Random Victims Who Outsmarted Their Captors (10 items)

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  (#1) A Young Girl Pulled A Fake Out To Escape Her Kidnapper

  It was every parent's worst nightmare, but 12-year-old Rebecca Savarese was able to think on her toes and outsmart her would-be abductor.

  While walking alone to school in 1994, a man came up to Rebecca and pressed a gun into her side. He commanded her to walk to his car. Rebecca did as she was told, but as they got closer, she pretended to lose her breath. Her attacker was startled, giving her enough time to run away. He was left holding her backpack, and then jumped in his car and took off.

  Eyewitness accounts eventually led to his capture, and it turned out that he was responsible for the deaths of at least three other children.
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  (#2) A Woman Used Her Engagement Ring To Free Herself After Being Buried Alive

  This is truly a tale of staying calm in an insanely stressful situation.

  In 2002, Michelina Lewandowska's fiance attacked her with a Taser, bound and gagged her, and then buried her alive. After waking up in a cardboard box underground, Michelina was able to use her engagement ring to cut herself free. 

  Her fiance apparently committed the crime because he wanted complete control over their three-year-old son and had "grown tired of her." Michelina says she was able to survive by thinking about getting back to her child.
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  (#3) Benedict Cumberbatch Talked His Way Out Of A Kidnap Attempt

  Years before he became the crime-solving super-detective Sherlock Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch had to outsmart criminals in real life.

  In 2005, he was filming the miniseries The Ends of the Earth in South Africa and was traveling back to his hotel after a scuba-diving lesson. The car ended up getting a flat tire and when he, actress Denise Black, and a friend pulled over to fix it, they were ambushed by car jackers. 

  The men frisked them, tied them up, and forced them into the car. After driving for awhile, they stopped and tried to force Cumberbatch into the trunk. Thinking quickly, he told them that he had a medical condition that would cause him to have a seizure if he were forced into the small space. "I will be a dead Englishman in your car. Not good," he said.

  The ploy worked and the car jackers released Cumberbatch and his friends. He said the ordeal inspired him to "live a life less ordinary."
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  (#4) A Woman Convinced Her Captor That He Was Trying To Save Her Instead Of Kill Her

  Even in the middle of a horrifying nightmare, Jennifer Holiday was able to keep her wits about her.

  While driving with her 18-year-old cousin Anna in east Texas, the women were suddenly ambushed by gunfire. Jennifer had been badly wounded in the arm, and the shooter approached the car to inflict more damage. He shot Anna in the head, killing her, and then dragged Jennifer into the woods to assault and torture her.

  With no help in sight, Jennifer knew her only chance at survival was to ask to go to her attacker's house. He was clearly on drugs, and if she could maintain control over him, she knew she'd be able to get away.

  After arriving at the house, she convinced him that he had saved her from a car wreck. She was then able to call 911 right in front of him and, while keeping her voice completely calm, made the dispatcher realize she was in the presence of her attacker. Jennifer survived the ordeal, and the man was captured.
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  (#5) Two Men Escaped Captivity After Tiring Out Their Guards With Board Games

  In 2008, a New York Times reporter and his translator escaped from the Taliban, thanks in part to a board game. 

  After being captured in Afghanistan while doing research for a book, David Rohde, his translator Tahir, and their driver were held in Pakistan while their captors made demands to the US. 

  After seven months, their driver had turned against them and they knew that they had to make an escape. Tahir kept the guards up late one night playing checkah, a game similar to Parcheesi. With the guards peacefully passed out, Rohde and Tahir climbed over a five-foot-high wall and used a rope they'd hidden days earlier to climb down and get away.
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  (#6) A Man Outsmarted Pirates To Get His Ship Back

  When pirates decided to hijack a fishing vessel owned by Hassan Khalil, they messed with the wrong guy.

  Khalil's vessel and another ship were overtaken by pirates near the coast of Yemen in 2009. After trying to negotiate with the pirates unsuccessfully, he hired a group of mercenaries. Khalil paid one pirate $10,000 with the promise of more money and was allowed to re-board the ship to check on his crew. 

  Once back on the ship, he and his crew attacked the pirates with guns, knives, and tools. Eight pirates were delivered to the authorities, while two were killed in the sneak attack. 
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  (#7) A Pilot Used Language Barriers To Outsmart Hijacker

  Thanks to some quick thinking from this pilot, he and his passengers were able to outsmart a hijacker.

  In 2007, a gunman took over an Air Mauritania flight, demanding to be taken to France to seek asylum for unknown reasons. The pilot, Ahmedou Mohamed Lemine, realized that the hijacker spoke no French and decided to use this against him.

  He spoke over the intercom in French, telling the crew and passengers to prepare for turbulence. With the gunman off balance, the crew had the opportunity to toss boiling water on him before he was overpowered by ten people. The plane was able to land safely and passengers were treated for only minor injuries.
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  (#8) Actor Used His Trademark "Tarzan" Yell To Avoid Kidnapping

  This story proves that anyone can be disarmed by a celebrity.

  Johnny Weismuller, who played Tarzan in twelve different films and created the iconic character's ape-like yell, was visiting Cuba during the revolution. While he and some friends were out golfing, they suddenly found their cart surrounded by rebel soldiers pointing guns at them.

  After trying to communicate that he was the famous actor known for playing Tarzan, Weismuller switched gears and let out one of his huge Tarzan yells. The star-struck rebels put down their guns and yelled, "Tarzan! Tarzan!" Weismuller and his friends were escorted back to their hotel completely unharmed.
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  (#9) Captive Reporter Was Asked To Set Up Kidnapper's Cell Phone, Used It To Tweet His Location

  In this case, a kidnapper trusted his prisoner to set up a brand-new cell phone for him and it totally backfired.

  Japanese journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka was captured in Afghanistan in 2010. After five months of captivity, he was losing hope of ever getting home. Then, one of his kidnappers was having trouble setting up his new Nokia and asked Tsuneoka for help. 

  Tsuneoka was able to convince them to get an Internet connection, which he then used to tweet his location while "setting up" the phone. He was freed a few days later.
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  (#10) A Seattle Tourist Intimidated A Teen Robber

  This man showed absolutely no fear in the face of danger - and luckily, it worked.

  While in Seattle visiting his mother, the victim was riding a city bus near the Central District area. He noticed a suspicious teenager trying to hide his face, and when the man reached his stop, the teen followed him.

  When the man turned around on the street, the teen pulled a gun out of a paper bag. Unfazed, the man said, "What are you going to do with that pistol?" He threatened to fight back if he was robbed and the would-be robber realized he was in way over his head. He hid the gun and parted ways with the man at the next street corner.

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