I still can't believe this!!!! There is a place online (that I'd rather not say where) where occasionally Debbie posts. In her post dated today she states that Marvin Maples has been found and is in police custody!!!!! The police scanned a picture of Marvin to Mark & Debbie Baskins for him to identify. They did identify it as Marvin!!! In the wee hours of this morning they were also scanned pictures of Bobby and Christi!!! Debbie states that her children are beautiful. They then called later and said that Marvin Maples had been taken into custody!!!! :clap The man did admit to being Marvin Maples and he did suffer a stroke a few years ago but has recovered. They believe that Sandra Maples is dead. Christi is single and has a nursing degree. Bobby is married. Thats all the further info she had. She has no idea if her kids will want to see her or not.

What wonderful news!!!!!!!

THAT'S AMAZING! GREAT stuff!!

party:

Wow! What great news!

Wow! What great news!


I AM BEYOND EXCITED!!!!!! I hope the kids want to see their parents. I know it'll be a long road ahead of them and I hope for the best for everyone. I'm dying to know what names they have lived under and if they had any clue as to people looking for them for the past 20 years!!

Freaking awesome. Awesome to the max.

I wonder how big of a role that tip 8 years ago played.

Holy crap!!! Keep us updated as you find out other stuff!!!

Exciting News. As a longtime member of this forum I can easily say this is the #1 case that the majority of the members of this forum wanted to see solved. I just hope it has the happy ending we've all been wanting to see through the years. Either way I'm glad Debbie and Mark's search is over, at the very least they can rest easily now knowing their children are alive and apparently living healthy productive lives.

I do hope from our perspective that we someday get the full story on this very bizarre case as there are obviously some holes to fill. I assume that Marvin will be prosecuted and more will come out during those proceedings. Hopefully more information will come from the authorities in a few days.

OMG! I can't believe it! Great news CD!!!!

:happyface

Wow. I have to say that this is shocking and wonderful news. I'm delighted to hear that the kids are okay. I just hope that they haven't been so thoroughly brainwashed that they are unable to reconnect with their parents who have searched for them for so long.

It still bothers me that it seemed like the Maple family helped them hide all these years. I think they need a "come to Jesus" meeting.

The sad thing about this is that Sandra Maples will never have to answer for her actions because she died. Hopefully Marvin Maples will talk about why he did this and spend the rest of his life in jail. That's still not long enough for what he did to this family.

This thread will have to be Stickie'd!

Wow! That is amazing!! I really hope we find out more details about what the kids knew, what they think, how they went to school (using a fake name or what) etc... I really really hope that they are open to seeing their parents.

I keep waiting for something about this to pop up on a news site somewhere just so I can verify it, but there hasn't been anything yet.

Thank God, the kids are alive and well!

I really hope they accept their parents and the reunion goes well. I can't wait to find out what the kids knew and when they found out that everyone was looking for them.

Holy crap! I know there were some recent updates and all of that, but when I read the message title all I could say was holy crap!

This is amazing news! I'm so happy for the family, it's been way too long and now finally a reunion can happen. It's sad that justice won't be fully served, but at this point it's amazing that the (I guess now adults) kids have been found and healing/reunion can begin.

Wow. This is just amazing news, this made my day. :D!

Oh wow, unbelievable!

Wow! When I heard I was reeling! I couldn't believe it! :happyface

I thought the San Diego tip would pan out because Detective Sharp had a "gut feeling" - and I know gut feelings should be taken seriously!

Here's hoping things will work out. Debbie may even be reconciled with the family who disowned her. I bet the Maple relatives Spitfire and Dipahead (who closed our old Baskin thread with their fighting) aren't pleased, but who cares?

I wonder what's going to happen between Debbie and her father? If he had any sense he will plead guilty or "no contest" to spare Christi and Bobby the ordeal of a trial. But so far the Maples haven't had any sense.:crazy: Sandra seems to be dead, but there should be grave somewhere for Debbie to go and visit, along with the Maple relatives.

If Bobby and Christi don't want to see Debbie and Mark, at least the parents know now. The worst thing was not knowing.

I can't wait to hear more details!

I wonder why there's no news about this yet? I can't find anything on charley project, doenetwork, amw, or regular news sites.

This news is absolutely awesome!!!!!!!!!

holy cow! that is great news.

I just read that paperwork has been signed to extradite Marvin Maple back to Tennessee.

Well I'm not sure what is going through Bobbi and Kristi's minds at this point. If they've been brainwashed, hopefully, the arrest of Marvin Maple will trigger an epiphany and they will realize how much their parents love them.

I work nights, as I mentioned before, so I am still waking up, still having my coffee. What a pleasant surprise this early in my day!

holy cow! that is great news.

I just read that paperwork has been signed to extradite Marvin Maple back to Tennessee.

Well I'm not sure what is going through Bobbi and Kristi's minds at this point. If they've been brainwashed, hopefully, the arrest of Marvin Maple will trigger an epiphany and they will realize how much their parents love them.


Are you able to share with us where you read that?

I am a longtime listener, first-time caller, de-lurking to say that I have been following this case for a long time (I can remember it airing on Lifetime 15 years ago) and, assuming all of these facts are correct, I am extremely happy for the Baskins.

There is a still a long way to go, but I know it must be a relief for them to know that their children are alive and safe, regardless of any forthcoming outcomes.

I will be PM'ing a couple of people (I hope that's OK), I'd like to see these web pages.

No. Freaking. Way.

It's about TIME!!! Kick butt!

To be honest, with as much publicity as this case got, I'm really surprised it wasn't solved sooner. But certainly never too late.

What an awesome day this is! :D

Unsolved Mysteries had better retool the Baskin segment so we can have the update!

Still nothing on any "official" site, but I do see that the MySpace page has been changed. It now says "Marvin Maple has been found! Details later!" and the mood has been changed to "Elated". Not sure who runs the page, but it sounds good.

I'm in complete shock. I think everyone knows how this case has haunted me for so many years.

I've prayed for Mark and Debbie for over a decade now. I've written to them. I've had dreams about them. I can't believe this nightmare for them is almost completely over.

Only one critical thing remains. Will Christi and Bobby want to have anything to do with the Baskins after the lies they have been told? We'll soon find out.

OMG...I don't know what else to say.

Are you able to share with us where you read that?

As far as I can tell the national media outlets have not picked up on this story yet so the information that has been shared with the members of this forum come from the personal blogs/My Spaces of Debbie Baskin.

Out of respect for Debbie and Mark's privacy in that in general they do not use these blogs as an avenue or method to update or share information on the case but instead on other events in their personal lives, those of us who do have the address are not sharing that information publically at this time. The AP wire hopefully will have a story within a day or so and then hopefully more details will be out there than what Debbie has posted so far on her blogs.

PS: I'm especially happy for dynoguy right now. As a longtime member of this forum I can tell you nobody on this forum has been more emotionally invested in this case than dynoguy. I'm glad "your mystery" was finally solved.

PS: I'm especially happy for dynoguy right now. As a longtime member of this forum I can tell you nobody on this forum has been more emotionally invested in this case than dynoguy. I'm glad "your mystery" was finally solved.

Thanks for that. I know I've probably bugged more people here bringing up this case so many times over the years. But I'm just so happy it's finally solved.

I am the same age as Christi; 28 years old. I can still remember seeing the creepy update to the Baskin segment when it originally was broadcast on Unsolved Mysteries as a 10 year old. It's so hard to believe that one month shy of the 20 year anniversay of the children's kidnapping could finally be over.

We're finally going to find out so many questions that we have wondered throughout the years. Like where they were hiding out for so long. What lies they were told. Even random things like how on earth did they get jobs and go to school without their social security numbers.

Bobby and Christi might be able to tell police whether or not Debbie's sisters and Marvin's family members had a hand in helping hide them all these years. Maybe they'll face criminal charges too?

I've dreamed of this day for the Baskins for so long. I'm not really sure how to act.

Details have just been updated on the Murfreesboro Post. Pictures of the children (now adults) are there. Beautiful brother and sister. This is surely a blessed day.



http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=15245

http://www.murfreesboropost.com/files/image/article/full_15245.jpg

Well, there they are, everyone.

Thank you so much for posting the pictures Dynoguy88!!!!!

And here is what Marvin looks like now...

http://www.murfreesboropost.com/photos/File2197.jpg

He's still complaining about being misrepresented, ha? Oh, Lord.

I can't believe Mark and Debbie could be talking with Christi and Bobby as early as tomorrow!

And here is what Marvin looks like now...

http://www.murfreesboropost.com/photos/File2197.jpg

He's still complaining about being misrepresented, ha? Oh, Lord.

I can't believe Mark and Debbie could be talking with Christi and Bobby as early as tomorrow!


Marvin looks even older than his age progression. Well I imagine so with his stroke and years of being on the run.

Wow. I can't believe this is all finally over.

Wow, this is incredible news! It's very abnormal that they would be found after all of this time completely unharmed. And like everyone else, I'm wondering how they were able to live such normal lives and go to school and be gone so long without anyone asking any questions?

And wow, Christi is beautiful!

Wow, they have been found. Now the real work begins. God bless them.

And wow, Christi is beautiful!

Well thank god someone else said it LOL. Anyone else still having trouble seeing these two as anything else but little kids. I still picture them as those two little kids in front of the constitution per UM.

Now its up to SPIKE to give us a classy update to this case - Anyone wanna take over/unders on the chances of that happening? :lol:

Well thank god someone else said it LOL. Anyone else still having trouble seeing these two as anything else but little kids. I still picture them as those two little kids in front of the constitution per UM.

Now its up to SPIKE to give us a classy update to this case - Anyone wanna take over/unders on the chances of that happening? :lol:

Ha! That will be the day when Spike knows half of what is really going on.

And I agree with you about the pictures in front of the constitution. I had one of those taken in first grade as well.

I can't wait to find out more information over the next few days.

WOW! Did THAT ever blow away the February blahs! I am just THRILLED and STUNNED--I'd about given up on this EVER being solved! Definitely sticky the thread, and I much expect there will be a book and movie made about this.

Not only what names have Christi and Bobby been living under, but when, where, and under what circumstances did Sandra die? Is she buried under some false name somewhere?

Will Marvin talk and will other family members be indicted for aiding and abetting? Can't wait to learn more on this!

Amazing. Simply amazing. Oh happy day!

Cori,

Well the article actually reveals the aliases and this is just a guess on my part but due to the identical last names it seems that The Maples were going around telling the children and others that they were indeed their parents - Heres how the aliases break down:

Robert "Bobby" Baskin: Jonathan Bunting
Katherine "Kristi" Baskin: Jennifer Bunting
Marvin Maples: John Bunting
Sandra Maples (now deceased): Frances Bunting

These aliases were given to the authorities apparently by Kristi/Jennifer. The article also seems to reveal that Marvin Maples may have been a party to his own arrest telling a woman who later tipped him off to the police that he was wanted by the FBI and unhappy in how the media portrayed him.

Seriously if I was wanted by the FBI the last thing I would do is go around advertising that.

Here's a page with an audio interview with Detective Sgt. Dan Goodwin. Fascinating:

http://www.wgnsradio.com/local-1989-kidnapping-case-solved/5560/

Apparently, Marvin Maples outed himself to neighbors after a story about the case ran in a local California paper. When those neighbors looked on the internet, they realized "he might not be the hero he was painting himself to be." Boy, would I love to hear their side of the story.

Part of me thinks that, if he has indeed had a stroke, perhaps this has impaired his judgment in some way, which might have led him to not consider the consequences of talking about it.

This is why it's important that these cases remain on the internet and in the public eye. A single internet user recognizes a family he knew ten years earlier, alerts authorities, they get stories run in California papers, and it leads to the case being solved. Unbelievable, but possible in the internet age.

Cori,

Well the article actually reveals the aliases and this is just a guess on my part but due to the identical last names it seems that The Maples were going around telling the children and others that they were indeed their parents - Heres how the aliases break down:

Robert "Bobby" Baskin: Jonathan Bunting
Katherine "Kristi" Baskin: Jennifer Bunting
Marvin Maples: John Bunting
Sandra Maples (now deceased): Frances Bunting

These aliases were given to the authorities apparently by Kristi/Jennifer. The article also seems to reveal that Marvin Maples may have been a party to his own arrest telling a woman who later tipped him off to the police that he was wanted by the FBI and unhappy in how the media portrayed him.

Seriously if I was wanted by the FBI the last thing I would do is go around advertising that.

I guess the main question so many of us have now is what memories do Bobby and Christi currently have of their parents prior to 1989 when they were kidnapped? Did the Maples tell them that their parents died long ago like I always suspected?

It would be interesting to know how Marvin supported the family all these years. The second update on Unsolved Mysteries speculated that he was working as a tool and dye engineer.

Wow!!!! This is so awesome! I'm so excited :) found this link:

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=9784091

and this one may have already been posted:

http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=15245

This is so cool!! Thanks for the news CrystalDawn!!! :happyface

Murfreesboro video news segment:

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=9784091

Well-done report. Christie and Robbie appear to have no recollection of their earlier identities, and are skeptical of the story. The detectives believe they were home schooled.

In-credible! I think my heart skipped a beat when I saw the title of the thread. I'm......speechless to say the least, other than to say how amazing this day is for Mark and Debbie Baskin. To see one of UM's greatest cases solved almost 20 years to the day is mindblowing.


This is why it's important that these cases remain on the internet and in the public eye. A single internet user recognizes a family he knew ten years earlier, alerts authorities, they get stories run in California papers, and it leads to the case being solved. Unbelievable, but possible in the internet age.

I could not agree with you more. It goes to show that any one person out there can make the break in any case (or "hold the key") regardless of time or current location. Robert Stack would have been proud.

Like everyone else, I cannot wait for all the details to unfold, and I'm sure the AP will come out with something shortly. While there are still SO many questions to be addressed, the biggest one just got answered. What a day!

Simply amazing news, thought we would never see this day.

I truly hope that they will want to form a relationship with their parents.. but if nothing else at least they know that Kristi and Bobby are alive.

This was one of those cases we all had hoped would be solved one day and it's truly hard to believe that it was.

