seems more telling than what was said by Natascha’s friend Daniela.

Natascha’s mother: She called me early on Wednesday and she told me that Natascha  was planning on leaving home – the more we all fought, the more this ambition grown. That's why I can imagine that she ran away because of this.

VO: Just the weekend before her disappearance, Ludwig Koch was with his daughter at their holiday home Nyoger in Hungary. This is why Natascha had her passport on her. Her father clings to the hope that she could turn up around there. Both he and her mother emphasise Natascha’s independence.

Father: She was interested in everything. She was interested in the train network and how one travelled. She had a fascination with Hungary, with the town where we have our house. She could have got there by herself and can can master about 20/30 % of the language, People love her there and she would have known that she could live there in our house for 14 days without being found, without needing anything.

VO: Ludwig Koch was in Hungary himself last Tuesday. Disappearance posters are all over the town. The father’s search has been fruitless up to now but he has notified the Hungarian police in case Natascha is in Nyoger and catches someone’s attention.

Man (presumably head of police station): Interpol declared her missing on the 5^th March, so we officially started the search on this day.  We had already been around the neighbourhood the day before, talking to neighbours and looking round her father’s house. We asked at the post office and the town hall but we haven’t found any trace of her.

Man with curly hair: The last time I saw her was last Sunday after she had been swimming, she came to ours around 3.30/4 then at about 4.30 she went home.That was the last time I saw her.

Old man: I knew her well. She came here a lot with her father. She is very nice and friendly. I miss her a lot and worry about her. The whole village hopes that Natascha is in good health and will return soon.

VO: The neighbours in Nyoger are keeping an eye on Ludwig’s house. Last Friday Austrian detectives were here to find clues but nothing has changed: Natascha has not appeared. After a week of intensive investigation work, there are still no promising clue as to where she might be.

Man: It's likely that she is with someone, simply because we haven't found any trace of Natascha anywhere. Normally when a 10 year old child runs away, there is some sort of indication,  a phone call or a message and we just don’t have anything like this. It's also likely that a criminal has taken her for the same reasons; there are no clues, no leads. This is unusual as we just have absolutely no clue regarding Natascha's disappearance. 

VO:  Waiting for a sign of life from little Natascha is becoming more and more unbearable for her parents. Hope is all that is left.

Mother: I don't think I have made any mistakes but if I could take my daughter in my arms again, I know we would start things on a different foot, I know we would start things again.

Father: If you hear this Natascha – I’m telling you I would give anything just please please come back. And the person who has Natascha – please whoever you are please give her back

Thema Lady: Since 10 year old Natascha’s was pronounced missing this Monday morning, the whole of Austria has been torn between hope and fear. The case immediately became a nasty reminder of the recent incidents of violence against children in Vienna. In spite of an intensive police investigation, there is still no trace of her. Of course, there is still the hope that the child has just run away. Thomas Sigg and Christoph Feier visited Natascha’s family in Vienna in order to look into the background of her disappearance.

Interviewer: Mrs Zirn, you showed me Natascha’s room many times. You haven’t changed anything since she has left. You once said to me that you were constantly waiting to hear the doorbell ring and see Natascha standing in front of you. Now we know that Natascha is alive. Would you ever have dared to believe it?

Mother: Yes I have always firmly believed that at some point she would come back. I can’t even express how happy I am.

Interviewer: What was the moment like when you got the phonecall?

Mother: I got the phone call from someone in the media – this media channel called me and said they had found Natascha, they hadn’t told people yet. And Natascha – well a young woman who claimed to be Natascha Kamputsch, had been found in Deutsch-Wagram.  I called work straight away and asked for the telephone number of the police station in Deutsch-Wagram. And I was put through to the police,  who said that they needed more time to confirm it and within the next two days I got a call from the head of the police and he said “Natascha is here” I said “Really?” and he said “Yes 99%  sure it’s her”. So yes, it was just amazing.

Interviewer: And what was it like when you saw her for the first time?

