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‘I Was Held Captive For 19 Years’

Rosalynn McGinnis went missing at age 12

Rosalynn McGinnis went missing in 1997 when she was just 12-years-old. 

In 2016, after 19 years in captivity, Rosalynn escaped to tell the harrowing tale of how she was allegedly kidnapped from school by her former stepfather and was raped, beaten and held against her will.

Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, Rosalynn said she was kidnapped by stepfather Henri Piette and was held captive by him for 19 years.

Before she managed to flee, Rosalynn had been living in a tent in rural Mexico with Piette with eight of her nine children fathered by Piette, she said. Her eldest son had been lucky enough to flee before she did.

“I knew that if I didn’t get out of there,” Rosalynn told PEOPLE. “I’d either go insane or I would end up dying and leaving my kids with that man.” 

She is now being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and lives with her children in the Midwest of America.

“It’s hard to describe when you’ve been through so much trauma in your life, especially when the man who did this to you is not caught,” Rosalynn said. “You’re always looking over your shoulder thinking that he’s going to show up and take you again.”

The FBI is currently undertaking an investigation and Piette, now 62, has not been found or charged.

You can read the full story of Rosalynn’s alleged life and captivity and mircaculous escape in PEOPLE here.

You can donate to Rosalynn’s and her family via this GoFundMe page. 

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