Kidnapping of Colleen Stan

On May 19, 1977, 20-year-old Colleen Stan was hitchhiking from Eugene, Oregon, to Westwood, California, when she accepted a ride from Cameron Hooker along Interstate 5 in Red Bluff, California. Hooker's wife, Janice, and their baby were also in the vehicle, which had reportedly reassured Stan about accepting the ride. During the trip, Cameron pulled off the highway and, while Janice was away from the car with the baby, tied Stan up, held a knife to her throat, and placed a box over her head.

According to court testimony and Stan's later statements, Cameron and Janice had previously agreed that Cameron could capture a "slave" as a substitute for the sexual bondage he had been practicing with Janice, initially without penetrative sex, though this arrangement later changed. Stan said she was tortured and kept locked in a box for up to 23 hours a day, and in January 1978 was made to sign a contract binding her into servitude. She was referred to as "K," forced to call Cameron "Master," and told that a fictitious organization called "The Company" was monitoring her and would harm her family if she attempted to escape. She was subjected to repeated sexual assault, including rape with implements, and periods of confinement in wooden boxes, including one kept under the couple's waterbed.

Over the following years, Stan was at times allowed limited freedoms, including caring for the Hookers' children, visiting her own family in 1981 without disclosing her situation, and later working outside the home in 1983. Janice Hooker later testified that she too had endured years of torture and psychological abuse from Cameron. In August 1984, Janice told Stan that "The Company" did not exist in the form Cameron had described, and Stan subsequently left. She did not immediately go to police, and continued contact with Cameron for a period afterward at Janice's request, before Janice reported her husband to Lt. Jerry Brown of the Red Bluff Police three months later.

During the investigation, Janice told police that Cameron had previously kidnapped, tortured, and killed 19-year-old Marie Elizabeth Spannhake in 1976; her body was never recovered, and no murder charge was filed due to lack of physical evidence. At Cameron Hooker's 1985 trial, forensic psychologist Chris Hatcher testified for the prosecution, and Janice testified against her husband in exchange for full immunity from prosecution. Cameron Hooker was found guilty on multiple charges, including kidnapping and sexual assault, and was sentenced to 104 years in prison.

After the trial, Stan pursued an accounting degree and later volunteered with an organization assisting abused women. Janice reverted to her maiden name and became a mental health professional. Cameron Hooker's parole was denied in 2015, and as of later reporting, proceedings continued regarding his potential classification as a Sexually Violent Predator, which would affect his eligibility for release.