How woman who was held captive in soundproof bunker by stalker of 13 years led police to kidnapper

Samantha Stites has revealed how she found the kidnapper who held her captive after stalking her for 13 years.

Back in 2011, the American student was attending Grand Valley State University when she met a man at a Christian student group. His name was Christopher Thomas, and he pestered her for a date, though the now 33-year-old rebuffed his advances and even blocked his number.

But things started to gradually get worse, with Thomas even putting a tracker in her car, turning up at the same locations at her, and getting flowers delivered to her place of work.

She was granted a six-year personal protection order (PPO) after he was seen leaving her apartment block, but as soon as it expired in 2020, Thomas was back stalking Stites.

Stites was the victim of a kidnapping in 2022 (Instagram/samanthastites)

It's a harrowing situation, and she recently opened up about it in a new docuseries, explaining how she started spotting him in the same bars and supermarkets. Thomas was also seen at the same gym and football league as Stites, forcing her to apply for a second PPO against her stalker, which was denied.

Horrifyingly, 11 years after meeting him, Thomas broke into her home, abducted her, and held her hostage in a soundproof bunker he had built after being inspired by the Netflix series You.

Now, in Hulu’ s Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror, Stites explained her side of events and how she managed to escape captivity. She didn't use violence or escape by force, but instead talked her way out of the situation.

Stites promised not to report him to police if he drove her home, though she would soon go to a hospital and report the incident to authorities.

“I know enough about Christopher to know his integrity is important to him, and I was banking on that,” Stites admitted.

She had been cuffed by her wrists, bound by her feet, and gagged with a ball while being transported in her own car.

While blindfolded, she managed to count turns and noticed landmarks to help police find Thomas later on, where a storage unit lined in soundproofing was found.

Detective Mike Matteucci said to ABC News: “He spent thousands of dollars on creating this box so he could spend time with Sam....And do God only knows what.”

He had modelled the bunker after the Netflix show's one, having a two-week plan in place as well as a cover story to suggest she drowned.

Stites has spoken out about her experience in a new docuseries on Hulu (Hulu)

Thomas was arrested the same night she escaped, thanks to Stites' turn-counting and recollection of events, as she said last week: “Justice is a funny thing. It doesn’t necessarily come in the form of prison years.”

Devices linked the trackers to him, and Thomas would be arrested in October 2022, with police seizing the restraints he used on her. He claimed it was role-play at first, before pleading guilty to kidnapping, torture, home invasion, and aggravated stalking in December 2023.

Initial criminal sexual conduct counts were dropped as part of the deal, though the stalker was still be sentenced to 40-60 years behind bars in February 2024.

If he gets out, he will stay on GPS for life, as the court system also updated internal PPO checks following the denial of Stites' second appeal.