Abducted in plain sight is a new Netflix documentary that was released last month that has shook every single one of us to the core, leaving us with so many questions about the abductions and also about everything else that went on in that household.
If you haven’t had the time to watch the short movie just yet, then maybe look away because this article will give away all kinds of spoilers you don’t want to see.
There is a long list of things that I would love to discuss, but that would take all day. So, I’m going to bullet point some of the details that have left so many of us with our jaws on the floor after spending an hour and a half watching this nonsense.
Ok, So Number 1..
The Meeting.
You have to start off at the very beginning. This all seemed so normal at first. A family moves in near-by, similar families, similar background, kids have the same age, a new couple to go dine with, what more could you want? It seemed so handy at the start. But, why on earth did they not notice any red flags? Even the pictures in the documentary were a bit strange. Jan’s siblings even noticed the difference in how she was treated in comparison.
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2. The Complete Ignorance.
Ok, yes, they explain that it “was the 70s”, “nothing like that happened”. No. I don’t agree. This just seems like justification for their lack of awareness. They say that Robert Berchtold had a fixation on Jan when they were kids, and that it was only Jan. How do you not become suspicious of this. An older man is obsessed with a kid that isn’t even one of his own. That’s also something else I would’ve liked them to discuss further. Where were his kids during this? Was there not a clear difference between how they were all treated?
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3. The Sleepovers.
I can’t even try to begin comprehending this part of the documentary. I’ve actually just tried to block it out and try not to get frustrated over why Jan’s parents let Berchtold sleep in the same room and bed as her, only inches away from her sister in the other bed. They say in the documentary that it was his ‘therapy’ that his doctor advised. That therapy was to sleep in the same bed as the child you are obsessing over. Again, why did Jan’s parents allow this? Am I missing something? Even after they knew that he was in love with her, they let him stay in the bed for most days in the week. Where was his wife during all this?
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4. The First Abduction.
First of all, the fact that this is the FIRST abduction is already something to rant about. Yet, he does it again, after taking their child away for days, drugging her, brainwashing her, and even after getting the FBI involved, Jan’s parents choose not to take their advice and allow Berchtold to walk free. This documentary honestly sounds like a disaster movie.
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5. The Aliens.
This point is probably one of the lesser messed up happenings in the Documentary, and we’re talking about Aliens. What does that say about the madness of this documentary? The fact that she is lied to about being part of an alien race actually makes more sense than anything else that happened during Jan’s childhood. The fact that this relationship between Berchtold and Jan lasted so long is because Jan was brainwashed into thinking everyone she loved could be hurt if she told them about the intimacy of their time together, which she believed up until she was 15.
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6. The Second Abduction.
What freaks me about this abduction is the contact that the family and Berchtold had with each other during this kidnapping. The documentary shows snippets of Jan’s parents speaking to Berchtold on the phone about how much he loves Jan and the fact that he wants to marry her, and they are so calm about it. Why? How did they keep it so together and even worse, have sympathy for him in their voice? Well, this brings me to my next point..
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7. The Adultery.
Robert Berchtold, although a disgusting, horrible human being, (and I hesitate saying this), was also a psychopathic mastermind. One of the reasons that Jan’s parents give to why they let it slide so much, was the fact that they were both involved with him in different times of their lives. With Jan’s father, Berchtold was able to coerce some heavy petting from Mr.Broberg while they were pulled over in his car. He went and told his wife, Mrs.Broberg, who had a relationship with ‘B’ herself. Their relationship was based off B telling Jan’s mother everything she wanted to hear. But, the weird thing is, they ended it, and then after everything came out about him and Jan, Jan’s mother went to visit him while he was living in a caravan and they had sex. Whilst knowing everything he felt for her daughter. WEIRD!
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There you have it. Just a few reasons as to why you should, but also should not watch this horrifying documentary. It will shake you to your core, and leave you angry and frustrated, just like me. All that doesn’t even begin to mention that Jan loved him, their intimate relationship, and how they wanted to get married and the parents were still like “hmm okay”. It is known as Netflix’s most messed up documentary ever and it without a doubt deserves that title.
*Fun fact. Jan is actually an actress and has starred in pretty big films such as Iron man.
