December 08, 2025

Episode 180 The Kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle

28 minutes

In December 1968, Barbara Jane Mackle was kidnapped from a motel room outside Atlanta, Georgia. The circumstances surrounding her abduction were so strange, investigators could barely make sense of them. The search for twenty year old Barbara Jane Mackle became a race against time that gripped her family and drew national attention.

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Episode Sources

Miller, Gene. 83 Hours Till Dawn. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971.

“FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives: Ruth Eisemann-Schier, 1969.” Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ten Most Wanted Program Archives.

“Kidnapped Heiress Rescued from Buried Box.” The Miami Herald, December 21, 1968.

“Barbara Mackle Found Alive.” The Atlanta Constitution, December 21, 1968.

“Agents Seize Suspect in Mackle Kidnapping.” The Miami Herald, December 21–23, 1968.

“Man Held in Heiress Kidnap Case.” The New York Times, December 22, 1968.

“Girl in Box Case.” Los Angeles Times, December 22, 1968.

“Suspect Caught in Marsh After Days on the Run.” Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), December 1968.

“Woman on FBI List Seized in Oklahoma.” The Oklahoman, February 8, 1969.

United States v. Gary Steven Krist, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 1969.

United States v. Ruth Eisemann-Schier, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 1969.

FBI, Supplemental Case Report: Kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle, December 1968 (declassified portions).

Jordan, C.D. “Account of the Mackle Kidnapping Rescue.” Interview, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 1970.

Associated Press. “Heiress Found Alive in Buried Box; Ransom Paid.” December 21, 1968.

United Press International. “Search Intensifies for Kidnappers After Ransom Drop Fails.” December 1968.

“Krist Granted Medical License Despite Record.” The Indianapolis News, July 23, 1985.

U.S. Department of Justice. “South Florida Man Sentenced in Cocaine Trafficking Case.” DOJ Press Release, 2006.

“Eisemann-Schier Paroled and Deported.” The Miami Herald, 1973.

Emory Wheel (Emory University). “Student Kidnapped from Decatur Motel.” December 18–22, 1968 coverage.

“The Mackle Kidnapping Revisited.” People Magazine (retrospective feature), 1998.

“Buried Alive: The 1968 Abduction of Barbara Mackle.” CNN.com, Crime Retrospective Series, 2003.

“83 Hours in the Earth.” CBS News Sunday Morning, archival retrospective segment.

Episode Music

Out of the Mines, courtesy of Ross Gentry, Asheville, North Carolina.

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By Shannon Ballard

4.8

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