Mother: It was amazing. I went inside that building and my heart starting beating faster and faster. When I got to the lift I thought the it was the door to where she was but it wasn't it was the lift so I had to wait a bit but it was amazing. Natascha fell into my arms and I into hers of course. She said to me I hope you know that I never wanted this.  I’m so proud of my child of what she has accomplished, that she managed to find the opportunity to get away.

Interviewer: So 8 years have gone by. The last time you saw Natascha she was 10 and now she is a young woman. What was the first thing you recognised about her?

Mother: Her mannerism, her face, everything really. As a mother you don’t forget these things. She is the same child and I think even if she had been found 20 years later I would have recognised her.

Interviewer: During this time that you saw her was she able to tell you anything about these horrible 8 years. About what she went through over there.

Mother: Yes and no. We spoke but I didn’t ask any questions about it. I let her speak and she said that she would like to talk to the media herself and I shouldn’t say anything. And I won’t say anything.  I will leave her to say what she wants because she is back and they should --- (16:29)

Interviewer: Lots of horrible things have been said about what Natascha must have been through. How do you react to these things?

Mother: She amazes me. She has a strong character, strong personality and from the moment she was abducted she acted in a completely responsible way, it's completely admirable. For a 10-year-old child to be so reasonable is quite remarkable.

Interviewer: Considering that she has been away for 8 years, waiting, living in fear, what does she look like now?

Mother: Like the images they made of her to put on tv, what they predicted she would look like  when she was 15, exactly like that, they did it very well. Unbelievable - Unbelievable

Interviewer: What is the most important thing for Natascha now, what does she need most urgently?

Mother: For me the most important is that Natascha tells me what she wants and, I am just here to help her. I will support her in her next steps.

Interviewer: What do you think is necessary for the path that lies ahead, taking into account that she couldn’t go to school, have you given some thought as to what she should do now?

Mother: Yes a school education or some sort of training would be good for her to have.

Interviewer: Natascha was hidden in close proximity to you, are you critical of the way the police dealt with this, do you think they made mistakes?

Mother: Yes well I reproach the police – I mean I reproached them in the past – not anymore as that was 8 and a half years ago. Before, I was angry with them because when a girl reported having seen Natascha being pulled into a van,  it took the police 14 days to follow this up. Then of course they also questioned this man who came with up with an alibi and explained he was using the minivan to transport rubble and so they forgot about him, and he was free to go.

Interviewer: Do you think the police gave up on Natascha too early, that they came to the conclusion that she was dead too early on?

Mother: Now I can understand it a bit more. At the time, I just couldn’t understand how they could discontinue the investigation and just leave it up to chance. If something came up they would look into it. They thought at one point that she was a victim of pornography ring, or child abuse. They suspected lots of different people which I actually think is okay as it's the police's job.

For two years they were worked intensively on my daughter’s disappearance, but for me, of course it was too little, even if it would have been three or eight years it would have been the same.  I couldn’t understand how they hadn’t found anything.

Interviewer: When Natascha disappeared., did your whole life change?

19:00 Mother: Yes completely. Nothing was the same as before. There was no real Christmas. No real joy. I was completely blocked. I threw myself into work. I neglected my grandchildren for a while. And then after two years I realised and it was a shame, that my grandchildren and children couldn't change the situation either. So I changed and I looked after them more. I went down another path and I thought about things a lot.

Interviewer: You were all over the media, in and out of Austria –What was this like for you?

Mother: In general  my experience with the media was very negative, there were a few exceptions that were positive,  but most of it was negative because people didn't write what had actually been said.

Interviewer: Your whole family’s behaviour was scrutinized. There were rumours of sexual abuse within the the family. Natascha was said to be an unloved child. Many went as far as to suggest that you had something to do with Natascha’s disappearance. What was this like for you?

Mother: This was horrible of course. I can’t really explain with words how this felt. On the one hand I thought yes anyone can come and make any claim they want, we live in a democracy.  People thought this was true, the media made lots of money from it and some really will believe it. At the same time I knew exactly what happened between us, how it happened, and I could comfort myself with that. That was enough.

