Taphophobia is defined as an abnormal fear of being buried alive as a result of being mistakenly pronounced dead. This fear has been around for centuries with famous authors such as Pliny the elder and Edgar Allen Poe writing about the topic. In the 1700s, the safety coffin was invented which used a variety of devices to allow people thought deceased to communicate with those above ground. The most notable design includes some type of bell that someone buried prematurely could ring if they woke up in their coffin. In modern day, there is still quite a fear of being buried alive, even with numerous advances in medicine. In today’s post, we will examine a frightening kidnapping that occurred in 1968 where a woman was buried alive for 83 hours. This case is known as the Barbara Mackle Kidnapping.
In December 1968, Barbara Mackle, a 20-year-old student at Emory University contracted the Hong Kong Flu, which was ultimately responsible for killing several million people worldwide. Due to the serious of the scenario, Barbara’s mother, Jane drove up from Florida to pick up her daughter and bring her back home. Barbara came from a wealthy family, with her father being an extremely successful real estate developer.
On the night of December 17, Barbara and Jane checked into the Rodeway Inn in Decatur, Georgia. They would spend the night and then drive back in the morning to Florida. In the middle of the night around 4 am, the two women heard a knock on the door. Jane got up and looked through the peep hole and saw two officers. One of the officers told Jane that Barbara’s boyfriend, Stewart Hunt Woodward had been in a serious automobile wreck.
Jane quickly swung open the door and immediately realized that the two people were not cops and had just been impersonating them. It was a man and a woman, who was pretending to be a male cop.
The two stormed the room, chloroformed Jane and tied her up. They grabbed Barbara and forced her down to their car. As she walked, Barbara was instructed to keep absolutely quiet.
The two individuals that had kidnapped Barbara were Gary Steven Krist, then age 23, and Honduran Ruth Eisemann-Schier, then age 26. These individuals had stalked Barbara for months. They handpicked Barbara due to her family wealth and also her toughness.
Once all three were in the car, the kidnappers drove around 20 miles away to a Pine Forest. There, they walked Barbara back in the woods to where a pre-dug grave existed. There was an open coffin down below, and Kirst and Eisemann-Schier forced Barbara to climb down it.
The box down below was no ordinary coffin though. The box had been modified so that a person could stay alive for a period of time. The coffin had an air pump, food, a lamp, and water that was heavily dosed with sedatives.
Once Barbara finally lied down, the kidnappers forced her to hold a “Kidnapped “sign and took a photo. Then, the burying began. Barbara screamed as the dirt hit the box. She continued to hear the sound of the dirt hit the box and it soon became fainter and fainter before she couldn’t hear anything.
Robert Mackle, Barbara’s father, would soon be contacted by Kirst and Eisemann Shier in a note. They wanted 500,000 dollars in exchange for Barbara’s life. Working with the FBI, Mackle had to meet the kidnappers demands which were the ransom should be put in a suitcase and that only Robert should drop it in the woods. Also, he had to put a classified ad in the Miami Herald that said “Loved One – Please come home. We will pay all expenses and meet you anywhere at any time. Your family.”
Mackle dropped off the Money and Kirst kept his word, notifying the FBI of the approximate location of Barbara.
On the morning of dec 20, FBI agents spread out across the forest, found the burial site and frantically dug up the box with their hands.
Barbara was alive and in good shape, considering the circumstances.
After the initial shock and fear of being buried alive, Barbara had managed to transition to a calmer state under the ground. She was buried for 83 hours, more than 3 days. In her book, 83 hours until Dawn, Barbara noted how she thought of spending Christmas with family and never doubted she would be rescued.
Meanwhile, Kirst and Eisemann-shier split up and fled. At this point, the FBI didn’t have the identities of the kidnappers. However, that would quickly change. The FBI were able to track down the Volvo Kirst had abandoned and paperwork in the car revealed both kidnappers’ identities.
Within a day, a tip led to finding Kirst in the Florida swamps. Kirst was sentenced to life in prison but got out on parole after just 10 years. Several months after Kirst was arrested, in March 1969, Eisemann-shier, who was the first female on the FBI’s most wanted list, was arrested in Oklahoma. She had applied for a hospital job and her fingerprints from her background check were discovered by authorities. Eisemann- shier was sentenced to seven years, she served four and then was deported back to Honduras.
Perhaps the most shocking aspect of this story is what happened to Kirst after prison. Kirst went onto medical school in Mexico eventually becoming a doctor. He applied to practice in Alabama and was rejected, but he did get accepted to practice medicine in Indiana and did so for years. In 2003, his medical license was revoked and soon he would turn back to his old habits. This time though, Kirst would begin drug smuggling and would eventually get arrested in 2006 and serve five years.
This case is truly a strange case, with many questioning why they had to bury Barbara, couldn’t they have tied her up? Also, the kidnappers seemed to get off pretty easily for what was a cruel act. This is truly one case that could have been much more horrific for everyone.
