The Brainwashing and Torture of Colleen Stan: A Kidnapping Survivor
On 19th May, 1977, 20-year-old Colleen Stan was travelling from her home in Oregon to a friend’s house in California. The journey was long and she decided to hitchhike, but tragically Colleen never made it to her destination. Instead, she was kidnapped and spent seven years under the torturous control of a sadistic couple.
Abduction
Colleen safely made it all the way through to California, where she attempted to flag down another vehicle for the next leg of her journey. Already a seasoned hitchhiker, she declined two offers from passersby due to feeling uncertain about the drivers. However, when a blue van pulled over containing a young couple and their baby, Colleen felt reassured and climbed inside. The married couple introduced themselves as 23-year-old Cameron Hooker and 19-year-old Janice Hooker.
It did not take long for Colleen to begin feeling uncomfortable. While stopped at a gas station, she used the bathroom and felt the urge to flee out of the window, but talked herself out of it and returned to the van. However, her instincts were to be proved correct. When passing through a more secluded area, Cameron Hooker pulled a knife to Colleen’s throat and proceeded to lock her head inside a wooden box, depriving her of air, light and sound.
With Colleen now restrained and entirely at their mercy, the Hookers switched route and headed to their nearby home in Red Bluff. Once there, Colleen was blindfolded and taken down into the basement, where she was strung up from the ceiling by her hands. Her kidnappers then inflicted horrific acts of physical torture, involving Colleen being whipped and burned, after which the couple had sex beneath her suspended body.
What followed would be seven years of sexual, physical and psychological torment. She was repeatedly hung, whipped, burned and submerged in a bathtub of water until she couldn’t breathe. In the first six months of her captivity, Colleen estimated that she was hung and whipped 90 to 100 times by Cameron Hooker. When she was not being physically and sexually abused, Colleen was confined to a coffin-like wooden box, where she was kept for 23 hours a day. The box was hardly big enough for her to fully lie down, and on hot days the temperature could unbearably reach almost 40 degrees Celsius.
Indoctrination
In January 1978 —8 months following her abduction — Colleen was gradually allowed more time outside of her small, dark cell. However, this certainly did not bring any particular freedom. Although Colleen was no longer confined to the box, she had been forced to sign a contract pledging herself as Cameron Hooker’s sex slave, which left her prone to more frequent abuse. Hooker had an agreement with his wife which stipulated there would be no penetrative sex between himself and their captive, which meant he would resort to raping Colleen with various objects instead.
With Colleen now able to roam the house, the Hookers also initiated a relentless campaign of psychological abuse. They recognised that Colleen’s lack of confinement entailed a greater risk of her escaping, which they controlled by spinning an elaborate web of intimidating lies. They told Colleen they were part of a satanic organisation called ‘The Company’; a secret sex ring run by members of the social elite — including government officials, judges and other law enforcement professionals. Due to the power of those within The Company, there would be no way out for Colleen, and any attempt at escaping would be a death sentence. She was also told that her family home had been located and bugged, therefore any disobedience would also result in the harming of her loved ones. The Hookers’ plan had worked — Colleen was completely terrified and compliant.
“Anytime I was taken out of the box, I never knew what to expect. Fear of the unknown was always with me as I was kept in the dark both physically and mentally.” — Colleen Stan, speaking to People in 2016.
Colleen was gradually allowed to venture beyond the perimeters of the house to exercise and seek employment, but her fear of The Company always guaranteed her return. Two years after being reported missing, she was even able to call her family and reassure them she was safe — though she was closely supervised by Hooker. Despite now having opportunities to seek help, Colleen believed she was under surveillance at all times and did not dare try and flee. The Hookers were so confident in their methods of indoctrination that Colleen was even left alone to babysit their two unsuspecting children.
In 1981, almost four years after her abduction, Colleen was astonishingly granted a visit to see her family. She was accompanied by Cameron and together they acted convincingly as boyfriend and girlfriend. Her family had spent years believing Colleen had run away to join a cult, and they did not want to ask too many questions for fear of pushing her further away. Instead, they all enjoyed the day together — even snapping a photograph of Colleen and Cameron together, in which she appeared genuinely happy.
Following the visit, Cameron became wary that he had allowed his victim too much contact with the outside world. Once again, Colleen was confined to the dreaded box, where she spent most of the next three years. Even her access to a bathroom was extremely limited, as she was instead forced to urinate and defecate into a container.
Escape
This is how life remained for Colleen, until events took a sudden turn in July of 1984. By this point, Janice knew that Cameron had been raping Colleen, despite their strict agreement of no penetration. This extremely upset Janice, who then confided in her church pastor about her husband’s activities over the last seven years. The pastor advised that she should immediately release Colleen, leave her husband and notify the authorities.
By the following month, Janice had apparently began to repent, as she informed Colleen in early August that The Company did not exist. After feeling overwhelmed with fear for so long, Colleen was absolutely devastated. The next day, while Cameron Hooker was at work, Janice and Colleen took the children and fled. Colleen made a call to her parents and requested they wire her some bus fare, and while at the station she made a call to Hooker. She told him she knew the truth, and she was leaving for good. Upon hearing this, he burst inconsolably into tears. Colleen hung up the phone, boarded a bus and returned to her family.
After one week, Janice returned to her husband and encouraged him to pursue counselling. She also convinced him to destroy some of his bondage equipment. However, despite trying, Janice could not return to her previous state of marital happiness. She found herself unable to sleep or eat and was plagued with anxiety attacks. Once again, on 28th September, she left.
Remarkably, Colleen continued to communicate with the Hookers after her escape. They spoke via letter and telephone, during which time she and Janice agreed to not contact the authorities as they believed Cameron should be given an opportunity to correct his behaviour. Colleen had given her family some of the truth surrounding her seven-year absence, and they were adamant the police should be involved. However, Colleen felt grateful to have fled with her life and just wanted to work on putting the past behind her.
Conviction
On 1st November, 1984, Janice met with her husband to see if he had destroyed the remaining stash of his sexual paraphernalia, as promised. However, she was disappointed to find he had not. Janice once again spoke with her pastor, and this time law enforcement was contacted.
Cameron Hooker was subsequently arrested and Janice was called on to testify against him in court, for which she received full immunity. In November of 1985, Hooker was sentenced to 104 years imprisonment for the crimes of kidnapping, oral copulation, rape with a foreign object, sodomy, and six counts of rape.
After learning that Hooker had been denied parole in 2015, Colleen Stan responded by stating she was “really pleased”, as she felt her kidnapper had shown very little remorse during his 30-year imprisonment. Cameron Hooker will be eligible for a parole hearing once again in 2022.
Now 65-years-old, Colleen worked hard to rebuild her life and went on to have a daughter. Speaking to Oxygen in 2021, she said:
“I thoroughly enjoy my freedom. Always, always, always. Life today is good. You have to learn how to live in the now and not let that past drag you back”
A movie based on this case was released in 2016, entitled ‘Girl in the Box’.
