Does anyone have any updates on the kidnapping of Robert and Katherine Baskin? They were taken from Murfreesboro, TN by their grandparents Marvin and Sandra Maple. I saw an update on UM where they had been seen in either Washington or Oregon (don't remember which), but have heard nothing since.

No, they're still missing. :(

I checked their profiles at the Doe Network. Each profile has a computer-enhanced photo of how may look in 2006. So needless to say, that's not a good sign. :(

A truly sad case indeed. I bet the two don't even know they were kidnapped. They just went with grandma and grandpa for a visit and then the parents "died" and that's just how they grew up or something. The fact that the Baskins had the update and were so plainly in sight makes me think a few things, though:

1) They learned from that update and lived some majorly undercover life
2) They were involved in an accident that claimed all of their lives, though I don't see why they didn't link everything up (unless it's unfound to this day)
3) The kids became wards of some state and were not identified, then whisked away forever.

However, this case does have the honor of being the most freaking scary update in the history of life. Who uses the dooooo...BOOM BOOM! music for an update? Grief, I couldn't sleep that night.

I don't want to be a pessimist, I know people have been found after longer, but I have a terrible feeling that the kids haven't been with us for a long time.

Boy I would have thought those kids would have been found by now..:( Could it be possible they may have gone south of the border? and going on Goofy's theory could something have happened to them there?

Could it be possible that they "stockholmed" so that even in their twenties they don't believe that they were kidnapped? I didn't remember the threat against the children by the grandparents that they would be killed before turning them over to the parents :( (gee that makes sense grandma supposedly they were abused so you would kill them instead- some people:mad: )

This case has been of interest to me throughout the years. Personally I believe they are still alive and are victims of the stockholm theory.

Of note, they would both be in their mid-twenties now, and would have to somehow obtain SSNs to obtain employment, assuming they are still in the United States.

This case has been of interest to me throughout the years. Personally I believe they are still alive and are victims of the stockholm theory.

Of note, they would both be in their mid-twenties now, and would have to somehow obtain SSNs to obtain employment, assuming they are still in the United States.

The current ages of both kids - Kristi will turn 26 in August of this year and Bobby will be 25 in November.

Good point about the SSNs. Never thought of that.

The thing I always wondered about this case was what caused the Maples to just snap like that. Were they always this evil while their children were growing up or did they just lose some of their sanity as they got older?

They also had two other daughters they turned their backs on when they took the children into hiding. I guess it was worth it to them to turn their backs on everyone they knew and loved so they could spend the rest of their lives on the run raising two of their grandkids with no concern what-so-ever of what they did to their own daughter.

I always thought there were some unanswered questions. Mr. and Mrs. Baskin seemed particularly articulate and reasonable. It would be interesting to see how Sandra treated Debbie and her sisters as a child. Also, the Farmers weren't yet retirement age at the time of the kidnappings (I think) so I'd wonder what they did for money and housing for so many years. Other than very menial jobs that don't pay much, it's hard to get jobs nowadays without proper ID. Back then it may have been easier but today it's even harder with the easy access to computers and database information.

This story bothers me so much. Why has no trace of those children be found? Someone somewhere has to know something. And also, i wonder about how old the grandparents would be today. Do you think the grandparents are even still alive? Perhaps they themselves may tell the children something before they pass away... you would think. But if they are evil enough to take their own daughter's children away from her, then they are probably evil enough to take any information to their graves. Very disturbing.

Just a quick answer - Marvin would be 70 and Sandra would be 68 today. Likely they could still be alive and well, but by now they both would probably be in need of some sort of medical attention simply due to aging issues.

Perhaps they themselves may tell the children something before they pass away... you would think. But if they are evil enough to take their own daughter's children away from her, then they are probably evil enough to take any information to their graves. Very disturbing.

They didn't JUST take their daughter's children away from her. They also...

-Falsely accused their daughter (publicly) of molesting her own children.

-Falsely accused their daughter and son-in-law of being members of a
satanic cult.

-Destroyed any love the children had for her.

-Abandoned their other two daughters (and other possible grandchildren) for life.

-Forced Kristi and Bobby to lie to the police on behalf of their lies. (How destructive is that to a 9 year old's psyche?)

-Threaten to kill the children before ever seeing them be reunited with their parents.

It's amazing the crazy people we have in this world. I almost wonder if there is some sort of mental illness that might run on the Maples side of the family. I just can't comprehend how and why two people would do this to her own daughter... especially when she never did anything wrong.

I was reading an article in the newspaper a few weeks ago about a 27 year old woman who was found alive after being kidnapped by her father when she was 3 years old. Her father had told her at an early age that her mother had died of cancer. She never knew the truth about her being kidnapped and her mother actually being alive until her father was arrested last month. Now the girl is devastated to find out the truth about both her parents and will need some serious therapy. I believe this is exactly what the Maples have done to Kristi and Bobby. Forget the stockholm effect. They most likely told the children that their parents died long ago never knowing the truth.

