Abducted In Plain Sight

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About

Abducted In Plain Sight is a documentary film about an Idaho family whose daughter is kidnapped twice by their neighbor, who enters a pedophilic relationship with her. The film generated strong responses online as people expressed shock at the apparent neglectful and ignorant actions of the parents as the events unfolded.

History

Abducted In Plain Sight was directed by Skye Borgman.^[1] It follows the Broberg family of Idaho, USA, and their story of how their daughter Jan was twice kidnapped and forced into a pedophilic relationship with their neighbor, Robert Berchtold. The film was first released May 26th, 2017 at the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival.^[2]

Berchtold presented several red flags prior to abducting Jan Broberg. Early in the film, it's revealed that Berchtold expressed love for a four-year old Jan and her parents are quoted as saying the fascination was disturbing.^[3] Berchtold's brother also knew he was a pedophile. Berchtold regularly slept in the same bed as Jan until she was abductedAfterwards, when Jan is abducted, the parents do not seem to act with a sense of urgency regarding her disappearance. They don't call the police for days after Jan goes missing, and when the FBI discovers that the Berchtold's motor home is missing and there is blood on his car, they do not suspect foul play. When Jan is returned, the family remains friends with Berchtold. Other bombshell details include Broberg's father giving Berchtold a handjob and Broberg's mother entering an eight month affair with Berchtold after her daughter had been returned. The scenes are recreated by actors.^[4]

On October 5th, 2017, Dr. Phil had Jan Broberg on his show to discuss her experience, particularly why she remained friends with her abductor after the first kidnapping.

On January 17th, 2019, Netflix released the documentary in the United States, bringing it to a nationwide audience.^[5]

Online Presence

Over the course of the following month, the film gained a reputation online as being an infuriating watching experience, as the twists of the story shocked audiences and left them angry at the parents for not seeing the clear signs of danger. Multiple news outlets covered the film including The Guardian,^[6] The Atlantic^[7] and Vice.^[8] Social media users expressed similar disbelief, and sites The Tab^[3] and Distractify^[9] covered Twitter responses. Some popular tweets include a tweet by @paigeyy_1113 that gained over 100 retweets and 400 likes (shown below, left). User @Calvinstowell posted his reaction to the parents in the film, gaining over 70 retweets and 670 likes (shown below, right).