The Girl in the Box:Cameron Hooker·Janice Hooker·Colleen Stan

On May 19, 1977, Colleen Stan, 20, was hitchhiking in Red Bluff, California, on her way to Highway 36, when a couple with a baby offered her a ride. The driver was Cameron Hooker. His wife, Janice, had agreed to let him take a captive, and Colleen was restrained and taken to their home.

She was held for more than seven years. Hooker abused her physically and sexually and often confined her in a wooden box kept under the couple’s bed. To stop her from fleeing, he told her he belonged to a powerful secret organization he called “The Company,” which would hurt her family if she tried to escape. In later years she was sometimes allowed outside, but fear kept her from seeking help. In August 1984, Janice told Colleen that The Company did not exist, and Colleen left by bus.

About three months later Janice went to police, and she testified against him under immunity. In 1985 a jury convicted Cameron Hooker of kidnapping and sexual assault charges, and he was sentenced to 104 years. His parole was denied in 2015. As his release neared, the state sought civil commitment, and on June 11, 2026, a San Mateo County jury found him to be a sexually violent predator, sending him to a state hospital for an indeterminate term. Colleen Stan survived and has spoken publicly about it.