Buried Alive; The Barbara Jane Mackle Kidnapping

Jim Harris-The Southern Voice

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7 min read

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Jul 20, 2021

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The plot could have come from a mystery novel or a Hollywood blockbuster, but it’s a true, horrific story, and it actually happened near Atlanta, Georgia, in 1968. A college student, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, is stalked, kidnapped, and buried alive. There were ransom drops, fake identities, the President-elect’s personal involvement, police helicopters chasing fugitives through a swamp, the first woman on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List, and much more.

In 1968, Barbara Jane Mackle was a junior at Emory University. Her father, Robert Mackle, was a millionaire, and co-owner of Deltona Corporation, a large, publically traded company headquartered in South Florida. Shortly before Christmas break, during finals for the fall semester, the Hong Kong flu swept through the Emory student body, and Mackle came down with it…