The curious case of Jonathan Bunting, will get curioser and curioser as it unfolds.

What FANTASTIC NEWS!!!!!! Wow! TBTG! I never thought this would happen. I hope and pray for that Bobby and Christi can be reunited with their parents soon and that the healing for all of them can begin.

Charli-Ann

I know I posted this before but I just can't wait to hear what these kids were told. It states in the article that Jenny/Christi said that the women she calls her mother died 2 years ago. I am just dying to find out the story here. Though I'm so happy for them, I know this is not going to be an easy thing for the family. I hope it goes as smoothly and happily as possible.

Here's a page with an audio interview with Detective Sgt. Dan Goodwin. Fascinating:

http://www.wgnsradio.com/local-1989-kidnapping-case-solved/5560/

Apparently, Marvin Maples outed himself to neighbors after a story about the case ran in a local California paper. When those neighbors looked on the internet, they realized "he might not be the hero he was painting himself to be." Boy, would I love to hear their side of the story.

Part of me thinks that, if he has indeed had a stroke, perhaps this has impaired his judgment in some way, which might have led him to not consider the consequences of talking about it.

This is why it's important that these cases remain on the internet and in the public eye. A single internet user recognizes a family he knew ten years earlier, alerts authorities, they get stories run in California papers, and it leads to the case being solved. Unbelievable, but possible in the internet age.


This helps explain why the children had to be found sometime. If they did not understand what was going on, they would not understand to keep themselves in hiding. So once the grandparents were no longer able to hide them because they were dead (Sandra) or physically impaired (Marvin) the children had to be found once someone called with the right tip. It also explains why the Maples didn't run with the children gain as soon as things heated up in San Diego, which was something I was worried about.

Must have been a shock to Bobby's wife when she found out she was Mrs Baskin and not Mrs Bunting!

What I can't get over is that they have been living in the USA all this time! I was sure if they were still alive at all it would be in some distant foreign land! Talk about hiding in plain sight! And, in the internet age, I can't believe the kids hadn't Googled their original names (like Steven Stayner, they must have remembered them) and learned their story. Or, if they were told their parents were dead, done a people search on them? It's not as if they were in some religious compound with no internet access. Didn't they have public library, friends' houses, etc.?

Its great to see their photos! Christi is beautiful and I can see a resemblance between her picture now and when she was abducted. I'm not sure if I would have seen Bobby or Marvin on the street and recognized them though.

Its hard to believe that being abducted at 8 & 9 you wouldn't remember your parents. My youngest is 8 and I can't imagine her not remembering this time, I have some memories that go back as young as 5 and I assume most of you do as well.

I feel for Christi & Bobby in that their life has totally been turned upside down but I really hope and pray they see the truth (they should definitely watch the UM segment) and realize their horrid grandparents aren't the saints they've made themselves out to be. I hope Marvin rots in jail!!

I can not wait to see America's Most Wanted this week. I'm going to love to see John Walsh's reaction.

There's a reason why law enforcement across the nation was pissed when Fox canceled it for a month. Shows like UM and AMW should always be around. Because while the media will focus on some cases, UM and AMW will focus on cases that don't get that attention. Like someone mentioned as long as those cases remain in the public there's a chance the right person will see it, when they normally wouldn't.

They were home schooled to avoid registering with SSN's... but how did Kristi get a job as a nurse without a SSN?

They were home schooled to avoid registering with SSN's... but how did Kristi get a job as a nurse without a SSN?

That's what always bugged me. How could they get jobs without SSN's?

The news report in Murfreesboro also said that both Christi and Bobby have college degrees! I can understand the Maple's home schooling them as children but as far as I know, you can't be home schooled in college too.

I'm also interested in hearing what the Maples told the children when they had to constantly change their names. They went from Christi and Bobby to Robin and Robbie to Jennifer and Johnathan with probably other names along the way.

I can not wait to see America's Most Wanted this week. I'm going to love to see John Walsh's reaction.

I knew that AMW profiled the case at one point or another. No word yet on whether this will be mentioned on the show this week (which, by the way, will be shown on this Friday, since it will be preempted this Saturday), but I have no doubt that it will be mentioned in a future broadcast of the show.

There's a reason why law enforcement across the nation was pissed when Fox canceled it for a month. Shows like UM and AMW should always be around. Because while the media will focus on some cases, UM and AMW will focus on cases that don't get that attention. Like someone mentioned as long as those cases remain in the public there's a chance the right person will see it, when they normally wouldn't.

Agreed. No matter how much times change, there will always be a need for TV shows like AMW and UM. But I'd rather have those shows around and not need them than not have them and then need them.

Besides, when Fox canceled AMW in 1996, I was one of the many viewers who wrote to the network to protest the decision. Thankfully, they realized that mistake sooner instead of later.

OK, through some web searches, I've uncovered the following:

This is a link to an abstract for a scholarly paper in a nursing journal with a "Jennifer M. Bunting" listed as a co-author:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/568404_1

Under the "Author Information" tab, she's listed as a Nurse Manager at a hospital in Newport Beach, CA. Given that we know that Jennifer Bunting is in nursing administration in California, I have to think it's the same person (though Newport Beach and San Jose are in different parts of the state).

That led me to these pages:

http://www.naa.org/PressCenter/SearchPressReleases/2006/NAA-AWARDS-10-NEW-MEDIA-FELLOWSHIPS.aspx

http://docs.nandomedia.com/newsletter/06/aug/story/3515422p-12345494c.html

The Jennifer M. Bunting listed on these pages apparently worked for some time in newspaper sales and management in San Jose. There's a pic on the 2nd page, though it's a thumbnail. A small gap is visible between her two front teeth, however--the same gap, I think, that she had in her pictures as an eight-year-old.

That led me to this:

http://spotted.augusta.com/display.html?gallery=39037&collection=28779&page=1

If you look through this photo gallery (starting w/pic #4), there are several pictures of a woman named Jennifer at an NAA (National Association of Newspapers) event. Photo #34 lists her as "Jennifer M. Bunting." If you look at this picture side by side with the picture from the Murfreesboro Post, I think you can detect an identical jawline, nose, and eyebrows (which can be altered, but still). The hair may be a slightly different color, but that can also be altered. The dead giveaway, to me, is the gap in Jennifer's teeth.

My theory is that Christie Baskin aka Jennifer Bunting worked in San Jose for the newspaper there for some time and, possibly due to a downturn in the newspaper business, went back to school for a nursing degree (possibly going to Southern California to do so) and has been working as a nurse administrator since then. Though it's possible that these aren't all the same person, I'm convinced they are.

In addition, if you go to a popular social networking site aimed primarily at college students and search for "Jonathan Bunting," you will find a thumbnail for a Jonathan Bunting who is a part of the "Silicon Valley, CA" network. Listed among his friends is a "Jennifer Bunting" who looks very similar to the woman discussed above.

That's what always bugged me. How could they get jobs without SSN's?

The news report in Murfreesboro also said that both Christi and Bobby have college degrees! I can understand the Maple's home schooling them as children but as far as I know, you can't be home schooled in college too.

I'm also interested in hearing what the Maples told the children when they had to constantly change their names. They went from Christi and Bobby to Robin and Robbie to Jennifer and Johnathan with probably other names along the way.


Exactly, how can the children not notice that their names keep changing?

That's what always bugged me. How could they get jobs without SSN's?

From what i've heard its a whole lot easier than you think. Criminals have been doing it for years.

I always figured that if there was a case that could be solved it would be this one. There was too many things going toward a happy conclusion.

I really hope this convinces UM that posting these cases on a "unmentionable" website actually does do some good.

Especially with how many people that site reaches.

Perhaps once the Baskins are settled they could help us in lobbying that effort.

Nice investigating work, deuce5000!

Yeah, I can see a resemblence. The gap in the teeth, the facial structure.

http://i.spotted.augusta.com/user/667304/gallery/97925.jpg http://www.childquest.org/pictures/1077-m2.jpg

It looks very close to the picture from the Murfreesboro article.

http://www.murfreesboropost.com/files/image/article/full_15245.jpg

OK, through some web searches, I've uncovered the following:

This is a link to an abstract for a scholarly paper in a nursing journal with a "Jennifer M. Bunting" listed as a co-author:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/568404_1

Under the "Author Information" tab, she's listed as a Nurse Manager at a hospital in Newport Beach, CA. Given that we know that Jennifer Bunting is in nursing administration in California, I have to think it's the same person (though Newport Beach and San Jose are in different parts of the state).

That led me to these pages:

http://www.naa.org/PressCenter/SearchPressReleases/2006/NAA-AWARDS-10-NEW-MEDIA-FELLOWSHIPS.aspx

http://docs.nandomedia.com/newsletter/06/aug/story/3515422p-12345494c.html

The Jennifer M. Bunting listed on these pages apparently worked for some time in newspaper sales and management in San Jose. There's a pic on the 2nd page, though it's a thumbnail. A small gap is visible between her two front teeth, however--the same gap, I think, that she had in her pictures as an eight-year-old.

That led me to this:

http://spotted.augusta.com/display.html?gallery=39037&collection=28779&page=1

If you look through this photo gallery (starting w/pic #4), there are several pictures of a woman named Jennifer at an NAA (National Association of Newspapers) event. Photo #34 lists her as "Jennifer M. Bunting." If you look at this picture side by side with the picture from the Murfreesboro Post, I think you can detect an identical jawline, nose, and eyebrows (which can be altered, but still). The hair may be a slightly different color, but that can also be altered. The dead giveaway, to me, is the gap in Jennifer's teeth.

My theory is that Christie Baskin aka Jennifer Bunting worked in San Jose for the newspaper there for some time and, possibly due to a downturn in the newspaper business, went back to school for a nursing degree (possibly going to Southern California to do so) and has been working as a nurse administrator since then. Though it's possible that these aren't all the same person, I'm convinced they are.

In addition, if you go to a popular social networking site aimed primarily at college students and search for "Jonathan Bunting," you will find a thumbnail for a Jonathan Bunting who is a part of the "Silicon Valley, CA" network. Listed among his friends is a "Jennifer Bunting" who looks very similar to the woman discussed above.


Interesting pictures! Seems like it is Christi given the gap in her front teeth.

I wonder if the kids have spoken to their parents yet. That's going to be an emotional roller coaster ride for sure!

I do hope for the best and I hope they believe their parents!

I was worried that they knew their parents were alive and had been told horrible stories about them while they were growing up. I think since they didn't even know they existed, it may be a better chance that they could at least form some type of relationship. I think the fact they have a little brother they don't remember will peak their interest and they will certainly want to meet him.

In case it hasn't already been posted, here is a link to an article confirming the update.

http://www.wsmv.com/news/18637931/detail.html

Isn't San Jose close to where the pool picture was from, taken shortly after the kids were kidnapped? I wonder if they were always in the same area. I wonder where the San Diego tips came from... was the family just moving throughout California this whole time? The fact that they seem to have been in one state the whole time just makes it more amazing that they were never found when they were younger. Perhaps the Maples really kept them out of view.

I am so confused too about how it seems that the kids (or Christie at least) have no memory of this. They were old enough that you would think they would have wanted some explanation at the time about why they were no longer seeing their parents, and that that would be something they would remember. It just doesn't make sense.

Regarding the children's SS numbers.

In the US, now, children have to have SS numbers practically at birth, so their parents can claim them on their taxes as dependents.

Before that law went into effect, most people did not get their SS# until they were about old enough to get their first job, since the SS# was used primarily for employment tax purposes.

I'm an old broad now, so I've forgotten what procedure I went through to obtain a SS# at around age 15. If it involves providing a birth certificate, I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that the Maples had phony documents made for the kids.

With a good looking fake b/c, it probably wasn't hard to get a SS#.

How EVIL and selfish of those people to abduct those kids, steal them from their loving parents, brainwash them, move them around to keep them in hiding, force them to keep changing names, and who knows what else.

edited in an effort to keep the peace...

Christi is kinda hot. :)

Isn't San Jose close to where the pool picture was from, taken shortly after the kids were kidnapped? I wonder if they were always in the same area. I wonder where the San Diego tips came from... was the family just moving throughout California this whole time? The fact that they seem to have been in one state the whole time just makes it more amazing that they were never found when they were younger. Perhaps the Maples really kept them out of view.

I am so confused too about how it seems that the kids (or Christie at least) have no memory of this. They were old enough that you would think they would have wanted some explanation at the time about why they were no longer seeing their parents, and that that would be something they would remember. It just doesn't make sense.

Yes, they were orginally located in Santa Clara, CA in August. 1989.

I believe many facets of the human mind are still unsolved mysteries....

Isn't San Jose close to where the pool picture was from, taken shortly after the kids were kidnapped? I wonder if they were always in the same area. I wonder where the San Diego tips came from... was the family just moving throughout California this whole time? The fact that they seem to have been in one state the whole time just makes it more amazing that they were never found when they were younger. Perhaps the Maples really kept them out of view.

The pool pictures of Christie and Bobby were taken at an apartment complex in Santa Clara. I did a search on yahoo maps and found out that Santa Clara is just 5 miles from San Jose! Surely they couldn't have been living that close the whole time, could they?

The Maples moved out of that apartment in Santa Clara just a couple weeks before the case was first broadcast on Unsolved Mysteries. It was incredibly lucky timing on their part to avoid capture.

This also makes me wonder about the sighting of the Maples and Baskin children together in Peabody, Massachusetts in 1993. The FBI confirmed that sighting and the UM segment did mention Massachusetts as one of the possible states they could be hiding out in. Maybe that was just a vacation or a visit with some of the relatives who knew where the Maples were hiding out. It looks as though they all lived in California for the majority of the last 19 years.

For as happy I am that this is over, I am equally sad. It appears that Kristi and Bobby turned out to be well-adjusted, successful adults, but all of that will be tarnished when they realize their lives were a complete lie.

Its hard to believe that being abducted at 8 & 9 you wouldn't remember your parents. My youngest is 8 and I can't imagine her not remembering this time, I have some memories that go back as young as 5 and I assume most of you do as well.