Interviewer: So you filed a complaint, what's it is like now that she is alive?

Mother: Yes. Now everyone knows that this claim is not true. The special hearing is on Monday.  I won't say any names but the people who started it should acknowledge their mistakes.

Interviewer: Natascha's father was also in a difficult state. He spoke out against you too and supported the allegations against you. Now that Natascha is back, is it not the time to sit down at the table together and say “ It's about Natascha now, let's bury our differences”.

Mother: Yes so I will try and do what Natascha wants me to do. If she wants to see him or not see him, I will not get in the way. I mean I will try and leave aside my own feelings about him.

Interviewer: What do you think the future will be like with Natascha by your side?

Mother: Beautiful. Yes, she needs a school education. She needs new outfits – she has absolutely nothing. She went shopping with her sister and they bought the most essential things. She needs absolutely everything. It's hard to imagine. It's like a birth. She needs everything. From shoes to a toothbrush.

Interviewer: Mrs Zirn thank you so much for talking to me. I wish you and of course Natascha all the best for the future.

Mother: Thank you

VO: These are last night scenes in Stasshof's Heinestrasse.

Interviewer: Mr Drucke you live in the neighbourhood. Did you know the criminal in question?

Mr Drucke: Yes of course

Interviewer: What impression did you have of him?

Mr Drucke: Not the best. He was actually very strange. I always wondered why no one really went over there, a part from his mother sometimes on weekend. One time I was confused as it was the weekend and I heard a young voice and I thought this cannot be his mother, maybe he has a girlfriend. But I didn’t think anything more of it.

Interviewer: When you say you heard a young voice, do you think this was Natascha?

Mr Drucke: I can't say – I said to him who was that and he said it was just a friend.

VO: What hid behind the neighbour's observation, came to light yesterday afternoon.  Peter Drucke could actually have heard Natascha's voice.

Natascha spoke to a young policewoman yesterday about her experience during past 8 years. She was the first person that Natascha confided in after her abduction.

Interviewer: Ms Freudenberger you were here yesterday when Natascha was brought in. Can you describe the situation to us?

Ms Freudenberger: Yes, yesterday at around 2pm I was here in the room, sitting down and my two colleagues who had gone to get Natascha from the place where she was found came into the office.

Interviewer: Can we see?

Ms Freudenberger:  Natascha had this cover over her because she didn't want to be seen. She came in through the door here and stopped at the desk. I went with her into the side room straight away because my colleagues and I realised that she was very scared. So yeh, I asked her if she could come with me over here. She said yes. She sat down here. I sat opposite her. I let her take whichever chair. I introduced myself, said that my name was Sabine. She told me her name was Natascha. She was quite talkative. She said that she was a bit chilly. She was in a dress and needed a jacket so I gave her my police jacket. She described everything from beginning to end. She didn't hold anything back. She started by telling me about the day she was abducted, exactly what had happened, what she was thinking, how she felt.

Interviewer: What did she tell you?

Natascha: That she had just had a fight with her mother. Her thoughts were swarming around in her head on her way to school. She wanted to cross the road but then she decided against it, she thought that nothing would happen to her. Unfortunately that was not the case. She saw the man ahead and she wanted to cross the road but instead she walked on.. yes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

VO: Early yesterday morning the 10 year old left for school, shortly before 8, but she never arrived. Natascha's teacher thought that the child was ill. The playschool where Natascha normally spent the afternoon didn't think anything of her absence either. When Natascha didn't come home by 6pm, her mother alerted the police.

Mother: I can't explain it at all. She's a not a vulnerable child. When she leaves she normally gets to school within 20 minutes and it takes her the time to get back. She never goes a different way. She always takes the same way back.

VO In the Rennbaumweg estate, many people are scared. An exhibitionist has been seen here often. Flyers were handed out at school, warning people about this man.

