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Kidnap girl: Family never gave up
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSVIENNA, Austria -- The family of a young Austrian woman who has escaped after an 8-year kidnapping ordeal has said it always believed she would one day come back. Police were on Thursday conducting DNA tests but said they were "almost certain" the woman found near Vienna was 18-year-old Natascha Kampusch, whose disappearance in 1998 gripped Austria. The woman said she was Kampusch and told police she had been kidnapped and held in a house for years. Her alleged kidnapper committed suicide on Wednesday night after the woman escaped, police said. In remarks broadcast on Austrian television Kampusch's sister said her mother almost had a breakdown when police notified her Wednesday afternoon. She added that her mother always held onto the hope that her daughter would come back one day. "She always said she was still alive," said the sister, identified by the broadcaster as Sabina Sirny. Kampusch's father, who split from her mother before the kidnapping, said he was "incredibly relieved" after her shock return. She met her mother on Thursday for the first time since 1998. The family has urged the media to be patient as they get to know each other again. Kampusch, then aged 10, vanished in Vienna while walking to school on March 2, 1998. Her disappearance triggered a massive, fruitless search that extended into neighboring Hungary. But on Wednesday afternoon, police said they found the young woman in a yard in a residential area north of Vienna. Armin Halm, spokesman for Austrian's federal police, said on Thursday Kampusch had been identified by a scar on one of her arms from an operation she had when she was younger. She also was identified by her father, mother and half sister. Results of a DNA test were expected later Thursday, but "we are quite sure it's her," Halm said, according to The Associated Press. The woman told authorities she had been kidnapped and kept in a house by a man for years, Austrian television cited police as saying. Halm said police had found Kampusch's passport in the house. The alleged kidnapper -- identified by Austrian media as 44-year-old Wolfgang Priklopil, a technician -- committed suicide by jumping under a train in Vienna, Halm said. Halm said the woman spent the night in "a secure location" with a female police officer specialized in psychological training. She ate breakfast this morning and was due to undergo more questioning throughout the day, he said. A federal police spokesman said it was unclear whether Kampusch, who was recognised by her relatives, had been abused by the 44-year-old man believed to have kidnapped her. "Her health is okay and mentally she also appears to be okay, at least in the eyes of a layman," Halm told AP. "She was not bedraggled." The woman, pale but apparently in good health, said she had escaped earlier Wednesday from a house where she had been confined in a garage equipped with a bed and wardrobe. But she said her captor occasionally let her walk with him in the village and allowed her access to radio, television, newspapers and books, according to police and local media. Asked why the woman had not tried to flee until now, BKA investigator Erich Zwettler said she seemed to have had "Stockholm Syndrome," a psychological condition in which captives identify with their captors. "She is white-pale, looking as if she had been out of the light of day for a long time, but she articulated well and could read and write," APA quoted a police investigator as saying. Kampusch's mother, Brigitta Sirny, said on Austrian TV she was very proud of her daughter. "She said 'mama mausi' to me," Sirny said, recalling the emotional moment she met with the young woman and embraced. Mausi -- literally "little mouse" -- is a pet name some Austrians use in addressing their loved ones. Investigators released few details as they worked to piece the story together. But state broadcaster ORF carried remarks from Erich Zwettler of the Austrian federal police saying the young woman escaped from her captor when the door to her hiding place was left open, then ran into a nearby garden where she told an elderly woman she had been kidnapped and identified herself as Natascha Kampusch. Strasshof is the kind of town where neighbors are friendly but tend to mind their own business. It's a semi-rural community where tidy houses adorned with flower boxes are mostly set close together. Children play freely in the streets and doors are left open, The Associated Press reports. Residents were reluctant to speak with reporters Thursday. Neighbors said they were shocked by the reports and had seen no signs of anything to raise suspicion. Nikolaus Koch, a lead investigator, said on Austrian television that the police had contact with the alleged kidnapper about three months after Natascha disappeared in 1998 but he had a "sturdy alibi" at the time. At the time, another girl told police she had seen Natascha being dragged into a white van. Police interviewed hundreds of van owners and also briefly interviewed Priklopil. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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