Amanda Berry Was Kidnapped & Held Hostage 10 Years — Now She Helps Find Missing Children
Berry is now a regular on Ohio’s Fox 8.
YouTube / Fox Amanda Berry escaped her kidnapper in 2013 after ten years of captivity. Now she is a regular on the Ohio TV station, Fox 8 on a segment about missing people.
Amanda Berry was abducted on April 21, 2003 after being offered a ride from her job at Burger King by Ariel Castro.
Castro was a school bus driver and the father of one of Berry’s friends. Castro had taken Berry to a house where he tied her up with a 5 foot long chain to a radiator. For years, Berry was raped repeatedly, even keeping a log of eachassault in hopes Castro would be punished one day.
Castro also abducted Michelle Knight in 2002 and would go on to abduct Gina DeJesus the following year.
Where is Amanda Berry now?
Berry has been presenting a segment on missing people for Fox 8 since 2017.
'Missing with Amanda Berry' showcases photos of missing people with when they were last seen and asks to call the Cleveland police department with any information.
Local police say their tip line lights up whenever Amanda does her segments.
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In 2020, Berry partnered with US marshals for Operation Safety Net. The operation located 35 missing children. According to US marshal Pete Elliot, the main reason the operation was a success was because of Amanda Berry.
“She is a great example for Cleveland, Ohio, where you fight and you never quit and that’s what she does,” Elliot told Good Morning America.
“I definitely hope that they know that miracles can happen,” Berry says.
She has come a long way from watching her family's appeals for her from her kidnapper's home.
Berry’s mother and sister would appear on TV to ask for any information around her disappearance. Berry was able to see these segments in Castro’s house.
“That kept me going,” Berry told 20/20. “And I said, ‘You know what, I’m going to make it home to you. As long as you fight, I’m going to fight.’”
However, when Berry’s mother appeared on The Montel Williams Show which featured a psychic named Sylvia Browne, Browne told her that Berry was not alive. Berry watched this from Castro’s house and became depressed.
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“I just broke down crying because I couldn’t believe she said that,” Berry told 20/20. “And then my mum broke down crying, so that hurt even worse.”
Berry’s mother died of heart failure in 2006. Then, the following yea,r Berry got pregnant — which she believed to be a gift from her mother.
She ended up giving birth to a baby girl, Jocelyn, in Castro’s bathtub with the help of Knight.
Then, on May 6, 2013, Castro left the home when Berry decided to try and escape. Making it to a locked door, she began screaming and pushing on the front door.
A neighbor, Charles Ramsey happened to hear from the street. He went up to the door and kicked a hole in the bottom of the door to get them out.
Berry came out with Jocelyn and said “call 911 my name is Amanda Berry.” Berry walked across the street to Ramsey’s house and used his phone. Berry told police there were more girls in the house.
Castro was sentenced to life in prison plus 1000 years. He later took his own life in his prison cell on September 3, 2013.
Sydney Taylor is a writer who focuses on News and Entertainment topics.