The Chilling Details of Elisabeth Fritzl Being Held Captive for 24 Years

A Mysterious Woman

Fritzl house pictured on left

On April 19, 2008, Elisabeth convinced her father to seek medical care for the eldest daughter. Josef agreed and had an ambulance take Kerstin to a local hospital. Before she left, Elisabeth snuck a note in Kerstin’s pocket that warned hospital workers of Kerstin’s condition, since Kerstin has never had contact with the outside world before. The mysterious note prompted authorities, who urged Kerstin’s mother to come forward so they could get more information about Kerstin’s medical history. Kerstin, who was in critical condition from kidney failure, made local news as people searched for her mother. Elisabeth watched this transpire from the television in the basement and knew she had to be with her daughter.

A Quick Diversion

Elisabeth urged her father to take her to the hospital, but not before he concocted a plan. Since authorities were looking for Kerstin’s mother, Elisabeth’s missing person case was reopened. At that point, Josef had Elisabeth forge another letter, dated January 2008 and postmarked from a nearby town. Josef reiterated the claim that Elisabeth had run away with a religious cult and gave authorities the new letter he forced her to write. This prompted them to investigate the town from which it came, buying Josef more time to come up with a way to cover his tracks for the years-long crime.