Gina DeJesus (on the left) was photographed with her best friend, Arlene Castro (on the right), in 2004. They were both just 14 years old.
On April 2, 2004, Gina gave Arlene 50 cents so she could call her mom. The two had planned to have a sleepover at Gina’s house that night.
But on the phone, Arlene’s mom said she needed to come home right away. Arlene said goodbye to Gina, and they went their separate ways.
Since Gina had given away her 50 cents, she didn’t have enough money for the bus. So, she decided to walk home instead.
While walking, she was stopped by Arlene’s father, Ariel Castro. Gina knew him because he was not only Arlene’s dad but also a school bus driver. He offered her a ride.
But Gina never made it home.
Ariel Castro, who was 44 years old at the time, kidnapped her. He took Gina to a hidden area in his house, where he chained her up and locked her away with two other women, Michelle Knight and Amanda Berry. The three women endured years of unimaginable suffering at his hands until they escaped in May 2013.
After he was caught, Ariel Castro admitted to the police that they could have stopped him right after Gina’s kidnapping if they had checked the surveillance footage from Wilbur Wright Middle School, where he had taken her.
“If they had questioned me back then, it could’ve ended right there,” Castro said in court. “I feel like the FBI let those girls down.”