My thoughts exactly!

It's not like they were 2 and 4 when this went down. How could they not remember their parents at all? It would be one thing if they were told they had died in an accident, but to not remember at all? And wouldn't you think they would realize their names were different???

I kept wondering why they wouldn't know... Wouldn't they search for their own names on Google, just out of curiousity? But alas, THEY NEVER KNEW THEIR REAL NAMES. Ugh.

Makes you wonder exactly what kind of abuse they went through.

When the news first broke, my biggest fear is that Kristi and Robbie would resent their parents for having "left" them and/or they wouldn't believe it. I really, really hope they learn the truth and can accept it.

I can't imagine anything worse for the parents then finally finding your kids, seeing they are alive, seeing the beautiful adults they have become, and then being shunned for a relationship.

We need to pray for these people, people!!!!

And +1 for hopes that "Grandpa" rots in hell. :mad:

For as happy I am that this is over, I am equally sad.

Yep. I agree 100%.

To that end, imagine this: As an adult, you sit down and watch an old UM segment that shows you as a child with people you don't remember as your real parents, and then you realize your whole life is a lie, which much of America knew but you didn't? I can't even comprehend that.

It appears that Kristi and Bobby turned out to be well-adjusted, successful adults, but all of that will be tarnished when they realize their lives were a complete lie.

And doesn't that just make you sick???

I still can't believe this is all true. I was always confident that they were alive and safe (although certainly couldn't know that for sure), but I feared that, if they were brainwashed, they might never be found. It's amazing to me that not a single person previously thought "Jennifer" was Christi. That gap in her teeth. She's the right age. It's amazing.

I am really interested in hearing all the details to have the gaps all filled in.

I wanted to send out all my best wishes to the entire family. I hope they can work through all the trauma and confusion and anger and every other emotion which they no doubt will be feeling, and form a family relationship once again.

For all the evil the Maples did, I am at least grateful that they appear to have raised two happy, healthy children.

I find it so hard to believe they can't remember their old lives, OK, if they had led normal and eventless lives like the most of us I could've almost bought that, but, come on, this was a very chaotic time in their lives, I mean just their grandparents and parents fighting, being coerced into telling lies about sexual abuse, moving from one place to another etc.

I just find it hard to believe that significant and traumatic events like that wouldn't leave any lasting memories?

:confused:

I am so confused too about how it seems that the kids (or Christie at least) have no memory of this. They were old enough that you would think they would have wanted some explanation at the time about why they were no longer seeing their parents, and that that would be something they would remember. It just doesn't make sense.

Absolutely. How can a child of eight NOT remember? I moved at age seven and could write book-length volumes of memories from before and shortly after the move. My little sisters were six and they remember a lot. Caroline Kennedy lost her father at age six and has extensive memories of life in the White House. Her brother John was only three and even he had some memories years later. Steven Stayner was seven when he was kidnapped and traumatically abused and seven years later correctly remembered his own first and last names and all his brothers' and sisters' names.

What is WITH these kids?
I agree that it is odd (and I think highly unlikely) that they truly don't remember anything about their earlier life. That said, I think we should be careful about posting things that appear to have an accusatory tone towards the children. They are victims in this. I don't think that's what you intended; I just know that it's hard to perceive sometimes how others will find the tone of an internet posting.

I don't have much to add here, but when I saw the title of this thread, I about choked on my lunch. :P

Hope the kids are able to see past their (completely understandable) skepticism and build some kind of relationship with their parents.

Ha ha, "kids." They're older than I am. :P

Absolutely. How can a child of eight NOT remember? I moved at age seven and could write book-length volumes of memories from before and shortly after the move. My little sisters were six and they remember a lot. Caroline Kennedy lost her father at age six and has extensive memories of life in the White House. Her brother John was only three and even he had some memories years later. Steven Stayner was seven when he was kidnapped and traumatically abused and seven years later correctly remembered his own first and last names and all his brothers' and sisters' names. What is WITH these kids?

The human memory is a pliable and imperfect thing. With proper reinforcement, it would be relatively easy to convince people over time that things they are remembering happened, but in slightly different ways. For example, if you were told that your Uncle Bob went with you to Disney world when you were 5, and you were told this by someone you trusted, eventually, you'd believe he was there, even if he wasn't.

I suspect that Steven Stayner remembered his real name because he was in something that WAS so bad. He was holding on to the fact that he didn't belong where he was. If these kids were raised comfortably, there would have been no reason for them to question what was going on after a while, especially if they were given a good cover story.

The human memory is a pliable and imperfect thing. With proper reinforcement, it would be relatively easy to convince people over time that things they are remembering happened, but in slightly different ways. For example, if you were told that your Uncle Bob went with you to Disney world when you were 5, and you were told this by someone you trusted, eventually, you'd believe he was there, even if he wasn't.

I suspect that Steven Stayner remembered his real name because he was in something that WAS so bad. He was holding on to the fact that he didn't belong where he was. If these kids were raised comfortably, there would have been no reason for them to question what was going on after a while, especially if they were given a good cover story.

I agree. I'm 39, and there are some early childhood events that I'm not sure I actually remember happening myself, or if I was told about them so much that I feel like I remember them, and I'm the type of person who can remember what I wore to school when I was 16. If a story is reinforced over and over, it can become your memory.

I think it would be very understandable and expected for their memories to go whichever way they were told and reinforced over the past 20 years, just as they do for all of us to some degree or other.

Yet another link about it from the local San Jose paper:
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11626789

Crazy...they live fairly close to me.

So Marvin Maple was a member of the local neighborhood watch, ha? Oh boy. :rolleyes:

Does he look pathetic in that police photograph or what? The only thing that would have made it sweeter would have been seeing Sandra's mug shot as well. I can't stand the thought that she went to her grave before being thrown in jail first.

So Marvin Maple was a member of the local neighborhood watch, ha? Oh boy. :rolleyes:

Does he look pathetic in that police photograph or what? The only thing that would have made it sweeter would have been seeing Sandra's mug shot as well. I can't stand the thought that she went to her grave before being thrown in jail first.

Crazy, huh?

I would love for the Baskin kids or parents to post here and share their feelings and their thoughts about all this. This has been one of those cases that, I dare to say every UM fan has been praying for to be solved, if the Baskins see this I just want to say that they've been on our minds for the last 20 years.

I agree that it is odd (and I think highly unlikely) that they truly don't remember anything about their earlier life. That said, I think we should be careful about posting things that appear to have an accusatory tone towards the children. They are victims in this. I don't think that's what you intended; I just know that it's hard to perceive sometimes how others will find the tone of an internet posting.

It could be the kids do still have memories of their earlier lives but deny them for some reason or other. Certainly it sounds more hopeful than the kids being so badly poisoned into believing their true parents were monsters that they don't want anything to do with them. I imagine counsellors and psychiatrists will be on the case to help.

And what is Marvin's state of mind? If he made that slip without realising the consequences it could be his mind is not what it used to be. But from the sound of things he had lost it to begin with. Plus, there would be the grief of losing his wife. Then again, he may simply have been drunk; he made this slip while he was drinking in a bar.

It would be interesting to learn how Sandra died and what her state of mind was. According to the source we want to keep private, Sandra had given up on faith and was determined, if she was going to hell, to get as much as she could out of her current life no matter what the cost or whom she hurt. But when the fear of hell caught up with her, I wonder what she was thinking and how she was feeling as she died?

I know some people are disappointed that Sandra Maple has died and will not answer to what she did. But perhaps she answered in some other way before she died; we don't know the circumstances of her death.

And what about her grave? Perhaps her body will be exhumed and brought back to Tennessee and re-buried under her own name. I am sure the Maple relatives who side with her will do something there. Or maybe the inscription will be changed to show her real name. Debbie might take some time to visit her mother's grave.

So Marvin Maple was a member of the local neighborhood watch, ha? Oh boy. :rolleyes:

Does he look pathetic in that police photograph or what? The only thing that would have made it sweeter would have been seeing Sandra's mug shot as well. I can't stand the thought that she went to her grave before being thrown in jail first.

The mugshot shows Marvin a lot older than his age progression anticipated. Must be the years of running and hiding, not to mention the stroke. I wonder how close the age progression for Sandra got when she died?

Another meeting I shall very much like to know about is how Marvin reacts when he comes face to face with Debbie and Mark, and what they will say to him. They must have come a long way since that custody battle 20 years ago, and they can handle him and his accusations far better. And I wonder what Michael will say to his grandfather? And for that matter, I wonder what Judge Corlew would say to Marvin Maple if he got the opportunity?

I imagine the Maple family will be scrambling to get to Marvin. They side with his actions, so I imagine they are really upset and shocked right now! Not to mention grieving, now they have heard Sandra has died (assuming they didn't know already). If he is granted bail I bet they will move heaven and earth to raise it, and then he probably disappears again. They may also want to get to Christi and Bobby; let's hope the police anticipate this and keep them away! No doubt they will want to visit Sandra's grave and probably move it to Tennessee, or change the inscription to show her real name.

One story I always thought odd was that of Cynthia Ann Parker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Ann_Parker Although her exact age is not known, she was at least 9 when captured by the Comanche and could have been as old as 10. She had little or no memories of her past--including language, though a child of 10 should be fluent--and may not have remembered her name until her uncle reminded her of it. She was happy in her new life and very unhappy in being taken from it. It seems she was not unique. It could be that some people choose not to remember while some can't help it. I tend to believe the Baskin children may have been subjected to some sort of mental coercion such as hypnosis or other very strong suggestion.

I agree that it is odd (and I think highly unlikely) that they truly don't remember anything about their earlier life. That said, I think we should be careful about posting things that appear to have an accusatory tone towards the children. They are victims in this. I don't think that's what you intended; I just know that it's hard to perceive sometimes how others will find the tone of an internet posting.


YES, YES, YES! You said that PERFECTLY.

I, too, think it's odd they don't remember. That said I would like to quote yuppielawyer: I think we should be careful about posting things that appear to have an accusatory tone towards the children. They are victims in this.

Not having been there, as hard as it may be to believe, we don't know what was said or done to them. You could brainwash a person pretty hard over that amount of time.


For all the evil the Maples did, I am at least grateful that they appear to have raised two happy, healthy children.

I agree that it is marvelous (perhaps miraculous?) that the Baskin kids seem to have wound up be healthy, productive adults. However, that would be IN SPITE of what the Maples did. They obviously had to brainwash the kids to get them to forget their "real" lives. The fact that the kids appear to be normal is in no part due to the Maples. The Maples are evil, evil people.

The sad thing is that I'm sure the Baskin kids still love their grandma and grandpa Maples and probably always will. That is truly sad as they are the people who robbed them of their real lives and who now have forever tainted their future.

I put the odds of the Baskin kids posting here at about "slim to none" but you never know. I think it is more likely we will read about their story in People and/or see it on Dateline NBC.

I just can't begin to imagine what they are all going through. My heart goes out to them. Prayers and best wishes to Bobby, Kristi, and Mr. and Mrs. Baskin. Hopefully time and love can bring you the closure you are seeking and finally heal these horrible wounds.

I wonder what is going to happen at the trial? The Baskin children could testify against Marvin, but they may well refuse to do so (I wouldn't blame them) or worse, testify for the Defence. Maybe Marvin will plead guilty, "no contest" or they find some kind of plea bargain. The worst thing that can happen is Marvin bringing out those old stories about child abuse, perhaps corroborated by the children's testimony. Or maybe fate will intervene somehow.

Having done some more searching, it seems that both Baskins attended San Jose State University (I won't post links, but if you search each name individually + "san jose state," links pop up). Jennifer transferred to there from DeAnza college, which is also in the Bay Area. This indicates to me that they have been in the area for some time (especially since SJSU seems like a commuter school that serves mostly area residents).

I think it's possible that they never left the Bay Area, even after those sightings in Santa Clara, though perhaps they went into hiding somewhere else until "things died down," then came back to the area.

I don't trust that 1993 sighting in Massachusetts, it seems sketchy--I think it's entirely possible that it was a case of mistaken identity. I'm also wondering if the detective who reported the San Diego sighting a month ago had some other piece of information that was not disclosed--perhaps the witness remembered the aliases they used, or some other identifiable piece of information (Marvin's place of employment, the type of car they drove) that gave him more than just that "gut feeling."

I also think it's possible that the Maples were able to limit their children's interaction with other kids for some period of time (through home-schooling based communities, perhaps)--maybe they sought out children from families that didn't have televisions or cable, so that there was less of a chance of those people catching UM--until they and their children were less easily recognizable.

Family, church, work, and school are the four major areas through which people find their social contacts. Being cut off from their family, having abandoned their church, keeping the children home-schooled, and possibly not having to have a job (or perhaps one at a small company with very few people) might have allowed them to remain hidden in plain sight.

I agree that we should wait until we hear the details first before we start banging our heads against the wall over how Bobby and Christi could forget the first 7-8 years of their lives. We just don't know what exactly they were told and what they went through.

I have suspected from the beginning that the Maples always told them that their parents and brother died long ago...maybe in a car accident or something of that nature. They obviously would never find the need to look for these loved ones if they thought they were dead.

But the more obvious cause is what Debbie Baskin said herself in the Unsolved Mysteries segment...

"It's always there. The fact that my parents have stolen my children. It wasn't good enough just to kidnap them. They had to destroy any love the children had for me by making them think I was a monster."

It could be as simple as that. The Maples could very easily filled the children's heads with so many awful lies about their parents (just like they did in the judges chamber) and painted them as the worst human beings that ever walked this planet. If they fooled Judge Corlew, they could have very easily fooled a 7 and 8 year old.

I think everyone's nightmare scenario right now is that Christi and Bobby will want nothing to do with the Baskins after everything they have been told. I'm praying that doesn't happen but if it does, their brother Michael may play a big part in reuniting that family for the better. Surely they could never look at Michael as any sort of villain in this whole mess. And he will be able to vouch for the love Mark and Debbie gave him growing up. Why would they not want to meet up again with their long lost brother and the adopted brother they never met?

Still hoping for the best.

