The 1997-2016 kidn*pping of Rosalynn McGinnis is bound to be recorded in history as one of the most infamous cases, given that she successfully escaped. Ab*ucted at age 12 by her stepfather, Henri Piette, McGinnis endured nearly two decades of captivity, giving birth to nine children. Her escape occurred almost a year before authorities apprehended the man she knew as her stepfather, kidn*pper, and the father of her children.
A wise husband and wife, attuned to the anomalies in McGinnis’ life, facilitated her escape from almost two decades of torment. Eventually, McGinnis was reunited with her family in Kansas City, Missouri.
Hailing from Springfield, Missouri, McGinnis spent her childhood in a house near the park where she played with siblings and friends. Aspiring to be a violin teacher and veterinarian, she endured a traumatic shift when her stepfather, Piette, who had lived nearby, began harassing her at the tender age of ten.
McGinnis’ mother, Gayla, initially met Piette during an environmental group activity, leading to their marriage. However, this union began McGinnis’ distressing experiences in Oklahoma.
Forced into an unsettling circumstance, Rosalynn McGinnis experienced a coercive wedding ceremony with her stepfather, Henri Michele Piette. At the age of 11, she was deceived by Piette, who orchestrated the ceremony in the back of a van.
Piette went to compel McGinnis’s 15-year-old daughter to act as the priest and witness. Not only did he officiate the marriage between himself and Rosalynn, but he also bestowed upon her a ring, creating an appearance of officiality. Adding to the disturbing nature of this event is the fact that this unauthorized marriage occurred months prior to Rosalynn’s ab*uction and just a day before Piette was scheduled to marry McGinnis’s mother.
Piette began se*ually ab*sing Rosalynn at her Wagoner home when she was only 10/11 years old, climbing into her bed and r*ped her.
Simultaneously, Rosalynn’s mother endured ab*se at the hands of Piette. Following numerous unsuccessful attempts to escape their home, Rosalynn and her mother eventually relocated, seeking refuge in a women’s sanctuary where they embarked on rebuilding their lives.
Unfortunately, their newfound stability was abruptly cut short when, that same year, Rosalynn was ab*ucted from her recently enrolled school in Poteau and forcibly confined in the back of a van, extinguishing any hope of escape.
According to documents acquired from the Poteau Police Department, a man took McGinnis from school, driving away in a small gray car on January 31, 1997.
On that fateful day, McGinnis recalled Piette disguising himself by dyeing his hair black and donning fake glasses when picking her up from school. Over the years, Piette further obscured McGinnis’ identity by changing her name multiple times.
In response to McGinnis’ disappearance, her mother launched an extensive search effort, utilizing various media platforms, and Child Search Ministries promptly distributed missing person flyers featuring McGinnis’ photos, age, and the date of her disappearance.
Despite weeks of searching, McGinnis and Piette remained elusive, and the search eventually ceased shortly before McGinnis’s 13th birthday.
McGinnis, held captive by her stepfather for nearly 19 years, bore the burden of giving birth to nine children fathered by Piette, all of whom remained oblivious to the horrors their mother endured. To shield them from the harsh reality of her kidn*pping and se*ual ab*se, Rosalynn kept these traumatic experiences a closely guarded secret, enduring the ab*se and t*rture in silence. It wasn’t until their escape that the children learned the truth.
At 15, McGinnis delivered her first child with Piette in the back of a van while residing in a dilapidated mobile home with worn-out floors and no utilities. Forced to beg for food on the streets as Piette squandered their resources on alcohol and drugs, McGinnis struggled to provide for her children.
Despite several attempts to escape, McGinnis faced severe consequences each time. Desensitized to the risks, she endured relentless physical ab*se from Piette, including beatings with a rifle, baseball bat, wooden planks, and beer bottles. She suffered gunshot wounds and multiple fractures.
After nearly two decades of living in darkness, a glimmer of hope emerged in early 2016. While living in Oaxaca, Mexico, McGinnis and her children encountered a compassionate married couple, Lisa (a U.S. citizen) and Ian (British). Using the aliases Stephanie and Bill to protect their identities, McGinnis and her family formed a connection with Lisa and Ian.
Observing the dire conditions the McGinnis family faced, Lisa and Ian extended their help, providing them with financial support. Despite Piette’s attempt to escape by relocating to an isolated village in Oaxaca’s mountains, Lisa and Ian persevered in tracking them down.
Maintaining communication, Lisa and Ian eventually visited the McGinnis family, sensing the urgency of the situation. Witnessing McGinnis’ desperation and the isolation they endured, Lisa’s perspective shifted. Recognizing that something was amiss, Lisa offered assistance, pledging to help McGinnis if they could intervene in getting Piette to jail or rehabilitation for drug and alcohol addiction. The revelation unfolded as Piette returned home, abruptly ending their conversation.
After several weeks, when Piette was unconscious with a hangover, McGinnis had her children pack some clothes and escape. By then, McGinnis and her eight children had already fled and returned to the United States, taking a taxi to find Lisa and Ian. Fortunately, they crossed paths with Ian while he was walking the dog. Lisa and Ian welcomed the family into their home. Slowly, McGinnis began to reveal her sufferings to Lisa, recounting days filled with beatings and r*pe. She disclosed that her real name was Rosalynn McGinnis, not Stephanie, and Bill was not Piette’s real name, as he had introduced them initially.
Concerned that Piette might come looking for her and the children, McGinnis contacted the US Consulate in Oaxaca, who agreed to help. However, upon arrival, the consulate could not assist. Desperate, McGinnis reached out to Lisa, who then contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Washington, DC. The organization found McGinnis still listed as missing and advised them to travel north by bus to Nogales, near the US-Mexico border. The family embarked on a long journey, eventually flying through Tucson and Dallas to reunite with their long-lost family in Kansas City.
The news of McGinnis’ return shocked the family. Although she was thrilled about her newfound freedom, the transition for McGinnis and the children in 2016 was not easy. The family had limited funds and was adapting to US culture, even facing challenges like adjusting to American food. Another burden for McGinnis was the knowledge that Piette was still free.
After McGinnis’s story was featured in People Magazine in September 2017, law enforcement arrested Piette when he tried to enter the US. He was extradited to Oklahoma, indicted in federal court on one count of kidn*pping and one count of traveling with the intent to commit se*ual acts with a teenager. Piette was sentenced, including a fine of $50,000 and restitution of $50,067 to his victim.
Fortunately, McGinnis found support from Jaycee Dugard, who had experienced similar trauma. Dugard, a survivor of 18 years of kidn*pping in California before being rescued in 2009, opened the JAYC Foundation to assist victims of long-term se*ual ab*se.
McGinnis and her children moved into a house they finally owned. “I want my kids to have a life I never had, including a house to live in,” said McGinnis. Meanwhile, Lisa and Ian remain a part of their lives, keeping in touch with the children every week and discussing their days and future plans.
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