T anya Kach’s story had all the makings of a Lifetime movie — and now it is one. Kach is speaking out about the harrowing ordeal of being held captive for a decade from age 14, after fellow kidnapping survivor, Elizabeth Smart , convinced her to share her story. “A lot of women have messaged me, reaching out to me and opening up about something that happened in their life because they feel comfortable talking with me because I understand,” the now 42-year-old told The Independent, just days after The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Kach Story premiered on Lifetime.
The Pennsylvania teen had been struggling at home and at school in the wake of her parents’ tumultuous divorce before she vanished in February 1996. Months earlier, when Kach tried to skip class at Cornell Middle School in the Pittsburgh suburb of McKeesport to avoid the peers who bullied her, she was caught by a school security guard. But instead of turning her in, Thomas “Tom” Hose, who at 38 years old was more than twice her age, took an interest in her and the two became close.
Hose showered her with flowers, candy, gifts and money for cigarettes. They even shared a kiss in the stairwell. She started to believe she was in love with him.
He learned of Kach’s unstable home life, her thoughts about wanting to run away and so after gaining her trust, he preyed on her vulnerabilities and convinced her to move in with him – with the promise of a better life. But what may have started out as a desper.