On December 17, 1968, 20-year-old Barbara Jane Mackle was abducted from a motel in Georgia, where she was recovering from the flu under her mother’s care.
The kidnappers—escaped convict Gary Steven Krist and marine biology graduate student Ruth Eisemann-Schier—specifically targeted Mackle because she was a wealthy heiress and believed she could endure the trauma of being buried alive.
Armed with chloroform and a handgun, the unlikely pair forced their way into her room in the early hours of the morning.
After taking Mackle to a secluded wooded area, the kidnappers placed the 20-year-old in a coffin-like box buried underground.
The custom-made box was equipped with air vents, a battery-powered light, water, and food to keep her alive while they negotiated a $500,000 ransom with Mackle’s family, the heads of Deltona Corporation, a Florida-based development company reportedly worth $65 million at the time.
The young woman remained underground for more than three days. In a stunning demonstration of calm under duress, Barbara appeared to be smiling in her ransom photo, holding a sign that read, “Kidnapped.”
On December 20, 1968, a rescue team found Mackle—pale and weak but alive—after Krist and Eisemann-Schier successfully received the $500,000 ransom from Barbara’s family and telephoned the FBI, providing rough coordinates for where to find her.
A nationwide manhunt led to Ruth Eisemann-Schier’s capture months later, making her the first woman ever placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list.
Krist was captured in Florida while attempting to flee in a speedboat he purchased with the ransom money.
Eisemann-Schier was deported to her native Honduras, while Krist was sentenced to life in prison but was paroled after serving just 10 years.
Decades after his release, Krist secured a job as a licensed general practitioner in Indiana.
Despite the physical and psychological terror Mackle endured, her family told the press that Barbara was relatively unfazed by the ordeal.
According to UPI, Mackle later married and became a mother, living in Atlanta.
