In 1977, 20-year-old Colleen Stan was hitchhiking from her hometown of Eugene, Oregon to northern California. She considered herself an expert hitchhiker and on that day in May, she had already turned down two rides.
However, when a blue van pulled over in Red Bluff, California, Stan saw that it was being driven by a man who had his wife was in the passenger seat and a baby in the backseat. Deeming the young couple and their child a safe ride, Stan got in.
Sadly, she had no idea what she was in for. This is the horrifying story of how Colleen Stan became “the girl in the box.” The man was 23-year-old Cameron Hooker and his wife was 19-year-old Janice Hooker. As it turned out, they had been actively looking for a hitchhiker to kidnap. Cameron, a lumber mill worker, had intense bondage fantasies. Until they captured Colleen Stan, he had been using his wife Janice to fulfill these fantasies.
Shortly after Stan got into the van, Cameron veered off the road and into a remote area. That’s when he held a knife to her neck and forced her into a “head box” that weighed 20 pounds. The box, which only confined her head, blocked out sound and light around her and prevented the flow of fresh air.
The car eventually drove to a house where Colleen Stan was led downstairs to a cellar and subjected to horrifying forms of torture. “The girl in the box” was tied to the ceiling by her wrists and then beaten, electrocuted, whipped, and burned.