Abby Hernandez was 14-years-old when she vanished without a trace. Lifetime’s movie ‘Girl in the Shed: The Kidnapping of Abby Hernandez’ follows the true story of Abby, who was kidnapped while walking home from her school in North Conway, New Hampshire, back on October 9, 2013.
Channels like Lifetime brings movies that you can relate to, often dramatizing real-life stories. This movie is a true-crime drama about a kidnapping. The movie will show how the victim tried hard to stay alive so she could reunite with her mother and family. If you like the movie’s plot, you can add other similar Lifetime movies like ‘Single Black Female’ and ‘Line Sisters’ to your watch list.
The true story behind Abby’s kidnapping
The search for the 14-year-old girl left her family members, investigators, and the community mystified. The kidnapping and the search records were part of the community’s history and local lore. Many rumors and theories circulated in the Northern New Hampshire town about the kidnapping, and people wondered what may have happened to the teen, who had just begun her new life at the Kennett High School. The reality was very shocking — Abby had been kidnapped and hidden away just 30 miles north of Conway. She was kept as a prisoner in a storage container and endured both sex assaults and torture.
Abby recalled the time and said, “I remember thinking to myself, ‘Ok, I got to work with his guy.’ So I said to him, ‘I don’t judge you for this. If you let me go, I won’t tell anybody about this.” Her initial attempts to negotiate with her abductor were unsuccessful, and the kidnapper drove her to his property. Abby spent much of the nine months of captivity in the container. Abby suffered from daily abuse, but still, she kept hope alive by praying for the strength to survive her ordeal. She was hoping to see her family members and her mother soon. Abby said, “I remember I never said ‘amen’ in my mind. I never wanted to end my prayers because I didn’t want God to leave me. I just really wanted to live.”
Abby revealed that the kidnapper finally started to trust her, even enlisting her to help him create counterfeit money in his home. Her faith and continuous attempts to escape the trap finally helped her secure her freedom in July 2014. The kidnapper released her out of fear that police were about to visit his home due to a local counterfeiting investigation. Abby’s captivity altered her life forever. When the ordeal was over, she also came to appreciate the new outlook on life she gained from her experience. Abby said, “Just don’t lose hope even when you feel like you have lost everything. Hope is something that nobody can take away from you. And just keep that. And it’ll keep you going.”
Girl in the Shed: Is Abby Hernandez’s kidnapping a true story?
Yes, “Girl in the Shed: The Kidnapping of Abby Hernandez” is based on a true story. It chronicles the actual kidnapping of Abigail Hernandez on October 9, 2013, in North Conway, New Hampshire. Abigail AKA Abby was a student at Kennett High School and lived with her mother, Zenya, and sister, Sarah, in the village. On the day of the incident, the 14-year-old was seen walking home from school between 2:30 and 2:35 p.m. and last texted her boyfriend, Jimmy Campbell, at 2:53 p.m.