I never bought into the Maple's threats of killing the children. I would bet money that they have all lived out of the country for quite some time now.

At this point, I guess all we can hope for is for one of those psychos to get a conscience before passing away and actually tell their grandkids the truth. But that's probably asking a lot. :(

This case was very disturbing. It seemed to me that what happened was that the grandparents, especially the grandmother got very possessive of the grandchildren. It seemed that all this stuff didnt start up until the parents were ready to take the kids back. This was also a screw up on the case of the police and the courts. By the time they took the parents seriously that the grandparents were lying to keep the kids the grandparents had fled with the children. We know that they were seen on the west coast two or three years after they had fled so we know they were still alive then. I bet they are still alive at least the grandkids are and I am sure they have no idea at all about what all is going on. I am sure the grandparents brain washed them into thinking either there parents are dead or that their parents were doing terrible things to them and so they fled to protect them. Those two grandparents need to be brought to justice but I doubt that will ever happen. I always did find it strange how the parents would leave the kids with their grandparents instead of taking them with in the first place.

This was also a screw up on the case of the police and the courts. By the time they took the parents seriously that the grandparents were lying to keep the kids the grandparents had fled with the children.

Exactly. I've wondered about that many times. The Baskins tried to warn authorities several times that they were afraid the Maples would take the children and run. But their concerns were ignored and their worst fears came true.

But I still don't understand how the Maples were able to leave town without anyone knowing. They managed to pack their things and put the house up for sale before child services ever knew. Maybe if somebody had kept a better eye on them, none of this would have happened.

I always did find it strange how the parents would leave the kids with their grandparents instead of taking them with in the first place.

At first, it was a just way of saving money through the summer while the Baskins looked for jobs in their new town. But finding work became difficult so the children stayed with their grandparents until Christmas. THAT'S when all the drama started. The Baskins told the Maples they would be taking the children home with them and the grandmother went nuts saying, "You can't do this to me!" (Wake up Granny! Not everything is about you!)

I'll never understand why the Baskins didn't just take the children home with them after Christmas anyway. (Maybe they didn't want the kids to change schools in the middle of the year?) When the grandmother started to get that attitude, Debbie should have just told her mother to back off and take her kids home anyway. But she didn't. The only guess I can give is that maybe she wanted to keep some peace in the family. But look how that turned out.

After watching this recently, I was gonna ask if these "kids" have ever been found, looks not. I say "kids" coz they would be in there mid 20's now, surely as adults they would come forward to seek out their parents or something..maybe they aren't alive as been suggested?

^ Anyone who has questions as to how the maples may have been able to keep their grandchildren "hidden" for song long or why the baskin children have not tried to seek out their parents or authorities might wanna look here:

http://members.aol.com/underwatch/

I personally think both of the grandparents present would sound off warning bells to the people taking them underground. If true, with this story shown several times over the years, someone should have come forward by now. My personal opinion? Either they are somewhere where UM is not shown (South America, England, Ireland?) or possibly, and I don't want to think this, but maybe they are ALL dead and their deaths have slipped through the system albeit car accident or worse case scenario, murder-suicide.

That grandmother had a few screws loose, along with the dad. I got the impression that she was controlling, even possibly emotionally abusive and liked everyone near her in Murfeesburo so she could exert control. Once they announced the move to KY, they offered to keep the grandchildren as a way to keep their daughter and son-in-law within their grasp. When they came to pick up the children at Christmas, any control over the situation the mother, and possibly the father, had would be taken away. She even stated possibly killing the children before returning them to their mother. Do I think the children were brainwashed? Probably. If the murder-suicide theory has any footing, it would have happened after the sighting in Santa Clara, CA. I just find it hard to believe that NO ONE has been spotted over the years.

A thought I have been swirling around? If the parents want more publicity for their case i.e. getting the word out over a larger area, they should write a book about this case. Books tend to travel farther than UM. The screwy grandparents would give the case an edge to make it more interesting to publishers. I feel that if this case is immortalized in pages, their story would go out to a larger audience, ergo, getting Kristi and Bobby pics and the true story out. Someone just might spot them, or someone's conscience might kick in, or even Kristi and Bobby, if even still alive, might begin to ask questions, resolving this case. It has been 17 years and the case has grown cold. Something drastic needs to be done.

mphs95, I've been thinking the same thing for years now. I always thought it might help the case if the Baskins wrote a book about the whole drama with the Maples. They could include pictures and composites of what everyone would look like today.

They could also start out the book by telling of the families happier times as a way to endear themselves to the reader.

I always thought the book idea or talking with a psychic would be the only options left for the Baskins. It's probably a million to one chance that either Kristi or Bobbi would come accross a rerun of their case on Unsolved Mysteries.

I agree. A book would very much be a way to get the case attention. Unfortunately it's been so long that this is very much a "cold" case. Little is available on the Internet about it with the exception of a few files on missing children websites, and even those are fairly basic.

Mr. and Mrs. Baskin were particularly articulate people, and I have a feeling that it may be painful for them to do so, but I bet they could write a revealing book about this whole situation.