Eric Grzymkowski - What Do I Do If... How to Get Out of Real-Life Worst-Case Scenarios

On August 4, 1987, a woman dressed as a nurse abducted then nineteen-day-old Carlina Renae White from a New York City hospital, and raised her as Nejdra Nance for twenty-three years. Carlina eventually grew suspicious of her abductor when she was unable to produce important documentation like a birth certificate or social security card. She uncovered the truth by searching missing children databases and discovering photos of herself as an infant.

Stay Put or Flee?

Whether you comply with your kidnappers or try to make a break for it will depend heavily on why youve been abducted. If you believe your captors intend to ransom you, then you probably shouldnt risk an escape attempt. Even if your family cant afford to pay the ransom, the police may be able to work with them to pull together the necessary funds for a sting operation. If thats the case, your primary goal will be to comply with any request your captors make and do your best to remain calm throughout the ordeal. Remind yourself that, at least for the moment, your life and relative safety are very valuable to the kidnappers. If, however, you feel your captors intend to kill you once they are done with you, then you will almost certainly want to make every effort to get away.

While you attempt to discover the circumstances of your kidnapping, do your best to remain relaxed and civil with your captors. If you are able to establish a connection with one or more of the kidnappers, they may be less likely to harm you later.

Wait for the Opportune Moment

If you have little reason to believe that your abductors have any intention of setting you free, you will have to make it out on your own.

To plan your escape, pay attention to any patterns that might form (especially when your captors come and go), and see if there are any failures in their methods of keeping an eye on you. If you are bound, determine all the different circumstances under which they will remove your bindings, such as to eat, use the bathroom, or at specific times of the day to move around. Analyze your captors for possible weak points. Perhaps one guard is prone to slack off while hes on watch, and has a habit of nodding off during his shift. If one of your captors is particularly sympathetic to you, its possible you will be able to use that to your advantage and request an unscheduled bathroom break while the others are busy.

While you plan, get to know the layout of the area in which you are being held as much as possible. Are you on the bottom floor or the top floor? Are there windows that might be unlocked or easily broken? If you do find yourself unbound and unwatched for even a moment, your knowledge of the nearest exits could mean the difference between a successful escape and an unsuccessful one.

Be particularly wary of any changes to their behavior that may indicate they are planning to kill you. For example, if they stop attempting to conceal their identities or if they become particularly violent or indifferent toward you, you should get ready to act.

Once you feel the time is right, put your plan into action and be prepared to modify your strategy as circumstances change.

Likelihood of Happening: Moderate

Ease of Prevention: Moderate

Is Time a Factor? Yes

When youre in good health, you probably pay very little attention to the gentle beating of your heart. Which is a good thing, since your heart beats more than 100,000 times a day and youd never get anything done otherwise. But you might change your attitude if you realize that the next heartbeat could very well be your last.

Know the Signs

When characters in movies suffer a heart attack, they invariably clutch their chest before silently keeling over. While sharp chest pain is usually the first sign people recognize when they are experiencing a heart attack, there are several more subtle indicators: