This Man Kidnapped His Daughter’s Friends and Held Them Captive for 11 Years

Police couldn’t find them; a brave neighbor saved them.

Malinda Fusco
6 min readNov 15, 2022
Ariel Castro; Source

Between 2002 and 2004, three girls disappeared in Cleveland, Ohio. No one realized that they hadn’t gone far, but that they were instead held captive inside of Ariel Castro’s house, the father of their friend, Arlene Castro.

This is the story of how three young women survived horrific circumstances and were saved thanks to a brave neighbor.

Who was Ariel Castro?

Ariel Castro was a Cleveland man with a history of violence. He beat his ex and only had custody of his daughter, Arlene, occasionally. He had previously been arrested for domestic violence and fired from his job as a bus driver. The county fired him for “bad judgment.”

Apparently, Ariel had left school children unattended on the bus when he went to lunch, made illegal turns, and used his bus for grocery shopping.

Sadly, his judgment only got worse…

Three Girls, Three Years, Three Kidnappings

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Malinda Fusco
Malinda Fusco

Written by Malinda Fusco

♡ I write about health, writing, and true crime. ♡

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