Michelle Knight: 5 Fast Facts
39Information has surfaced on the least known about Cleveland kidnapping victim, Michelle Knight.
Partial Transcript
Here's what you need to know.
1. Michelle Vanished on August 23, 2002, Near Her Cousin's Home in Cleveland
According to Martin Flask, Cleveland's director of public safety, Knight was 22 (now 32) when she was reported missing after last being seen near her cousin's Cleveland home at West 106th Street and Lorain Avenue.
Alarmingly, she was being held captive by suspected kidnapper Ariel Castro just three miles away.
2. Michelle Just Lost Custody of Her Toddler Son Before Vanishing
Cleveland.com reports in an interview with Barbara Knight, Michelle's mother:
[Michelle] Knight became pregnant and decided to drop out of school. She dreamed of eventually completing her education to provide her son a better life.
But Barbara Knight said that among her own greatest regrets was becoming involved with an abusive man, whom, she believes, injured her toddler grandson -- spurring a chain of events that led Michelle to lose custody of the child.
She vanished not long afterward, on a day when she was scheduled for a court appearance in the custody case, Barbara Knight said.
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3. Police Barely Searched for Michelle; Everyone Assumed She Ran Away
Michelle had been victimized even before her disappearance. Prior to her losing custody of her son, her mother said she had a difficult time in school and was even involved in an assault that wasn't taken very seriously by police. The Daily Mail further reports:
Michelle Knight's grandmother, Deborah Knight, said the family, after speaking with police and social workers, had accepted that she likely left on her own free will. They believed she was angry that her son had been taken into custody. Michelle was never registered as missing on the Ohio Missing Persons website.