Ms Freudenberger (policewoman): He allegedly said to her, if it hadn't have happened that day, it would have happened the next day, the kidnapping that is. That's what she said to me.

Interviewer: So had he planned to kidnap her specifically, or could he have kidnapped someone else, another girl?

Ms Freudenberger: She explained to me that he told her he wanted her specifically. He said that if she had crossed the road than it might not have happened that day but it would have happened the next. That's what she said to me.

Interviewer: Did he ever tell her why he chosen her?

Ms Freudenberger:  No

Interviewer: Did she know him?

Ms Freudenberger: No. She didn't know him. No. And in the first few years she didn't even know his name.

Interviewer: But she had seen his face and everything.

Ms Freudenberger28:24 Yes everything, she saw him a lot. He brought her food and made sure everything was sanitary. She lived with him in good standards of hygiene. She had rashes on her feet but she was taken care of and this was all she knew.

VO: Natascha was imprisoned for years under Wolfgang Priklopil's house in a garage. This is the steel door that shut off the 2 metre high room. Yesterday afternoon, after 8 years 5 months and 21 days, Natascha was left alone for a few minutes and she used this time to get away. She left the house of her abductor alone for the first time.

At 2:03 pm the Deutsch Wagram police department got a call from an elderly lady. A confused young lady had turned up in her garden.

Wolfgang Priklopil realised that the police would be after him and so he fled to Vienna in his red BMW. He parked his car in a shopping centre's underground car park. The 44 year old man continued his journey by foot, got picked up by a friend outside and narrowly escapes the police.

Wolfgang Priklopil told his friend that he had been caught drink-driving and that was why he had run away. In the meantime, the shopping centre was surrounded to catch him. At the same time a special unit of the police entered the fugitive's mother's apartment in Vienna. The BMW was registered to this address but the apartment is empty.

(red car pulls up) For hours, every car coming out of the shopping centre's parking lot was searched. At 6.45pm a wanted identikit picture of the culprit is given to the police. Soon after the team securing the evidence, order the red car to be towed out of the parking lot. Priklopil inherited the car from his father, who died 20 years ago from cancer. At 8:59pm, the Austrian national rail services reported that a man had jumped in front of a train at Praterstern station. They found the keys of the BMW on the mutilated body. A friend identified Wolfgang Priklopil due to his clothes.

Man who was on train: We were just pulling out of Praterstern. Shortly after we left the station there was a little jolt and the train slowed down a bit, not a significant amount but yeh. And then the lights on these poles changed, the train stopped and we were told someone had just committed suicide in front of the train.

Interviewer: Did you suspect at all that it was Natascha's abductor or did this not really cross your mind?

Man who was on train: Some time after, when I was on the phone to a friend, I realised that it was him. But when I was in the train it didn't really cross my mind.

VO: As Natascha Kamputsch lived here in this house alone for so long, she had a very close relationship with her captor.

Policewoman: He was in a way like a father figure for her. She said he did everything - in quotation marks- to make things hygienic. He was a very clean man. He made her brush teeth, was her hands so that she would be hygienic.

Interviewer: So she said the criminal imposed a sort of routine on her?

Policewoman: Yes she did

Interviewer: Did she tell you anything about this?

Policewoman: Yes she did as well.

Interviewer: Can you tell us?

Policewoman: Yes she had a routine. She was made to get up early then they had breakfast together. They spent the whole day with each other. She told me everything about their daily routine. She helped him with the house work, did gardening for him and lots of things.

Interviewer: Did she tell you why she was made to do these things? What was his motive was?

Policewoman: No she didn't mention this.

Interviewer: Do you think that Natascha was a victim of abuse? That she might have been abused sexually as well?

Policewoman: My opinion is that she was. But I don't think this is clear for her. It's not clear for her. No. She says that she did everything of her own free will.

Interviewer: He threatened her about what would happen if she tried to escape, what would happen to her family, what would happen to her. This is probably why she didn't try and escape from the beginning.

Other interviewer: Mr Koch we have sat around this table many times now and it has always been horribly sad. Now Natascha is really back with us. How are you doing?