Having done some more searching, it seems that both Baskins attended San Jose State University (I won't post links, but if you search each name individually + "san jose state," links pop up). Jennifer transferred to there from DeAnza college, which is also in the Bay Area.

Gotta love the internet, eh? ;)

Great post, deuce5000!

It really does make you wonder how the Maples sheilded the kids for so long. Being on the opposite coast helps, but how do you prevent them (or anyone they know) from seeing them on UM or finding a missing poster or anything like that? Makes you wonder what their upbringing was really like.

Family, church, work, and school are the four major areas through which people find their social contacts. Being cut off from their family, having abandoned their church, keeping the children home-schooled, and possibly not having to have a job (or perhaps one at a small company with very few people) might have allowed them to remain hidden in plain sight.

I think you hit the nail right on the head. Keep them out of school, keep their social circle small, and then by the time they grew up I suppose the Maples figured it was highly unlikely they or anyone else would put 2 and 2 together.

Hopefully someone will write a book about the real story some day. I'm sure it would be a fascinating read.

I agree, dynoguy. (By the way, I will add to what wiseguy said and add my "congrats." I know this case meant a lot to you.)

Picture this scenario: One of the Baskin kids ask, "What happened to my parents?" Grandpa: "I hate to tell you this, but those aren't your REAL parents. They are your aunt and uncle who were watching you for us. It's really complicated and we didn't want you kids to be hurt. Let's go get some ice cream and then you can pick out a new toy. Just be assured WE are your parents, we love you, and those bad people will never see you again."

Repeat until brainwashed.

The more I think about it, that part of it probably wasn't nearly as hard as staying below the radar.

Ugh.

I agree that we should wait until we hear the details first before we start banging our heads against the wall over how Bobby and Christi could forget the first 7-8 years of their lives. We just don't know what exactly they were told and what they went through.

Yes I agree with dynoguy I think as a community we are starting to walk the line here folks. I know we all love to speculate and discuss and in most cases its harmless discussion/speculation because the people we are speaking are either still missing or have passed on.

This is a very unique case albeit one that most of us have wanted to have solved for many years. I'm sure we are all elated with the capture of Marvin Maples and the potential reunion between The Baskins and their children but being this is a public forum and there is the off chance that Kristi or Bobby could come here searching for answers I think we need to be very careful in how we approach this case from here on out. Again this case is unique because the victims (not just the families but the victims) are still very much alive and well and special consideration needs to be paid to that.

As some of you might know I am a practicing psychologist and have dealt with cases in the past involving abuse both physical and emotional and make no mistake about it, The Baskin children are victims of emotional trauma here if the story as UM portrays it is accurate (which I believe 99.9% of us believe it is) - Just alone being told on a daily basis by your grandparents (during the period in which they were being "coached") that your parents had molested you would be enough to cause a significant amount of emotional trauma in most people combined with the fact that due to the years of estrangement from their parents, the Baskins never had a chance to refute these claims. This doesn't even get into what we haven't heard yet involving whatever stories The Maples told the children during their twenty years on the run.

Finally its important to understand that the Baskin children have suffered a third trauma in the past 48 hours or so and are probably in a pretty fragile state of mind. I would hope that they aren't searching the internet as their main source of finding out the truth of their past (there are better ways to go about this) but again lets try to be as mindful of this as possible because even though most of us envision a happy reunion between parents and children the fact that Mark and Debbie aren't rushing out to the West Coast to be reunited with their children means that probably Christi and Bobby have a long road ahead of them in order to deal with everything that has happened to them since the late 80s involving the feud between their parents and grandparents.

For as happy I am that this is over, I am equally sad. It appears that Kristi and Bobby turned out to be well-adjusted, successful adults, but all of that will be tarnished when they realize their lives were a complete lie.

Second. It's entirely possible they both grew up thinking they were the children of a nice, older couple who were very fortunate to have had children at all (since they would have been "old" to be the parents of Kristi and Bobby). I don't know that the desruction of their lives and everything they thought was true is reason to celebrate.

One other thing: I think it's important to remember that all the information about this case - from the UM segment to all the stuff out there on the internet - does come from Mark and Debbie Baskin's point of view. Now that the kids have been found, I'm equally interested to hear exactly what "side" Marvin Maples and his now deceased wife had. As an outsider to family squabbles like these, taking one side's story at face value - as so many have done here - may imperil the truth.

That said, the Baskins have more than just their own assertions and their friends on their side - they also have testimony from licensed social workers, and, of course, the law. Nevertheless, child psychology is an inexact science - just because one story is rehearsed or made up doesn't necessarily mean that there is no truth at all underwriting it. The sheer rarity and desperation of the act of custodial interference by grandparents against their own children gives me pause - why, really, did Marvin Maples and his wife do this?

One other thing: I think it's important to remember that all the information about this case - from the UM segment to all the stuff out there on the internet - does come from Mark and Debbie Baskin's point of view. Now that the kids have been found, I'm equally interested to hear exactly what "side" Marvin Maples and his now deceased wife had. As an outsider to family squabbles like these, taking one side's story at face value - as so many have done here - may imperil the truth.

That said, the Baskins have more than just their own assertions and their friends on their side - they also have testimony from licensed social workers, and, of course, the law. Nevertheless, child psychology is an inexact science - just because one story is rehearsed or made up doesn't necessarily mean that there is no truth at all underwriting it. The sheer rarity and desperation of the act of custodial interference by grandparents against their own children gives me pause - why, really, did Marvin Maples and his wife do this?

The Maple family side with Marvin and Sandra; they keep telling us to look at the other side of things. But some of you will remember what happened on our old thread. Two Maple relatives calling themselves Dipahead and Spit^fire raged at us for being one-sided, but when asked to present their side they gave unsatisfactory answers, wouldn't answer key questions - such as why didn't the Maples do anything to protect Michael from abusive parents - or didn't answer at all but simply ranted and raved. As a result, the thread degenerated into backbiting and squabbling and ended up being locked.

Recently there was blueraider1 who posted the other side of things to the Murfreesboro Post. The message was deleted but it survives on the new thread we have which is devoted to the Baskin case. Blueraider1's response was more intelligently put than anything Spit^fire or Dipahead said, but its reliability was questionable, nor did blueraider1 say where he/she got the information from or how he/she was associated with the case. And the fact that it was deleted makes it all the more suspect.

Another problem which the Baskins and their children will have to deal with is the Maple family. I imagine the Maple family is not pleased Marvin has been caught, but I'm more worried about their interference in the healing and reunion process. It could be that once the trial is underway, things come out etc, they may reconsider their position - but I wouldn't bank on it.

Finally its important to understand that the Baskin children have suffered a third trauma in the past 48 hours or so and are probably in a pretty fragile state of mind. I would hope that they aren't searching the internet as their main source of finding out the truth of their past (there are better ways to go about this) but again lets try to be as mindful of this as possible because even though most of us envision a happy reunion between parents and children the fact that Mark and Debbie aren't rushing out to the West Coast to be reunited with their children means that probably Christi and Bobby have a long road ahead of them in order to deal with everything that has happened to them since the late 80s involving the feud between their parents and grandparents.

The heavy weight of wondering if the children are still alive is finally off their shoulders. Still, they don't know when a reunion will happen and are apprehensive about seeing them. Mark said...

“They have been totally brainwashed for 20 years, and it will take a while to erase that,” Baskin said. “We don't know if they will even recognize us as their parents.”

The Baskin's are thinking of Christi and Bobby first. They know their lives are going to be turned upside-down again and they want to soften the blow as much as possible by not forcing themselves upon them. At this point, they're just praying that Christi and Bobby will even attempt to listen to their side of the story.

I think they're handling this the right way even though you just know they want run up to them and scoop them in their arms.

Actually, Bobby and Kristi have 2 brothers. Debbie and Mark adopted a son named Paul.

As far as Bobby and Kristi not remembering their previous life, I will say this: I believe there is a condition, for lack of a better term and I'm not sure what it's called, that blocks out in the mind anything that might be considered traumatic, so it makes it easier to cope. that may have been what happened here. The events took their toll on the children, and it was too much for the brain to take, so the events were blocked out and the children saw the Maples as loving parents. Not saying for sure that's what happened here, but I think it's pretty likely.

I'll be curious to hear exactly what it is they do remember. Do they remember anything about their real parents and brother? Do they know they didn't always live in California?

As someone else mentioned, it will be crazy if it turns out they were in the SF Bay Area the whole time. It is a big area so easy to get lost in the crowd, but also all the more eyes to be seen by.

That's weird because I lived in the Bay Area in the 90's and to think I might have walked right by Bobby and Kristy and never known.

Personally I've always subscribed to the "alive, but brainwashed" theory. I never believed the Maples would abduct the children only to kill them, unless they were being closed in on and decided on a murder-suicide, and if they were that close to capture, the details would be known. I can see the grandparents telling the children some story, such as they were not their real parents, had died, or were bad people. The children wouldn't be expected to remember every detail of how they came to be with their grandparents the way the parents told it and could well believe the parents voluntarily gave them up or they were taken for their own good.

Such was the case with Steven Stayner. His abductor claimed his parents instructed him to "pick up" (not kidnap) Steven because they couldn't keep him anymore. Over the years he pretended to have phone conversations with Steven's parents and told Steven they didn't want him, that his father had died, and the family split up. Steven was shocked to learn things were not as he had been told.

Nevertheless, to forget, at that age, your WHOLE earlier life including the fact that you'd had parents or a younger brother, is what I find staggering. (Not unbelievable, just hard to imagine.) Perhaps memories will return when they are shown pictures and other personal objects to remind them.

Why the Maples would side with the grandparents or what the other side of such a story could possibly be is also extremely difficult to imagine, especially if events occurred as described on Unsolved Mysteries.

Best of luck to the innocent victims in all this.

Does anyone know the date of the original broadcast of this story on UM? Is there anywhere online to view it?

Does anyone know the date of the original broadcast of this story on UM?

February 7, 1990.

Is there anywhere online to view it?

No.

I've sat back and watched as you people bad mouthed my family, but this takes the cake. Having only one side of this story, have you stopped to consider how your hateful, EVIL comments effect the family of the people you're spouting off about? Obviously not. You all badgered my sisters, Dipahead & Spit^Fire, for details that they were not in a position to give you and accused them of knowing more than they did. Not that they need to answer to any of you, anyway. This case is NOTHING to you other than NEWS. This is our FAMILY. Keep your speculation to yourselves.

This is a public story. Just so we're clear: Does the Maple family condone kidnapping? If the FBI is after them, somehow I don't think this is just a family matter that we don't understand. Of course, we only have "one side of this story." :rolleyes:

I've sat back and watched as you people bad mouthed my family, but this takes the cake. Having only one side of this story, have you stopped to consider how your hateful, EVIL comments effect the family of the people you're spouting off about? Obviously not. You all badgered my sisters, Dipahead & Spit^Fire, for details that they were not in a position to give you and accused them of knowing more than they did. Not that they need to answer to any of you, anyway. This case is NOTHING to you other than NEWS. This is our FAMILY. Keep your speculation to yourselves.

It saddens me that you think this is all about news. We all CARE ABOUT EVERY SINGLE MISSING CHILD. It is not about you or your family, it is about the precious children lost all these years to their real parents.

Can we please have this poster banned? Many of us have dreamed for years that Mark and Debbie would be reunited with their children. It's finally going to happen and we want to talk about it.

I do NOT want to have another thread locked because of the ugliness spewed from another member of the Maple family.

Can we please have this poster banned? Many of us have dreamed for years that Mark and Debbie would be reunited with their children. It's finally going to happen and we want to talk about it.

I do NOT want to have another thread locked because of the ugliness spewed from a member of the Maple family.

Agreed!

I wonder if the person really is a member of the MAPLE family.

If they are, then I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

another thing I wanted to point out regarding Bobby and Kristi not remembering is this: I don't think they forgot overnight. But 20 years is a long time, and I believe they gradually (over the course of many years) lost memory, coupled with what I said above about the mind blocking out trauma as a coping mechanism.

The Maples were in their early 50's during the abductions, whereas the majority of grandparents are in their 60's and up. So they were young enough to convince Bobbi and Kristi, and everyone else, that they were the parents.

In my humble opinion to avoid having the thread locked is just not respond to any post made by this "Family" member. Just ignore their posts and we can talk as usual to each other. If they get no reaction what so ever to anything they post with any luck they will go away. You can bet they would love to see another thread getting locked so the truth can not come out.

After what happened to our old thread, I swore that if any Maple posters turned up on new Baskin threads I would not respond to any of their comments. It takes two to quarrel.

So Obi Wan is right - ignore this poster and any other Maple relatives who turn up on our thread, or tell them very firmly: "We're not interested in arguing with you," and stick to it!

That will help stop the thread turning ugly and getting locked as the other one was. Besides, it is no use arguing with them - we learned that the hard way. Now the case is solved it is no time to quarrel but time to celebrate and wish our very best for the Baskins and their children!

:bouncers

After what happened to our old thread I swore that if any Maple posters turned up on new Baskin threads I would not respond to any of their comments. It takes two to quarrel.

So Obi Wan is right - ignore this poster and any other Maple relatives who turn up on our thread, or tell them very firmly: "We're not interested in arguing with you" and stick to it!

That will help stop the thread turning ugly and getting locked as the other one did. Besides, it is no use arguing with them - we learned that the hard way. Now the case is solved it is no time to quarrel but time to celebrate and wish our very best for the Baskins and their children!

:bouncers

Well said. And I agree. I'm too happy for the Baskins right now to argue with any members of their "family."

In other good news, Marvin Maple is slated to go before a California judge tomorrow (Thursday) on extradition charges. I hope there's an article posted about it.

When I heard the Baskin case had been solved, I decided to email Detective Sharp to congratulate him. Here is his response: :D

Thank you for the message. I can speak for the Sheriff's Department and other involved we appreciate the support. It took the courage of those witnesses to come forward and break this case. Like you, I can only hope that the children and the Parents can develop some type of a relationship.

God Bless

Lt. Bill Sharp

Well said. And I agree. I'm too happy for the Baskins right now to argue with any members of their "family."

Me too!

