17 Days

On December 28, 1992, two days before her tenth birthday, Katie Beers disappeared. She had left for an outing with a close family friend, John Esposito, and her whereabouts remained mysterious as the year drew to a close and her family grew frantic, fearing the worst. On January 13th, Katie was found alive in a secret, dungeon-like vault beneath Esposito's Bay Shore, Long Island house. Families nationwide followed the story of Katie's heartwrenching ordeal, as she bravely survived the isolation until her nearly miraculous rescue from a setting reminiscent of The Silence of The Lambs. Katie's harrowing story reveals a chilling side of human nature, even in the seemingly peaceful suburbs. And her fate as the smiling survivor of a troubled family raises disturbing questions about the plight of children across America: children like Katie, whose trust can be so easily betrayed.