Mr Koch (father): I cannot express how I feel. I have sat here so many times and it has always been so sad, I never thought I would experience this feeling of happiness again.

Interviewer: You have said many times over the past 8 years, and in many conversations that we have had, that only hope was keeping you holding on to life. In the past years many people have ridiculed you – “ How can he still believe that Natascha is still alive? My god it can't be.” But you never gave up. What is it like now?

34:10 Mr Koch: I just still could never imagined it. I have to be honest and say I didn't think I would live to see the day but I have made it my aim to find out exactly what happened to my daughter, since the day she went missing.

Interviewer: What did Natascha say when she saw you... for the first time? What was your conversation like?

Mr Koch:  34:34 We.. I tried to make the conversation about her toys and things – stuff we can do now, now that we have the time. Talking about what we can do for her and what she can do without a high school education and I said that since she had gone missing I had found a lovely woman, who had heard about my daughter on the news and that she's Hungarian and wants to learn our language. And so I kept the conversation going with little things like that so that she wouldn't be overwhelmed.

Interviewer: And Natascha is very happy to be back at home.

Mr Koch: Yes she is incredibly happy.

-----------------------------------

Policewoman: She listened to the radio a lot. She listened to the radio all day. She educated herself – it's quite remarkable. I was struck by just how educated she is.  She has grown into a very intelligent woman... Her vocabulary is so rich, it's unbelievable and it's just from listening to the radio. She also recorded films and played them on the video recorder. She received books to read – school books to teach herself things. She's very impressive. To think that she got taken away when she was 10 and she doesn't have a high-school education. She's an incredibly bright woman.

Interviewer: You said that you formed a type of friendship relationship with her. How did this come about?

Policewoman: At the beginning she only had a strappy dress on so I gave her my jacket. Then she said she liked my hair and my jewellery especially as she had never been able to have any.  She said that he didn't have any money for those sort of things, but he wanted to buy her jewellery. She didn't have anything like that so I gave her my watch.

Interviewer: As a present?

Policewoman: Yes as a present.

She tried to negotiate calmly with him. She tried to do this again and again.

Interviewer: Negotiate calmly with him to be freed?

Policewoman: Yes to be released. She said she wanted a family, another half, children, and freedom.

Interviewer: With the benefit of hindsight, knowing how this young woman lived here for years, what do you think about?

Man: One can't imagine it. That she was there for 10 – 8 years. How someone can keep a person locked up for years and they don't try and  escape. If she'd have screamed, someone would have heard.

VO: But none of the neighbours suspected anything of the house where Natascha Kamputsch spent her all her time, locked away from the age of 10 to 18,  in a cellar under the garage.

-------------------------------------------

News Presenter: Natascha disappeared early Monday morning on her way to school.

VO: The police have searched the whole Rennbahnweg area.

Policeman: Please take a note of all places you have searched.

Man: We're really clutching at straws here because of the lack of clues.

News Presenter: Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to a mother or father

Newspaper: I HAVE LOST HOPE

Father: If you can hear me Natascha please I will give anything for you to come back to us.

And the person who has taken you – no matter who you are, please let her come back to us.

VO: Natascha's disappearance has resulted in the Second Republic in Austria's biggest police operation. All available units are being deployed. Hundreds of leads given by the public have been followed up. Most have resulted in nothing. In the first few days following the abduction it seemed like everything possible was being done.

SHE COULD NOT HAVE VANISHED INTO THIN AIR

39:14 – 39:31 - REPETITION

 “I hope that we will find her somewhere but when the 48 hours had passed I thought she can't be hiding out for this long or in a corner somewhere. Then she would have come out by now. When one thinks about it… a few words missing?

VO Natascha's family was already split up before her disappearance. The girl suffered greatly from her parents messy divorce. She said on multiple occasions that she wanted to leave home. Her parents confirmed these family problems in interviews a few days after she disappeared.