In other good news, Marvin Maple is slated to go before a California judge tomorrow (Thursday) on extradition charges. I hope there's an article posted about it.

If I see one in the local paper, I'll post the link.

If I see one in the local paper, I'll post the link.

You rock! Thanks!

I didn't see that this article had been posted.

http://www.dnj.com/article/20090204/NEWS01/902040342/1002/rss01

This quote left in the comment section was interesting.

SparkOfSanity wrote:

Thank God! I remember passing notes with Christie back in second grade... none of us in the class realized what was going on when she disappeared, although our teacher tried to explain that she wouldn't be back the rest of the semester. I've followed this story for years, through Unsolved Mysteries and other mediums. I can't imagine what her and Bobby are going through right now, to have your reality shattered in an instant. This can't be easy for them, and I pray everything will be okay for them. I know their parents must be overjoyed just to know they are alive. I just can't imagine... 20 years... what a story...

Another story:

http://www.montereyherald.com/breaking/ci_11631256

This answers one of my questions--apparently, Marvin Maple worked as a car salesman in San Jose--probably the perfect job, given that one can make a good deal of money (if talented), but doesn't necessarily need (proof of) a college education or experience. All that matters, at least from my understanding, is that you sell. It's also possibly an environment where one can get to know his co-workers on a superficial basis, but not worry about them learning too much about you if you don't want them to.

I find it very surprising that they apparently never left the area, even after the update that placed them in nearby Santa Clara. It would seem to me to be a risk that they'd be detected. Detective Goodwin explains it well, though:

"They live in a large urban area where not a lot of people ask too many questions," Goodwin said.

That's California in a nutshell (I say that as someone who has lived there). Of course it could describe other places as well.

I've sat back and watched as you people bad mouthed my family, the MAPLE family (get it right!), but this takes the cake. Having only one side of this story, have you stopped to consider how your hateful, EVIL comments effect the family of the people you're spouting off about? Obviously not. You all badgered my sisters, Dipahead & Spit^Fire, for details that they were not in a position to give you and accused them of knowing more than they did. Not that they need to answer to any of you, anyway. This case is NOTHING to you other than NEWS. This is our FAMILY. Keep your speculation to yourselves.

MapleFamily, The Baskins were cleared of all charges including child molesting, according to Anita Flagg Bobby had been coached into saying he'd been abused, still you defend the Maples and accuse us of being evil and hateful? We all have to go by the facts here.

I have known the Baskins personally for years. I have spoken to Debbie several times over the last couple of days.

I cant tell you how overwhelming this all is. The Baskins are experiencing the miracle of miracles after 20 years of praying, fasting, searching, and never giving up hope.

Debbie and Mark are outstanding people. No way did they ever harm those kids. The 2 kids they have at home, Michael and Paul, are delightful.

There is no telling what Christi and Bobby were told and made to believe by their grandparents. As far as them not remembering anything....it's possible the trauma of being taken from their parents was so traumatic that they repressed all memories of their former lives just out of self preservation. The mind has the ability to do that. I, along with many others, continue to pray that they will be receptive to the truth and rejoin the Baskin family.

Thanks for posting Kaytie!

Do you happen to know if the Baskins are reuniting with the kids soon?

Please let them know how happy so many of us are for them! We have been searching and praying for 20 years for them and are overjoyed that they have finally been found!!!

The Baskins were asked to fly to San Jose yesterday and arrived there last night, but they weren't sure if they would be able to see the kids. That is their hope and prayer, that Christi and Bobby will be receptive to the truth and want to reunite with them. This is being handled very delicately and with much caution.

This is so unbelievable and an amazing story. We're all just praying that the truth will prevail.

The Baskins were asked to fly to San Jose yesterday and arrived there last night, but they weren't sure if they would be able to see the kids. That is their hope and prayer, that Christi and Bobby will be receptive to the truth and want to reunite with them. This is being handled very delicately and with much caution.

This is so unbelievable and an amazing story. We're all just praying that the truth will prevail.

That is awesome! We all do hope and pray for a happy reunion.

I can't even imagine what Bobby and Christi are feeling. This must be so overwhelming for them. To know that the last 20 yrs of your life was a lie would be a complete shock to anyone.

Get us posted if you're able to!

I have known the Baskins personally for years. I have spoken to Debbie several times over the last couple of days.

I cant tell you how overwhelming this all is. The Baskins are experiencing the miracle of miracles after 20 years of praying, fasting, searching, and never giving up hope.

Debbie and Mark are outstanding people. No way did they ever harm those kids. The 2 kids they have at home, Michael and Paul, are delightful.

There is no telling what Christi and Bobby were told and made to believe by their grandparents. As far as them not remembering anything....it's possible the trauma of being taken from their parents was so traumatic that they repressed all memories of their former lives just out of self preservation. The mind has the ability to do that. I, along with many others, continue to pray that they will be receptive to the truth and rejoin the Baskin family.


By: diddlede on 2/4/09
We knew granparents on the Baskin side and there were many versions of what happened to cause the Maples to take the children and leave town. If sexual abuse was the cause then law enforcement either overlooked something or it was not true in the first place. God be with this family as all the details come out.

By: lombo77 on 2/5/09
I worked with Jenn in San Jose and she is a very sweet and lovely woman. Don't know what the story full is but the grandfather raised a girl in to a successful woman... I wish her and her brother the best during this very difficult time.

By: LifesRealDeal on 2/5/09
I'm an acquaintance of Jennifer's and it's serious business for the Maples to just cut off contact with their own daughter, Baskin, so they had good reason to flee with their grandchildren, Jennifer and Jonathan.

No brainwashing was involved. Jennifer remembers the abuse they suffered in detail and has absolutely no interest in seeing her parents ever again. It's from her own personal memories, before leaving with the Maples in 89, that the abuse memories derive.

Jennifer and Jonathan stand by their grandfather and are now seeking legal council for him. They know Maples is their grandfather, but chose to call him Dad.

The truth will come out for all to see and for the Baskins to have to contend with morally, spiritually and hopefully legally.


http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=15245

I have known the Baskins personally for years. I have spoken to Debbie several times over the last couple of days.

I cant tell you how overwhelming this all is. The Baskins are experiencing the miracle of miracles after 20 years of praying, fasting, searching, and never giving up hope.

Debbie and Mark are outstanding people. No way did they ever harm those kids. The 2 kids they have at home, Michael and Paul, are delightful.

There is no telling what Christi and Bobby were told and made to believe by their grandparents. As far as them not remembering anything....it's possible the trauma of being taken from their parents was so traumatic that they repressed all memories of their former lives just out of self preservation. The mind has the ability to do that. I, along with many others, continue to pray that they will be receptive to the truth and rejoin the Baskin family.

Kaytie, thank you for you post. My thoughts and prayers are with the Baskin's as they go through this process. I too am of the belief that these people did no harm to their children. I also pray for all extended family members as they deal with the fallout from this situation.

In response to MapleFamily.

I don't condone some of the comments made on this board, especially about persons rotting in H#*L. At the same time it is pretty well known that these boards have not been very "Maple" friendly and probably best for your families' blood pressure to stay away. If this board can give you a place to vent and diffuse some of the frustration and anger that there is no one around to direct it at, then maybe that is what some of the purpose is.

Obviously those of us on the outside can't truly understan how this situation has affected ALL of the families involved. My prayers are with ALL involved.

It's a public forum, is it not?? We have every right to post here. Did you see how quickly my post was deleted?? And I didn't say a word, all I did was copy and paste! I have been accused of fighting, being argumentative, etc, and yet all I have ever done was answer questions. Most of the people don't want the truth, even when coming straight from the horses mouth, apparently! Well, all I can say is for people so evil, they did a great job, not just raising their own children, but raising their grandchildren as well. It WILL all come out in the end! And, BTW! The last name is Maple, not Maples!!!

One of the things I think is amazing about how they were finally found is the part that was played by the San Diego tip. It looks like the tip that they were living in San Diego was false or mistaken. But the effort at investigating that tip led to the story about the case in the San Diego paper, which led Marvin to angrily complain about it to a friend at a bar in San Jose, which led that friend (and it seems another she told) to looking up the case online, and ultimately turning over their information to authorities. So, in the end, a false or mistaken lead is what directly led to solving the case. Truly amazing!

On the issue of us only having one side of the story, I will only say this. The reason we have one side of the story is because Marvin and Sandra went on the run. You don't get to flee law enforcement and then complain that only one side of the story is out there. What we have here, IMO, is a classic case of false allegations of abuse. It fits the pattern that happened all across the country in the 80s, although mostly in the context of schools or daycare centers. One paranoid or person with an agenda gets one kid to make up a story about being abused and then well-meaning but ill-informed social workers and child abuse investigators get involved, and before you know it, it has multiplied into multiple children alleging everything from sexual abuse to satanic child sacrifice, none of this ever supported by any physical evidence. Then, if any of those in social work or law enforcement question the allegations, they, too, are accused of being part of the satanic child abuse ring. It ruined the lives of so many innocent people--innocent parents, teachers, and daycare workers wrongfully locked up for years, as well as innocent children who were essentially tortured and brainwashed into believing that they were abused. McMartin, Fells Acres, Kelly Michaels, a whole slew of people in Kern County, CA and Gilmer, TX. The list is way too long. In this case, the authorities did the right thing. They properly investigated and found no credible evidence of abuse. Whether the Maples honestly believed they had been abused or completely made it up for their own selfish purposes, I'm sure we'll never know. But one thing I am confident of is that Debbie and Mark never abused those children, and, no matter what Marvin and Sandra believed, what they did shattered the lives of two innocent parents and robbed their two children of a life with them.

If Marvin wants to tell his side of the story, he will get a chance at a trial. But, please, no complaining about only one side of the story being told when they ran away from the opportunity to tell their side.

The Baskins were asked to fly to San Jose yesterday and arrived there last night, but they weren't sure if they would be able to see the kids. That is their hope and prayer, that Christi and Bobby will be receptive to the truth and want to reunite with them. This is being handled very delicately and with much caution.

Thanks for the info. I was wondering how long it would be until they flew out to California. I'm really glad they're already there. Sheesh....I wonder what must be going through their heads at this very moment.

I think the Baskins and the police are handling this all very smartly. They're proceeding with caution. They want to make this as easy on Christi and Bobby as possible. I think we still need to pray for them in hopes that this reunion will go well. Or for it to at least be a stepping stone to being a part of each other's lives again.

I didn't see that this article had been posted.

http://www.dnj.com/article/20090204/NEWS01/902040342/1002/rss01

This quote left in the comment section was interesting.

SparkOfSanity wrote:

Thank God! I remember passing notes with Christie back in second grade... none of us in the class realized what was going on when she disappeared, although our teacher tried to explain that she wouldn't be back the rest of the semester. I've followed this story for years, through Unsolved Mysteries and other mediums. I can't imagine what her and Bobby are going through right now, to have your reality shattered in an instant. This can't be easy for them, and I pray everything will be okay for them. I know their parents must be overjoyed just to know they are alive. I just can't imagine... 20 years... what a story...


That was really random that you happened to quote me as I stumbled across this message board. I've been elated that the Baskins have been found since the night the news broke. Christie was my "crush" way back in the second grade... ha... and I remember how sad I was when she was gone... so I can't imagine what her family has been through. This was one of the biggest events to hit Murfreesboro since I have lived there, and to see it end up in a semi-positive way is a true blessing.

I'm sure over the next few months we'll hear more and more about why this happened and the kids' stories. I don't think it is all going to be roses though. The man they have known as their father is going to jail, and regardless of what everyone else thinks of him, they only know the reality they've been raised in. Kind of like the Truman Show. I pray for understanding among all parties...

In case you missed it, the story was on the Today show this morning:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/18424824#29030597

New article from local paper as I promised. Looks like he agreed to be extradited. http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11637304

One of the things I think is amazing about how they were finally found is the part that was played by the San Diego tip. It looks like the tip that they were living in San Diego was false or mistaken. But the effort at investigating that tip led to the story about the case in the San Diego paper, which led Marvin to angrily complain about it to a friend at a bar in San Jose, which led that friend (and it seems another she told) to looking up the case online, and ultimately turning over their information to authorities. So, in the end, a false or mistaken lead is what directly led to solving the case. Truly amazing!

On the issue of us only having one side of the story, I will only say this. The reason we have one side of the story is because Marvin and Sandra went on the run. You don't get to flee law enforcement and then complain that only one side of the story is out there. What we have here, IMO, is a classic case of false allegations of abuse. It fits the pattern that happened all across the country in the 80s, although mostly in the context of schools or daycare centers. One paranoid or person with an agenda gets one kid to make up a story about being abused and then well-meaning but ill-informed social workers and child abuse investigators get involved, and before you know it, it has multiplied into multiple children alleging everything from sexual abuse to satanic child sacrifice, none of this ever supported by any physical evidence. Then, if any of those in social work or law enforcement question the allegations, they, too, are accused of being part of the satanic child abuse ring. It ruined the lives of so many innocent people--innocent parents, teachers, and daycare workers wrongfully locked up for years, as well as innocent children who were essentially tortured and brainwashed into believing that they were abused. McMartin, Fells Acres, Kelly Michaels, a whole slew of people in Kern County, CA and Gilmer, TX. The list is way too long. In this case, the authorities did the right thing. They properly investigated and found no credible evidence of abuse. Whether the Maples honestly believed they had been abused or completely made it up for their own selfish purposes, I'm sure we'll never know. But one thing I am confident of is that Debbie and Mark never abused those children, and, no matter what Marvin and Sandra believed, what they did shattered the lives of two innocent parents and robbed their two children of a life with them.

If Marvin wants to tell his side of the story, he will get a chance at a trial. But, please, no complaining about only one side of the story being told when they ran away from the opportunity to tell their side.

Two things I find suspicious:

1. According to newspaper reports the Maples accused not only the parents of abusing the children but social workers, mental health workers and attorneys. There is no mention as to whether other Baskin relatives were also accused; according to Dipahead and blueraider1 (whoever that was) Grandfather Baskin was also accused. But how is it possible for mental health workers etc to also be abusing the children? This makes it all the more likely that the case fitted the pattern of the ritual abuse panics which plagued the 1980s than a genuine case of child abuse.

