Natascha Kampusch ‘is completely gone’ in heartbreaking twist of fate for girl abducted aged ten and held as a sex-slave for eight years

The family of former prisoner Natascha Kampusch have revealed she is ‘in her own world’ as she suffers serious health problems that have left doctors ‘overwhelmed’.

Natascha, 38, was kidnapped by Wolfgang Přiklopil in 1998, while she was going to school in Austria, at the age of 10, and was held captive in a secret cell in the basement of her home for eight years.

She was beaten, starved and turned into a sex slave before escaping in August 2006.

Přiklopil, who was a technician in his 30s at the time and living in his mother’s house, jumped in front of a train at a nearby station after learning that his mother had run away.

Natascha wrote a book about her abduction, became the subject of a movie, and even hosted her own television talk show in later years.

But his family tragically revealed he now appears to be ‘kind of in prison again’ as the 20th anniversary of his freedom approaches.

In a new documentary produced by Austria’s public broadcaster ORF, her sister Claudia Nestelberger admits she is ‘completely gone’.

He said: ‘Everyone knows how Natascha speaks in front of the camera. Now this has completely disappeared.

Investigators escort Natascha Kampusch (under the blanket) near the house where she was allegedly held for eight years

‘He’s mostly in his own world. Again in some kind of prison. ‘This is a heartbreaking situation and we feel helpless.’

Natascha admitted that she is “positive and hopeful” about her future prospects in 2023.

She was designing her own jewelery collection and was involved in building a hospital in Sri Lanka.

‘I spend a lot of time in nature and with my horse,’ he said.

Describing her previous time in captivity, Natascha said that she was kept in a closed door in a garage that was only five by five metres, soundproof and windproof.

She was beaten ‘up to 200 times a week’, chained to the bed at night and made to clean while half-naked.

He said he dreamed of running away from the age of 12, but regressed to ‘the age of a dependent toddler’ and wanted to read bedtime stories.

Walking to school alone on March 2, 1998, Natascha recalled how she noticed the strange Priklopil waiting next to her white van.

‘I thought I didn’t want to pass him,’ he said. ‘ ‘This is very strange, why is this person waiting there?’ I thought. It didn’t make sense.

‘That’s when I wanted to move to the other side of the road to be safe. But then I thought, ‘No, I have to do this,’ so you can say, ‘Okay, you had the courage to walk past him.’

However, as she passed by, Priklopil grabbed her and put her in the back of the vehicle before taking her to his home, where he kept her in a dungeon under the floor of his garage.

Přiklopil, who was a technician in his 30s at the time and living in his mother’s house, jumped in front of a train at a nearby station after learning that his mother had run away.

When she reached puberty, Priklopil would sometimes keep her upstairs with him to sleep, but would tie her to the bed so she couldn’t escape.

Claiming that her captor imagined they were husband and wife at this point, Natascha said, “He seemed to think it was his right to control me and resort to violence.”

Her captor had warned her that there was no way out of this ordeal; Priklopil said he would kill him if he tried to escape.

His mother, Brigitta Sirny, was initially accused of murdering her child and admitted she ‘wanted to end it all’ following the allegations.

Brigitta previously said: ‘[A] The private investigator said I killed him and threw him into the lake. This made me even more sad. It was very difficult to go through all this. I stood outside on the balcony and wanted to jump.

‘I wanted to end it all. Thank God I got in. But after that, I didn’t go out on the balcony for three months. ‘It caused very deep wounds.’