Mother: I have two grown up daughters and four grandchildren and I think she felt left out when my grandchildren came over. They come over a lot you see, they sleep here a lot. By often I mean when my kids have something to do I say sure you can bring them over here and Natascha thought I always want them to come  over  and said“ But you always scold me – you’re ashamed of me. You don’t like me”.

40:30 -41:10 REPETITION OF 06:36-07:16

VO: On the morning of the second of March 1998, the then 10 year old girl left her appartment in Vienna's 22^nd district. After fighting with her mother, she left to go to school but she never arrived. A meticulous route diagram and the testimony of a 12 year old schoolmate claiming to see a girl being pulled into a white van, are the only plausible lead for the police's investigation.

Man in suit: The testimony about the white van is our top priority. This 12 year old girl's testimony contains precise indication and clues about the case. We really believe that what this girl saw was connected with Natascha's disappearance. 

VO:    , over a thousand white vans were searched, including that of the multiple time offender, Wolfgang P. He was questioned by the police in April 1998. He explained he was using the van to transport rubble from a construction site. As there was no other reason to suspect him, his house was not searched.

Policeman: Give me your phone number please.

VO: The detectives were looking for leads. One of the tip-offs was regarding two tanning salons where the 10 year old was said to have been seen but this suggestion did not help the investigation.

The family continued to receive phone calls from strangers who claimed to have the child with them.

Father: Someone called and said “ I have Natascha. I said “She's alive?” She said “Yes”. I said “ That's wonderful”.Then she said “ I too have a daughter who died and I'm not giving up.” This is a true story I heard it with my own ears. No one believes that these things happen.

VO: In April 1998, following up on another lead, the police started another search operation. In Strasshof, very close to where Natascha was being held captive, the police searched part of a forest.

Policeman: The last piece of information we received at the police station was  said to be connected to the tip about the white van. Someone came in and said “ Please go look in the forest between Deutsch Wagram and Strasshof, something could be hidden there. “

VO:  In 2001,  the question of what Natascha would look like if she was a teenager was addressed. The ORF graphics department, sent photos of Natascha and her parents as teenagers, to Schwenniginen, the police training institute in Baden Wutenberg.

Using modern technology, they predicted the change in Natascha's face. These pictures, created on the computer, enabled the police to compare them with images on child pornography websites.

Policeman: I'll just slide it along...

[picture of Natascha] VO: This is what Natascha should look like today – her father Ludwig Koch confirmed to Thema, the Austrian TV programme, this morning.

 

VO: The Viennese private detective Walter Pochhacker dedicated himself to Natascha's case from the very beginning. He carried out lie detector tests on various suspects who had been in Natascha's surroundings. In 2001, Walter published a sensational report. He claimed to know where Natascha's body had been hidden.

Walter: 3 years after the disappearance I went through all the documents and testimonies, considering all the possibilities, putting everything together according to specific criteria, and I am now one hundred percent sure I know the perpetrator. As to where the hidden corpse is, I believe it is in a specific lake.

46:32

VO: For weeks, Walter Pochhacker searched a pond in lower Austria at his own expense, where he suspected Natascha's body would be. Natascha's father too believed this was the final clue. Until recently, he believed the detective's conclusion. The police had less faith in the private detective's claims.

Man in suit: We were investing so much in this investigation and in our various other cases that we couldn't listen to every request, every piece of gossip. We just couldn't find any concrete proof and this was very sad for Natascha's parents. And also there was a lot of frustration directed at us as many believed the police had failed.

Mother: It would be good if some sort of answer could come out one day. Because not knowing is destructive.

Father:  Every time I see children, when I go to Macdonalds or something and I see a young girl. And they pass by quickly I have to look twice as my heart stops and I think I've seen Natascha.

------------------------------------------------

VO: It's shortly after midnight, and it is now confirmed that the man, who has been searched for, intensively in the past few hours, has committed suicide. He threw himself in front of a fast train at Praterstern station in Vienna. After investigating, he was identified by his clothes. He also had the keys of the suspect's car, found by the police.