2. If the Maples had genuine concerns about the parents abusing the children, why did they not try to remove Michael as well? According to Dipahead this was because Michael was out of state (this is being repeated by Maple relatives on the comments at the Murfreesboro Post). But once the parents were before Judge Corlew, the Maples could make claims for Michael which Corlew would surely have granted. Or they could have made plans to snatch Michael. But no, Michael was left to the mercy of his allegedly abusive parents while the grandparents gave his siblings every protection in their power.

I shall really be looking forward to seeing what Marvin Maple has to say about that at the trial.

The news is getting into international papers! The Sun in the UK has gotten wind of it. Here is the link:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2209902.ece

I shall keep an eye out to see if the news gets into New Zealand newspapers.

And everyone keep an eye on Time Magazine to see if anything turns up there.

That was really random that you happened to quote me as I stumbled across this message board.

Hey, Spark! I was hoping you'd find your way to this place somehow.

As you can see from the board, this was one of the most memorable segments "Unsolved Mysteries" ever did, and lots of people have been following this one closely. I'm sure any additional insights you might have in this case would be appreciated.

http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=15258

This show more of the original video than the other one, more of the Baskin's talking. You can also see Michael a couple of times.

http://www.wsav.com/sav/news/local/article/children_found_after_20_years_parents_talk_to_wsav/9225/

Wow! I logged in online and this is the first thing I saw on MSN. This is a case I honestly never thought I would see solved. Thank god.

I have been checking out the article at the Murfreesoboro Post. Not surprisingly, the Maple relatives are out in force, including our old friend Spit_Fire. They are being joined by people who claim they know Jennifer Bunting. People who say they know the Baskins are among those going against them. I said I wouldn't say anything in reply to the Maple relatives (except to say that I am not interested in arguing with them) so I am keeping out of it.

I wonder why Marvin made that slip which proved his undoing? Was he drunk, did he have a health problem which affected his judgement, or was it just some slip of the tongue?

It is amazing; after all those years of meticulously and cleverly hiding the children, taking all those tips from Faye Yager of the Children of the Underground, eluding police for so many years - just one little slip undoes it all! Still, it is by no means unusual for what would have been the perfect crime to be undone by just one little tiny thing.

If he hadn't made that slip he may still well be hiding with the children. Bet he's really kicking himself for it now! And if Sandra was there she'll probably be hitting him over the head with a rolling pin.

Hey, I wonder what Faye Yager thinks of all this? I read in one article that she was instrumental in hiding the children. She believed the grandparents' claims of child abuse - but according to articles about her, she'll believe anyone who comes up to her and says that, and takes it all at face value.

As a person who lives in San Jose, its easy for people to just go by unnoticed. The bay area is a big place, San Jose alone has about 1 million people in it. There are some parts of Santa Clara where if you cross the street you're in San Jose. I really think they were in the area in the entire time. To what an earlier poster said regarding Jennifer's college experience, De Anza is a local community college that apparently is one of the best in the state and is located in a suburb of San Jose. SJSU is in the heart of downtown San Jose, so all of this leads me to think that they were in the area the entire time.

I have been checking out the article at the Murfreesoboro Post. Not surprisingly, the Maple relatives are out in force, including our old friend Spit_Fire. They are being joined by people who claim they know Jennifer Bunting. People who say they know the Baskins are among those going against them. I said I wouldn't say anything in reply to the Maple relatives (except to say that I am not interested in arguing with them) so I am keeping out of it.


WOW! Its getting bad over there!

It was nice to read that the adopted son Paul wrote in though. I feel bad also for him and the other brother Michael.

I pray and hope everyone makes it through this ok.

If I worshipped the Devil like MapleFamily I would say I hope "MapleFamily" user on here has a stroke much like Marvin Maple did.

Instead I just hope they have a long miserable life .

God bless you Debbie and Mark Baskin. I hope for a healing with your kids and that you all reunite happily.

As a person who lives in San Jose, its easy for people to just go by unnoticed. The bay area is a big place, San Jose alone has about 1 million people in it. There are some parts of Santa Clara where if you cross the street you're in San Jose. I really think they were in the area in the entire time. To what an earlier poster said regarding Jennifer's college experience, De Anza is a local community college that apparently is one of the best in the state and is located in a suburb of San Jose. SJSU is in the heart of downtown San Jose, so all of this leads me to think that they were in the area the entire time.

Not only is DeAnza one of the best community college, but it serves about 20,000 students. SJSU serves another 30,000. It's easy to be lost in a crowd of 20,000 students.

WOW! Its getting bad over there!

It was nice to read that the adopted son Paul wrote in though. I feel bad also for him and the other brother Michael.

I pray and hope everyone makes it through this ok.

It's pretty obvious it's one person posting under multiple names. Pretty sick stuff too, IMO. There is so much I want to say but I can't. The biggest thing is this: If the Maples were in the right, why did they flee and keep changing the kids names? Nuff said.

Ahhhh... I just pray so much for the Baskins. The parents and kids are all going to need a lot of time and love to get through this.

Not only is DeAnza one of the best community college, but it serves about 20,000 students. SJSU serves another 30,000. It's easy to be lost in a crowd of 20,000 students.

Yea I went to De Anza, its definitely one of those schools where you go to your classes and just go home. Most people don't just sit there and lounge around like at a lot of other colleges.

For those interested

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=45706@kpix.dayport.com

Here are a few additional NBC reports from Santa Clara showing Mark and Debbie Baskin, as well as video of Maple in court.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/weird/Long-Lost-Tennessee-Kids-Found-All-Grown-Up-in-South-Bay.html

On the website for the TN newspaper someone says that The Baskins (parents) accused his father of sexual abuse of Bobby some years before. They also say it is public record. Has anyone ever heard of this?

On the website for the TN newspaper someone says that The Baskins (parents) accused his father of sexual abuse of Bobby some years before. They also say it is public record. Has anyone ever heard of this?


No. And based on many of the other posts there by the "pro-Maples" crowd, I wouldn't believe it. One or more people are going out of their way to make the Maples look like heroes and the Baskins look like evil criminals.

I, for one, don't believe it.

No. And based on many of the other posts there by the "pro-Maples" crowd, I wouldn't believe it. One or more people are going out of their way to make the Maples look like heroes and the Baskins look like evil criminals.

I, for one, don't believe it.

Blueraider1 (whoever that was) mentioned this on the Murfreesboro Post but it was deleted. On our old thread Maple relative Dipahead said that it was Mark Baskin and his father who were accused of abusing Bobby in the hotel, not Debbie. She made no mention of Mark Baskin filing child abuse charges against his father prior to the trouble with the Maples. I haven't seen any mention in press reports of any Baskins besides the parents who were being accused of abusing the children.

Blueraider1 (whoever that was) mentioned this on the Murfreesboro Post but it was deleted. On our old thread Maple relative Dipahead said that it was Mark Baskin and his father who were accused of abusing Bobby in the hotel, not Debbie. She made no mention of Mark Baskin filing child abuse charges against his father prior to the trouble with the Maples. I haven't seen any mention in press reports of any Baskins besides the parents who were being accused of abusing the children.

Thanks, Briony! Good stuff.

After reading the posts on the newspaper site and here, I don't think there is any doubt that there were people who knew what the Maples were up to all along. I can't imagine any family bond so strong that it would condone kidnapping other's children (especially a relatives).

Makes you wonder what else will come out in the wash as this investigation continues.

It's pretty obvious it's one person posting under multiple names. Pretty sick stuff too, IMO. There is so much I want to say but I can't. The biggest thing is this: If the Maples were in the right, why did they flee and keep changing the kids names? Nuff said.

Ahhhh... I just pray so much for the Baskins. The parents and kids are all going to need a lot of time and love to get through this.

I am so proud that Paul is taking the courage to speak out against the Maple relatives and other anti-Baskin people who are condemning his adoptive parents and trying to make them look the villains! :clap I imagine not all the anti-Baskin comments come from these camps; comments on other online reports on the case indicate some people are sick and others are simply idiots who shoot off their mouths and slag off the parents as soon as they hear the words "child abuse" - but they ignore the words which say the parents were cleared. The sort of people who just like to :rant:.

Wow! I logged in online and this is the first thing I saw on MSN. This is a case I honestly never thought I would see solved. Thank god.

Yeah, I was beginning to think it would never be solved! The turnaround was a huge surprise!

The police had better learn all they can from Marvin Maple and how he kept the children hidden for so long. It will be invaluable in other cases. Speaking of Marvin, I have seen on the video that he is waiving extradition and is on his way to Tennessee. Ironically, he is going out through the same terminal that his daughter and son-in-law went through a few hours before.

One more article from the San Jose Merc. http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11639684

This is about The Baskins arriving to see their kids.

Here are a few additional NBC reports from Santa Clara showing Mark and Debbie Baskin, as well as video of Maple in court.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/weird/Long-Lost-Tennessee-Kids-Found-All-Grown-Up-in-South-Bay.html

I agree with Mark Baskin. It's amazing how quickly everything is going on with this case.

The Baskin's understandably look like they haven't slept all week. I hope footage of their press conference tomorrow will be available online.

I wonder when they'll finally come face to face with their kids. I'm nervous just thinking about it.

I have to go back and read the thread, but I just heard the news and WOW!!!
I couldn't wait to get here, I knew everyone here would be excited!
I totally got chills when I read they were being reunited.

Amazing!!!

I agree with Mark Baskin. It's amazing how quickly everything is going on with this case.

The Baskin's understandably look like they haven't slept all week. I hope footage of their press conference tomorrow will be available online.

I wonder when they'll finally come face to face with their kids. I'm nervous just thinking about it.


Not only have the Baskins not slept much but Debbie fell sick just before the good news came through. I hope she has recovered enough.

Hey, Spark! I was hoping you'd find your way to this place somehow.

As you can see from the board, this was one of the most memorable segments "Unsolved Mysteries" ever did, and lots of people have been following this one closely. I'm sure any additional insights you might have in this case would be appreciated.


I don't know if I have any insights or anything. All I know is don't trust the Maple family. It has long been rumored around here that they have known the entire time where the kids had been taken to, but if I recall Unsolved Mysteries talks about that in their story. We've heard many rumors over the years, such as they went international to either Canada or New Zealand. I'm just glad it is over, and am glad I'll get a front row seat for Marvin Maple's hearing in Rutherford County.

The news is in Hong Kong now! Here is the link. It's in a foreign language but the names are in English so you know it's our case.

http://news.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/nw/show.cgi/32/1/1/1027427/1.html

ABC has posted an extended airport interview with the Baskins. There are many interesting questions answered here from the parent's perspective.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/south_bay&id=6643222

Here's an article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/05/BA8C15OJ1N.DTL

And I'm really glad these kids are gonna be reunited with their parents after all these years!

You know, without making too many assumptions, I think the fact that the Baskins have stayed together after all these years is really a testament to the kind of people they are. Couples have been torn apart by a lot less than what they went through. Seeing the video of them now really brings home how long they've had to wait to see their children again. I'm very happy for them. I think we all know this isn't going to be a cake walk for either the parents or the kids, but I'm praying for the best.

just some random quotes ive found that are interesting:



-don't know if I have any insights or anything. All I know is don't trust the Maple family. It has long been rumored around here that they have known the entire time where the kids had been taken to, but if I recall Unsolved Mysteries talks about that in their story. We've heard many rumors over the years, such as they went international to either Canada or New Zealand. I'm just glad it is over, and am glad I'll get a front row seat for Marvin Maple's hearing in Rutherford County.

-I'm an acquaintance of Jennifer's and it's serious business for the Maples to just cut off contact with their own daughter, Baskin, so they had good reason to flee with their grandchildren, Jennifer and Jonathan.

No brainwashing was involved. Jennifer remembers the abuse they suffered in detail and has absolutely no interest in seeing her parents ever again. It's from her own personal memories, before leaving with the Maples in 89, that the abuse memories derive.

Jennifer and Jonathan stand by their grandfather and are now seeking legal council for him. They know Maples is their grandfather, but chose to call him Dad.

The truth will come out for all to see and for the Baskins to have to contend with morally, spiritually and hopefully legally.


wow i cant belive all these accusations. i just hope they will be reunited and everything will go smoothly for them!!! i never thought id live to see this day!!!

You know, without making too many assumptions, I think the fact that the Baskins have stayed together after all these years is really a testament to the kind of people they are. Couples have been torn apart by a lot less than what they went through. Seeing the video of them now really brings home how long they've had to wait to see their children again. I'm very happy for them. I think we all know this isn't going to be a cake walk for either the parents or the kids, but I'm praying for the best.

It's incredible that Debbie decided to forgive her father and hopes he will be restored to the loving father she once knew. This may make some difference when his trial comes. She and her father missed eachother in San Jose but perhaps she will take the time to visit her mother's grave. What will happen to the grave I do not know. At least the inscription should be changed to show her real name. I imagine the Maple family will want to pay their respects there as well, and some of them may also be heading for San Jose. If so, I hope they don't get the chance to interfere with Bobby and Christie.

"No brainwashing was involved. Jennifer remembers the abuse they suffered in detail and has absolutely no interest in seeing her parents ever again. It's from her own personal memories, before leaving with the Maples in 89, that the abuse memories derive."

This was posted at the Murfreesboro Post by someone who claimed to know Christie. I don't know whether they do know Christie, or just some hoaxer, or some malicious enemy of the Baskins, or someone who is telling lies like the story about Mark Baskin accusing his father of sexual abuse. In other reports the children do not seem to remember anything. I imagine we are getting a lot of conflicting reports and rumours are circulating. I shall see what comes on official channels.

I know everyone will be upset, but I would like to share a comment I posted on the WGNS site, because it honestly is true. I am not saying anyone else is wrong, and I do not deserve for people to burn me at the stake for having a differing opinion. I just want to say that I am actually from here, and I don't know which side is true, so while we can all believe what we want, it is not fair to lampoon people for believing that the other side is possible. Again, I am not being hostile or argumentative, and if the board is relally truly serving it's prupose, then we should be able to coexist here online.Thanks!

