Woman Held Captive In Soundproof Bunker By Stalker Of 13 Years Shares Her Terrifying Story

A woman in the United States who was abducted and held inside a soundproof bunker by her long-time stalker has come forward to share her story in a chilling new documentary.

Back in 2011, Samantha Stites was a student at Grand Valley State University in Michigan when she met Christopher Thomas through a Christian student group.

What began as persistent requests for dates from Thomas quickly escalated when the then 33-year-old refused to take no for an answer, eventually forcing Stites to block his number to protect herself.

Over the years, Thomas’s obsession only deepened. He planted a tracking device on Stites’ car, repeatedly appeared at the same public places as her, and even left unwanted flowers at her workplace.

In 2014, after she graduated, Stites was granted a six-year personal protection order (PPO) when a friend spotted Thomas lurking near her apartment building.

But as soon as the PPO expired in 2020, Thomas reappeared in her life, turning up at bars, supermarkets, and other places where she went about her daily routine.

The 30-year-old has shared her story in new documentary Disney+/Hulu

He even went so far as to join the same gym and local soccer league she was part of, further intruding into every corner of her life.

Unbeknownst to Stites, while she was seeking a second PPO, Thomas was secretly constructing a soundproof bunker inspired by the Netflix series You.

In 2022, his disturbing fixation reached its peak when he broke into Stites’ home, abducted her, and held her captive in the bunker for 13 harrowing hours.

"This is like a horror film," she remembered thinking in an interview with The Telegraph.

"Is he going to rape me and kill me in this room?" Stites recalled asking herself, before adding: "I can't fight my way out."

In that terrifying moment, Stites drew on her training as a social worker and tried to talk Thomas down, using calm conversation as her only possible defense.

Eventually, Thomas agreed to let her go, but only after coercing her into a deal where she endured sexual assault and promised not to alert the authorities.

Once free, Stites immediately went to the hospital for medical help and a rape kit, and she later worked with investigators to help them locate the hidden soundproof chamber.

Thomas was arrested and, in December 2023, sentenced to 40 to 60 years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping, torture, and aggravated stalking.

Christopher Thomas was sentenced to 40 to 60 years in prison Michigan Department of Corrections

Stites has since chosen to share her story publicly in the Hulu and Disney+ documentary Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror, which chronicles her ordeal and the years she spent under constant fear.

"Justice is a funny thing. It doesn't necessarily come in the form of prison years," she explained in an interview with ABC. "I can't ever go back to before I was kidnapped."

"And that's something I had to grieve. But knowing that I'm finally turning the page on this and that I should feel safe with him off the street and that I am protected meant a lot. I felt free."

Stalking Samantha: 13 Years Of Terror is now streaming on Disney+.