In Strasshof in the Southern part of Austria, the man's house, the house in which Natascha was imprisoned for many years, has been searched the whole night. First by specialists because Kamputsch warned police that he might have left explosives in the house. Once cleared, they started to collect the evidence. The residents who live nearby are shocked.

Young girl: We are all very shocked. Especially because I remembered everything about her disappearance, how she was on her way to school. I felt so sorry for her parents.

Young boy: It's so bad that it's unbelievable. It's hard to believe that such a man lived in Strasshof.

Interviewer: Are you scared? Are you in shock?

Young boy: Yes it's scary and I'm in shock.

Woman: It's incomprehensible. People always say that Vienna is more dangerous and we're in South Austria – the whole thing is just incomprehensible.

VO: At the moment the area around the house in Strasshof is relatively calm. There are only a few journalists waiting around, hoping to get more information. Around 9 o'clock they confirmed that the investigation team was going to re enter in the light of day, to find more clues and secure the house.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

50:05 – 50:13 – problem with video - NEED TO CUT FRAMES

VO: After 8 years of being imprisoned and free for less than a few hours, Natascha Kamputsch is in front of the police station, with a cover over her head to hide herself from the journalists  who want to know more about her extraordinary, surprising reappearance.  Natascha Kamputsch is said to have managed to flee from the car of her kidnappers. She was found in the garden of this house in Strassbourg by a woman who notified the authorities. The woman then told the police that she was the same Natascha that had disappeared 8 years ago.

Her kidnapper has already fled. The police started a man hunt but he was nowhere . The suspected offender is the 44 year old Wolfgang P. shown on this wanted photo. Only his car has been found. The red bmw is in the parking lot of Donnauzentrum shopping centre. As all forensic evidence is being secured, they hope to find clues about the suspect.

Flashback: In March 1998, Natascha Kamputsch disappeared on the way to school. A schoolmate says that she has seen Natascha being pulled into a white van. This provokes the biggest manhunt in the history of the police. There is a lot of speculation, suspicions but there is no trace of little Natascha for 8 years.

The neighbours in Strasshof are surprised by this incident.

Woman: We are taken aback. I can't even understand how we live around the corner and that no one noticed.

VO: During their search of the suspects house, the police find a small prison. This is where Natascha was hidden. Recently, it's said that the kidnapper took her on holiday out in the open.

Woman in pink: In the past few weeks I saw him with a young girl – I thought it was his girlfriend but it must have been Kamputsch.

VO: Exactly what happened in the past 8 years, will come out in the next few days.

Natascha Kamputsch is not ready to answer everything in detail yet.

Man in grey suit: Natascha Kamputsch received help first and foremost. She was examined to make sure she didn't have any injuries. Natascha Kamputsch also received psychological support. 

VO: 52:54 When Natascha saw her father, she broke down into tears. Her parents have known nothing about their daughter's fate since she we nt missing . 8 years stuck between hope and despair. 8 years – waiting for a sign of life. 8 years – during which the parents – as they say – never gave up hope. 

52:55 – 53.00 NEED TO CUT FRAMES

53:00 – 54:30 : REPETITION OF 50:14 – 51:39

Neighbour: I have known Wolfgang since he was a just little boy and going to kindergarden. I knew his parents, his grandparents. So I can't say anything bad about him.

REPETITI0N AGAIN FROM 54:43 – 56:25

 

56:25  VO: Early this afternoon the police received a phonecall from a worried inhabitant. She had found a young woman staggering around her garden. The officers went over and found a confused young woman in total shock, claiming to be Natascha Kamputsch.

After interrogating her and comparing her with the police photos, her alleged identity seemed to be true. Additionally, she will undergo a DNA test.

Man talking to the press: There has been lots of different things being said, scepticism. We have relayed everything on to Natascha's relatives and they say that this is Natascha Kamputsch

VO: The young woman explained that she had been locked in a basement for 8 years in a family house in Strasshof. The house has been searched and the police discovered a partly electronically-secured garage. The front door was also locked electronically. They searched it cautiously as the young woman said that her captor had often threatened her with explosives.