MTMomma on February 6th, 2009 1:19 am I understand completely the differing opinions. I also recognize the names of a few posters on here as people that I have known for my entire life (Cindy, Cathy), as I am from Murfreesboro and still reside there. However, there are many good upstanding Murfreesboro folks that stand whole-heartedly in the belief that the MAPLES rescued the children. I do not know what really happened back in the 80’s, nor do ANY of us. We can all make assumptions. The children may or may not tell us for sure what really happened. I just ask each of you to take into account that there are good, upstanding people in this town that support both sides of the fence. Some message boards seem to think that everyone here hates the Maples, but this is not accurate. I have no personal opinion, as I was in junior high when they disappeared. However, I do know several older adults in their 70’s that truly believe that the Maples would never have acted without reason. Take that for what it is worth.

MTMomma on February 6th, 2009 1:21 am I would also like to clarify that I did not use my actual name due to some people’s inability to keep from villianizing differing opinions, and I will not open my family up to verbal attacks from weirdo’s across the country, googling this case and arriving here, for speaking out. Thanks!

I know everyone will be upset...[/I]
With all due respect, despite being acquainted with some of the people involved, you don't really seem to know any more about the case than the rest of us do. I'm not upset about your opinion because it's just that. I sort of don't agree with it because the Baskins have been investigated and cleared, however, most of us here can't claim any more intimacy with the case than you have, and ultimately, none of us know what really went on.

There are a lot of respectable people in the world, they all have thoughts and opinions, and they can't all be right. Marvin Maples had his day in court, and the court gave custody to the Baskins. Now he's getting another day in court. I look forward to hearing what he has to say.

I know everyone will be upset, but I would like to share a comment I posted on the WGNS site, because it honestly is true. I am not saying anyone else is wrong, and I do not deserve for people to burn me at the stake for having a differing opinion. I just want to say that I am actually from here, and I don't know which side is true, so while we can all believe what we want, it is not fair to lampoon people for believing that the other side is possible. Again, I am not being hostile or argumentative, and if the board is relally truly serving it's prupose, then we should be able to coexist here online.Thanks!

MTMomma on February 6th, 2009 1:19 am I understand completely the differing opinions. I also recognize the names of a few posters on here as people that I have known for my entire life (Cindy, Cathy), as I am from Murfreesboro and still reside there. However, there are many good upstanding Murfreesboro folks that stand whole-heartedly in the belief that the MAPLES rescued the children. I do not know what really happened back in the 80’s, nor do ANY of us. We can all make assumptions. The children may or may not tell us for sure what really happened. I just ask each of you to take into account that there are good, upstanding people in this town that support both sides of the fence. Some message boards seem to think that everyone here hates the Maples, but this is not accurate. I have no personal opinion, as I was in junior high when they disappeared. However, I do know several older adults in their 70’s that truly believe that the Maples would never have acted without reason. Take that for what it is worth.

MTMomma on February 6th, 2009 1:21 am I would also like to clarify that I did not use my actual name due to some people’s inability to keep from villianizing differing opinions, and I will not open my family up to verbal attacks from weirdo’s across the country, googling this case and arriving here, for speaking out. Thanks!

Dear MTMomma,

We don't mind posters who have different points of view on the case. What we do object to are posters who shout ugly, unproductive things at us, as some people have done in the past, and cause the thread to degenerate into a slanging match; one thread got locked because of this. But you have expressed your view in a polite, intelligent and respectful manner, and we really appreciate that. :D

Ah, yes, I should have guessed there would be people on both sides of the case in Murfreesboro. Some people may change sides as the trial unfolds; others will not.

But for those who side with the Maples, there is one poser which the Baskin supporters will always have for them: If the Maples had reason to act as they did, why did they leave the youngest child, Michael, behind to the mercy of his allegedly abusive parents while doing everything in their power to protect his siblings? Why did they deprive Bobby and Christie of all contact with their innocent brother instead of trying to keep them together? Surely they knew that Bobby and Christie would miss their brother, if not their allegedly abusive parents.

Elsewhere, people have said this was because the Baskins and Michael were out of the State, but once the parents were back in Murfreesboro the Maples had the opportunity to take Michael away, either through the courts or snatching him.

If the Maples had taken measures to remove all three children, I for one would be more inclined to believe they had genuine concerns about child abuse. That's not to say that the accusations themselves were genuine - they could still be the product of hysteria, too much reading about satanic abuse, etc - but far less likely to be the product of self-interest or malice.

If Marvin pleads that he was protecting the children from being abused, I am afraid this poser will be a serious handicap for his defence and make the jury (or judge) more skeptical towards him.

You know, I think it would be a good idea for Marvin (or the State) to ask for a change of venue. That's assuming he goes for a full-blooded trial and doesn't plead guilty, "no contest" or plea-bargain. Since people are on both sides of the case in Murfreesboro it will be difficult to find an impartial jury there.

now in my opinion, i think the maples side of the family knew where they were all along. or at least helped them along the way. thats just my opinion.

i cant believe sandra maple went to her grave whole heartedly believeing they were abused. she missed out on her own kids growing older and their other grandkids. just soo sad.

now in my opinion, i think the maples side of the family knew where they were all along. or at least helped them along the way. thats just my opinion.

i cant believe sandra maple went to her grave whole heartedly believeing they were abused. she missed out on her own kids growing older and their other grandkids. just soo sad.

I hope the Maple family wasn't helping them beyond taking their side; if they did, they could be in big trouble! I am a bit more inclined to believe they didn't know anything now; but Dipahead did say some very odd things on our old thread which made some people suspicious.

I am related to Cynthia Ann Parker on my dad's side! Very distantly! :crazy:

Small world! :)

Since I've gotten on this, here http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2006/09/01/he-told-me-my-mum-and-dad-didn-t-care-115875-17661362/ is a very much publicized case about which a whole book has been written, in which the kidnapper told the victim, a girl Christie's age, that her parents would not bother claim her as they simply didn't care, when in fact they had no clue where she was and were frantically searching. Although she remembered her own identity, she believed this enough to limit contact with her parents at first when she finally escaped.

I'm not upset about your opinion because it's just that. I sort of don't agree with it because the Baskins have been investigated and cleared

Exactly we can all discuss this until we are blue in the face but the fact of the matter is despite the people who want to see Marvin Maple spend the rest of his life in prision and despite the people who think Marvin Maple is a great guy and rescued his grandchildren there has been a significant amount of due diligence which will make for an uphill battle for anyone trying to defend the extraordinary actions of Sandra and Marvin Maples after it became all but the clear that the state of Tennessee had determined that custody of The Baskin children was to be returned to their parents.

As far as Marvin's motivation for kidnapping his grandchildren? I doubt we will ever know the entire truth of this case as in the case of a family dispute such as this one each side tends to swear by their version of the story. If you listen to The Baskins (the side which I feel most of us here are sympathetic to) then they are the victims of an atrocious crime and their children have had their lives dramatically altered by their mentally disturbed grandparents. If you are a supporter of Marvin and Sandra Maples, I would guess you would have to buy into the theory that despite a thorough investigation by the state of Tennessee that The Baskins are everything that Sandra and Marvin Maples alleged they were (Satanists, child molesters etc etc.) and according to some reports these allegations extended to a conspiracy theory on the part of everyone else involved in the case against The Maples.

But the bottom line is Marvin Maples is going to have his day in court to explain in his own words his motivation and reasons for kidnapping his grandchildren. Personally I would love to know why neither Kristi nor Bobby seem to have any memory of their lives prior to being eight years and seven years old respectively. But for Marvin's sake I hope he shows up in court with some cold hard facts and evidence and leaves his tales of sorcery and Oliver Stone at home.

Exactly we can all discuss this until we are blue in the face but the fact of the matter is despite the people who want to see Marvin Maple spend the rest of his life in prision and despite the people who think Marvin Maple is a great guy and rescued his grandchildren there has been a significant amount of due diligence which will make for an uphill battle for anyone trying to defend the extraordinary actions of Sandra and Marvin Maples after it became all but the clear that the state of Tennessee had determined that custody of The Baskin children was to be returned to their parents.

As far as Marvin's motivation for kidnapping his grandchildren? I doubt we will ever know the entire truth of this case as in the case of a family dispute such as this one each side tends to swear by their version of the story. If you listen to The Baskins (the side which I feel most of us here are sympathetic to) then they are the victims of an atrocious crime and their children have had their lives dramatically altered by their mentally disturbed grandparents. If you are a supporter of Marvin and Sandra Maples, I would guess you would have to buy into the theory that despite a thorough investigation by the state of Tennessee that The Baskins are everything that Sandra and Marvin Maples alleged they were (Satanists, child molesters etc etc.) and according to some reports these allegations extended to a conspiracy theory on the part of everyone else involved in the case against The Maples.

But the bottom line is Marvin Maples is going to have his day in court to explain in his own words his motivation and reasons for kidnapping his grandchildren. Personally I would love to know why neither Kristi nor Bobby seem to have any memory of their lives prior to being eight years and seven years old respectively. But for Marvin's sake I hope he shows up in court with some cold hard facts and evidence and leaves his tales of sorcery and Oliver Stone at home.

Not only that, but he has to explain why he left the third child behind to the mercy of his allegedly abusive parents while taking the other two children to protect them from those same abusive parents. Plus why he deprived his grandchildren of their innocent brother for 20 years. The prosecutor is going to hammer him very hard on these points, and if he can't give a satisfactory answer, his defence will be crippled. This is the biggest stumbling block to his defence, and his lawyer/s will realise it.

I hope the Maple family wasn't helping them beyond taking their side; if they did, they could be in big trouble! I am a bit more inclined to believe they didn't know anything now; but Dipahead did say some very odd things on our old thread which made some people suspicious.

That's what I've been wondering about. If it turns out that other members of the Maple family knew where they were or had contact with them while they were in hiding and either lied to the authorities or simply failed to come forward, could they face any kind of prosecution, even all these years later? Or have I just watched too much Law & Order? :P

That's what I've been wondering about. If it turns out that other members of the Maple family knew where they were or had contact with them while they were in hiding and either lied to the authorities or simply failed to come forward, could they face any kind of prosecution, even all these years later? Or have I just watched too much Law & Order? :P

I don't know. There are the statutes of limitations and how long ago they helped the Maples, if they did. The police will have to find evidence that the Maples have been receiving help from their relatives and if so, how recently. I bet they're checking phone records, correspondence, emails, phone texts etc at Marvin's address at San Jose to see if they can find this. And if any Maple relatives did help, they are probably destroying evidence, sweating nervously or even considering flight as Marvin did.

One final note: If they were helping the Maples and end up being prosecuted, they will have to present their side of things in a far more rational and convincing manner than the ugly shouting they have been doing on our threads and the Murfreesboro Post, or they will not impress the court any more than they impressed us.

That's what I've been wondering about. If it turns out that other members of the Maple family knew where they were or had contact with them while they were in hiding and either lied to the authorities or simply failed to come forward, could they face any kind of prosecution, even all these years later? Or have I just watched too much Law & Order? :P

I'm not sure of the "official" charge, but aiding a known felon is a crime and yes, if proven they could be charged.

I just have to laugh at the "Maples Spin Machine." Posting under different names, coming at it different ways, making it sound holier-than-thou...

DarkDante is right: Maples will have his day in court.

But if he was truly the "hero'' here, would he and his wife kidnap two kids, change their names, and then hide out for 20 years? I think not.

The truth shall set you free. Or in this case, give you 25 to life. :rolleyes:

Regarding the "satan worshipper" angle of this thing that the Maples accused the Baskins of doing..

Accusing people of being into satan worship seemed to be a fairly common thing in the 80s and 90s, especially in cases in the south. That kind of accusation gave a sensationalized spin to everything, and lots of jurors believed the defendants were actually into satanic rituals, abuse, and murder.

IIRC, Mr. Baskin was the opposite of a satan worshipper. One reason the Maples were keeping the children in TN was that the Baskins had moved to KY so that Mr. Baskin could persue his master's degree to become a christian minister. The Baskins didn't want to disrupt the kids schooling and they were also not doing well financially, so it helped them for the kids to live with the grandparents for a little while to reduce the financial burden.

(Please correct me if I'm wrong on this point... my memory ain't what it used to be.)

Also, I can't find the Baskin case on the UM site www.unsolved.com even when I do a search for the names Baskin or Maples. Do they not have this case on their site, or am I just not able to find it?

Also, I can't find the Baskin case on the UM site www.unsolved.com even when I do a search for the names Baskin or Maples. Do they not have this case on their site, or am I just not able to find it?


They were never on the new website. Since SPIKE refused to reshow it, it never showed up on the website either.

That's what I've been wondering about. If it turns out that other members of the Maple family knew where they were or had contact with them while they were in hiding and either lied to the authorities or simply failed to come forward, could they face any kind of prosecution, even all these years later? Or have I just watched too much Law & Order? :P

I've had suspicions for years that members of the Maple family knew where they were and that they had some sort of contact with them off and on through the years. The mere thought of that makes me sick but I don't think that will even be brought up once Marvin goes to court back in Tennessee. That would be a whole other investigation in itself. And it would probably take alot of time to build up enough evidence to charge them. If anything does happen, it won't be for a while I imagine.

Remember, even if Marvin MapleS could "prove" that the Baskins were somehow doing harm to their kids (which I don't believe for a second that they were), that doesn't give him or his late wife a defense to kidnapping. The courts cleared the Baskins so even if MapleS thinks he has a defense of abuse, he is hosed. He is going to prison no matter what.

Were the Baskins perfect parents? I doubt it. I've never met "perfect" parents and I know I never will. They were providing a loving home for their kids and trying to make all of their lives better. It is just sad that the Maples couldn't accept things for what they were.

If any of the extended MapleS family was helping Gramps and Grams, then I hope the law goes after them next. Your day of reckoning awaits! There is no excuse for kidnapping someone else's kids and keeping them hidden for over 20 years.