The young woman was brought by the police to Vienna under their protection. Witnesses had reported seeing a red BMW speeding off from the house. They notified the police who started to hunt down the man in the car. They searched the house of the man's mother as the car was registered in her name, but no one was there.

Around 2pm the car was discovered in the Donnauzentrum shopping centre car park in Vienna. The shopping centre was then surrounded by the police. Officers dressed as civilians searched inside the shopping centre in case the perpetrator had not left.

The suspected kidnapper is Wolfgang P. the 44 year old unmarried telecommunications engineer. Apparently he was one of the first people to be questioned by the police at the very beginning of the investigation 8 years ago.

On Monday, Natascha's father, who lives in Hungary, went to the police station. Her mother is still on her way to Vienna.

ORF journalist: What do you think of your daughter's possible reappearance?

VO: According to the police, when the young woman saw her father again she started to cry.

That night there was a press conference about who this man that held Natascha captive for 8 years, could be.

Police chief: It's a matter which we must now examine intensively – like many others. Not only because we cannot fully interrogate the girl at this time. One has to take into account that she has been held captive in a home for many many years. 

VO: Searching the shopping centre was unsuccessful.

Further investigations were carried out around the car. They are also trying to find out how often the kidnapped Natascha Kamputsch travelled in this car. The police are waiting for the exact results from laboratory.

---------------------------------------------

VO:  Today shortly after 1pm, the police in Deutsch Wagram got a telephone call from a worried elderly lady. A young woman was staggering around her garden. The police came over, found the woman and were amazed: the confused woman told them that she was Natascha Kamputsch.

Man: Yes the girl said she had been locked the entire time in a room in the basement.

Reporter: Where?

Man: In Strasshof. In a detached family house.

Reporter: And is it close to where she was found?

Man: Yes she was found close to where she had been held captive all those years.

VO: Her answers to the police's questions and her likeliness to photos seemed to confirm her declaration but she is currently undergoing a DNA test.

The identity of the young girl has not been officially confirmed yet.

The young woman claims to have been imprisoned  for 8 years in a basement not far from her parents apartment in Vienna's 22^nd district.

The officers continued the manhunt by searching an apartment in Vienna but no one was there. The neighbours claim not to have seen anything.

The police also started searching for a red BMW. The neighbours in Deutsch Wagram had seen one speeding off from the suspect's house soon after Natascha's escape. The car was finally found in one of vienna's shopping centre's parking lots. The owner needed to be interrogated. The Donauzentrum shopping centre was surrounded by policemen and police dressed as civilians entered the building in case the suspect was still inside. The suspect was actually one of the first people to be questioned by the police, 8 years ago at the beginning of the investigation.

In any case, the girl is now set to meet with Natascha Kamputsch's parents. Her father had already come to the police station in Deutsch Wagram this afternoon.

 

CUT FRAMES: 01:15- -01:25

Man at press conference: Matching Wolfgang Priklopils DNA with that of traces saved special Austrian data bank gave no results. We haven't been able to match his DNA to find out more.

Man:   We haven't been able to recognise where he would have gone to around Austria, anywhere  his dna would have been left behind.

VO: The police have refused to confirm the reports of sexual intercourse between the perpetrator and the young girl.

Information about Natascha's mobility during captivity and her daily routine is sparse.

Man: We can deduce from the information that she spent a lot of time locked up in the prison but some time out of it too. We know that she had spent some time in the garden form which she was able to flee from.

VO While the police team in Strasshof searched the house for DNA traces which might reveal other people's involvement, a psychological team, looked after Natascha. Max Friedrich was one of them. Victim protection experts looked after the girl too.

Victim protection expert: She is sweet and very eloquent – very wise. Yes very positive, very educated.

VO: The place where Natascha was held captive is now one of the most guarded places in Austria. First thing next week the police will carry out more interrogations