After my first visit to that newspaper site, I read enough bogus sewage comments to last a lifetime.

Continued prayers for Bobby, Christie, and Mr. and Mrs. Baskin... :)

This is a minor thing, but I think there's a small element of coming from a comparatively well-to-do place such as Murfreesboro: if Maple goes to trial and is convicted (and he surely will be), that'll be a "death blow" to the reputation of the Maple name. I'm not trying to say anything ugly about those areas (I have lots of relatives from Nashville and Dixon myself), but in those communities surrounding Nashville that are a little better off, things like that matter. Big time. I'm sure that's in part what's feeding the hysteric rants on all these news sites.

Anyone hear of anything new? Any new videos or links to look at? Anyone hear if the reunion took place yet?

I know that I’ve posted something to this effect before-

Arguing with people on the Maple side of the debate is pointless. The psychology of it is that as a family member, you believe ALL of the allegations that the Maple’s made against the Baskin’s, if you don’t you are admitting that Marvin and Sandra went wacko and did a very selfish, evil thing. If you are their family member who loves them and always knew them as respected, “normal”, upright people who raised 3 excellent daughters you have to believe them, or believe the unthinkable. It’s easier to believe that Mark Baskin and also possibly his Father did awful things to at least one of the children, because you are not related by blood to Mark or his Father.

Bringing up issues or alleged facts just doesn’t make any difference in trying to discuss it with any of the family members, because psychologically making that leap to believing
that Marvin and Sandra could have completely “lost it” is just not going to happen very easily, if ever. It is going to take something coming directly out of the mouth of Marvin Maple to ever change their minds.

Since the Maple side is already claiming to hear that Christi “remembers all the abuse”, (supposedly through Marvin to one of his other daughters), while at this point the authorities are saying that she doesn’t remember anything. In the next few days, whatever Christi says she remembers, the Maple side is still going to doubt the information (unless it favors their view), because now they will just claim that the people from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, helping with the reunification, brainwashed them in the other direction.

So basically, UNLESS something comes directly out of the mouth of Marvin Maple, no matter what Christi & Bobby say, there will always be people who doubt the Baskin’s.


Right now it's not the Baskin's who are going to have charges filed against them. The kidnapping case is pretty open and shut. Marvin's motives may come into play in the sentencing phase, see if they can garner any sympathy from a Judge or jury.

The Baskin's on the other hand are more on trial in trying to win any kind of relationship with their "kids".

I will sit back and wait to see what comes out through authorities and possibly from the "kids", not through msg. boards or article comments.

Anyone hear of anything new? Any new videos or links to look at? Anyone hear if the reunion took place yet?

It's still too early to tell right now. California is 3 hours behind us, well 3 hours behind me at least. I live in Michigan. Mark and Debbie are supposed to do a press conference some time this morning. I'm hoping we'll see clips of it online some time this afternoon or this evening.

And no, a reunion has not taken place yet. According to the Baskins when they arrived in California, they have to meet with their investigators first and make some decisions on what they want to do in regards to Marvin Maple. I'm guessing this means they're asking Debbie about whether or not she wants to meet with her father face to face before he's shipped back to Tennessee.

If a reunion between Christi, Bobby and the Baskins does take place (and we're all obviously praying that it does) it will probably take place some time this weekend. At this moment, the Baskins will be in San Jose until Tuesday at the earliest.

Ya'll want to see some Maple fighting? I'm goin to town on em...

http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=15245

As happy as I'm sure the Baskins are to know that their eldest two children are alive and healthy, I hope they can take solace in that fact alone because the chances are rather high that those now-adult children have only heard 'one side of the story' and may not want anything to do with them(as wrong as that may be) ! Time will tell how much those now-adult children really knew about the first 7 or 8 years of their lives and whether they knew their 'parents' had fraudulently changed their surnames. Regardless of how they may feel about either the Baskins or Maples, they're going to have to deal with the facts that they spent 20 years not being able to (at least openly) see or contact their extended family or any of their childhood friends and they (and Bobby's wife) may find themselves having to untangle a great deal of red tape now that it's known that their longtime surname was fraudulent. For those reasons alone, the elder Baskin now-adult children are the real victims (and I feel sorry for their younger sibs,too)!

I'm from California. There is susposed to be a news conference at noon. The san jose and bayh area news was reporting that the Baskins are staying in town till tuesday and are working with an organinzation that will reunit them with their kids safely. I've been checking cable news channels to see if they will pick up the news confrence. :)

It's so hard to believe people, especially family, could do things like this to each other.

Besides accusing the bio parents of abuse and sexual abuse, which to Mrs. Baskin, must have been horrible to hear coming from her parents. But then, they kidnap those kids for 20 years with absolutely no contact between the kids and their parents or Sandra and Marvin with the daughter whose children they stole.

I can't believe how cruel and heartless they had to be to do that. They deprived the kids of their parents. They deprived Mrs. Baskin of a relationship with her parents in their elder years, with Sandra Maple dying without ever meeting with her own daughter ever again.

The Maples deprived the Baskins from seeing their children, which caused Mrs. Baskin to never be able to see her parents again, and since it seems the Maple side of the family is all pro-Maples, Mrs. Baskin was also deprived of a normal relationship with her siblings, nieces and nephew, etc.

The Maples stole Christie and Bobby, but they stole much more than just the children from the Baskins.

As i mentioned a few pages back, i know the Baskins personally, especially Debbie.

I have watched them over the years fast and pray and search. No matter what garbage anyone says, I know the Baskins to be wonderful, amazing, loving, gentle people. The two sons they have at home, Michael and Paul, are a joy.

This has been a nightmare for the Baskins...their faith has kept them going. Mark has been such a rock for Debbie....it has blessed my life profoundly to know them. I've never understood how they could endure these horrific circumstances, but they pressed on and never gave up hope.

A reunification expert from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is working on reuniting them. I for one am praying constantly for a tender reunion.

One of the things that gets me is the fact that the maples defender on the murfreesboropost comments states the reason Michael was not taken too is that he was in another state. However I find it strange that the Maples were able to get from TN to Ca with no problem. You would think they could have gone the long way to get Michael if there was such horrific abuse going on in that family. That excuse is pathetic.

http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_11645206

The latest.

http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_11645206

The latest.


Thanks! It would be nice to view the video of the conference also.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/south_bay&id=6645179

Here is about a news conference this a.m. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but looks like new footage.

Click on the pic. w/marvin in orange and click "watch video" above picture.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/18658745/detail.html

Another video from a few minutes ago.

http://cbs5.com/crime/child.abduction.baskin.2.928890.html

Fuller video of the entire news conference.

http://cbs5.com/crime/child.abduction.baskin.2.928890.html

Fuller video of the entire news conference.


THANKS!

I can't wait to go home and watch them. I'm abiout to leave work so I can't right now. But I'm excited to hear the new information!!

http://cbs5.com/crime/child.abduction.baskin.2.928890.html

Fuller video of the entire news conference.
Reading that article and watching that news conference provided an interesting detail. They indicated that it was not just Marvin that was upset about the San Diego article. Rather, they said it was Marvin and Bobby who both expressed their anger about it. It sounds like Bobby knew that he had been taken. This does make me worry. It sounds like Bobby and Christi have been brainwashed to believe the lies the Maples told about them. I hope they will be willing to listen to investigators, to a therapist, to his parents, and be open to the truth.

Yes, and if Bobby saw that article and recognized it as talking about him, what else may he have seen over the years?

Since I'm on it, another case of a child taken by a parent and literally brainwashed. Yoko Ono's first husband, Tony Cox, abducted her daughter Kyoko after objecting to certain things going on in the home. He was all right to a certain point--a person might legitimately NOT want their child in a home with drug users and a stepfather with a temper problem who thinks nude bathing with his stepchild is okay. Trouble is, Cox overdid it, hid Kyoko in a religious cult and convinced her Yoko was evil incarnate. As a result, Kyoko never made personal contact--she may have made indirect contact when John Lennon was killed and maybe not even that--and never saw her mother until after giving birth to a daughter herself. Since her father is still alive, it would be interesting to know what exchanges were made with him after finally reconciling with her mother.

They [Baskins] were never on the new website. Since SPIKE refused to reshow it, it never showed up on the website either.

Well, SPIKE will have to reshow it now - with the update!:D

Reading that article and watching that news conference provided an interesting detail. They indicated that it was not just Marvin that was upset about the San Diego article. Rather, they said it was Marvin and Bobby who both expressed their anger about it. It sounds like Bobby knew that he had been taken. This does make me worry. It sounds like Bobby and Christi have been brainwashed to believe the lies the Maples told about them. I hope they will be willing to listen to investigators, to a therapist, to his parents, and be open to the truth.

Heres the thing folks as I said in my first post several pages back the optimal result for most of us who have followed this case for twenty years is to see Marvin Maple put behind bars and Kristi and Bobby happily reunited with their parents.

But being that this is NOT a Hollywood script and we are dealing with real people, emotions and events here the realistic output may be that Marvin Maple gets put behind bars for the rest of his life for his crime and The Baskins are finally given the peace of mind that their children are alive, healthy and have put together productive lives for themselves. We have to accept and not be angry at the Baskin children if their allegiance is still to their grandparents The Maples. As I'm sure we're all aware there are many cases where parents or guardians have been convicted of terrible crimes against their children and yet the children still feel some degree of compassion towards them.

The Baskin children being they are adults right now even if the evidence is to the contrary have every right to side with whomever they want in regards to this case. It might not be the storybook ending we all would've wanted for this case but it might be one we all have to live with. Take solace in the facts that the children are alive and Marvin Maple will have his day in court - for what its worth having followed this case for twenty years, that to me is a pretty good result.

Regarding the "satan worshipper" angle of this thing that the Maples accused the Baskins of doing..

Accusing people of being into satan worship seemed to be a fairly common thing in the 80s and 90s, especially in cases in the south. That kind of accusation gave a sensationalized spin to everything, and lots of jurors believed the defendants were actually into satanic rituals, abuse, and murder.

IIRC, Mr. Baskin was the opposite of a satan worshipper. One reason the Maples were keeping the children in TN was that the Baskins had moved to KY so that Mr. Baskin could persue his master's degree to become a christian minister. The Baskins didn't want to disrupt the kids schooling and they were also not doing well financially, so it helped them for the kids to live with the grandparents for a little while to reduce the financial burden.

(Please correct me if I'm wrong on this point... my memory ain't what it used to be.)

Yes, satanic ritual abuse panics were common in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was all too easy for one little thing to turn into a witch-hunt, a juggernaut where people grew increasingly hysterical, children told increasingly bizarre things with no physical evidence to support it, and they were subject to improper and repeated questioning from over-zealous experts or social workers who did not really know what they were doing. In the UM segment it stated the Baskin children were subject to repeated questioning; now the rule is to interview a child only once.

Whether any child abuse really was going on became irrelevant and indecipherable, lost and obscured amid a morass of hysteria, increasingly bizarre stories and evidence tainted by improper questioning. So somewhere along the line the evidence had to be thrown out as unreliable.

The original custody battle occurred during the height of such panics. But those days are long gone (thank goodness), and Marvin Maple is going to come back to a court which regards such stories of satanic ritual abuse with extreme skepticism and caution. Unless Marvin really has hard evidence, the judge is very likely to instruct the jury to disregard it or even rule it inadmissible.

That is not going to be lost on Marvin's defence team either. I suspect they will advise Marvin to go for some plea bargain or simply plead guilty. Whether Marvin will do so is another matter. If he chooses to fight his lawyers will face an uphill battle to sway the court, and they will know they don't stand much chance of that.

Reading that article and watching that news conference provided an interesting detail. They indicated that it was not just Marvin that was upset about the San Diego article. Rather, they said it was Marvin and Bobby who both expressed their anger about it. It sounds like Bobby knew that he had been taken. This does make me worry. It sounds like Bobby and Christi have been brainwashed to believe the lies the Maples told about them. I hope they will be willing to listen to investigators, to a therapist, to his parents, and be open to the truth.


oh no, that is not good, that Bobby was mad about it too. If that's the case then I agree these kids must have been brainwashed. And if that is the case why didn't anyone care about Michael? This whole thing is so tragic, and makes little sense.

Heres the thing folks as I said in my first post several pages back the optimal result for most of us who have followed this case for twenty years is to see Marvin Maple put behind bars and Kristi and Bobby happily reunited with their parents.

But being that this is NOT a Hollywood script and we are dealing with real people, emotions and events here the realistic output may be that Marvin Maple gets put behind bars for the rest of his life for his crime and The Baskins are finally given the peace of mind that their children are alive, healthy and have put together productive lives for themselves. We have to accept and not be angry at the Baskin children if their allegiance is still to their grandparents The Maples. As I'm sure we're all aware there are many cases where parents or guardians have been convicted of terrible crimes against their children and yet the children still feel some degree of compassion towards them.

The Baskin children being they are adults right now even if the evidence is to the contrary have every right to side with whomever they want in regards to this case. It might not be the storybook ending we all would've wanted for this case but it might be one we all have to live with. Take solace in the facts that the children are alive and Marvin Maple will have his day in court - for what its worth having followed this case for twenty years, that to me is a pretty good result.


yes, yes, I agree with what you say. I think it's unfortunate, but I think thats the way it's going to go. Quite sad, I wish there could be that happy ending, but I guess I'll have to be content with the fact that these children are alive and well. I just feel terrible for those parents. The grandparents here did a terrible thing, and it's too bad that those kids might never see that.

Lets remember sometimes the papers get it wrong and it sounds like the comment about Bobby being upset is speculative. It wasn't a quote it was "they told people they knew". It didn't even sound like the people who are claiming that want to be named.

On a more positive note the link below does state that the detectives have been in contact with Christi. From what I gather she apparently hasn't ruled out meeting with them and told them she "needed time to think" and they stated she was very upset.

http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_11645206

Ya'll want to see some Maple fighting? I'm goin to town on em...

http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=15245


So I see. I have chosen to stay out of it, knowing that quarrelling with the Maple family just makes things even uglier, but their statements to "TheLostOne" (the adopted Baskin son) do tempt me. They say they are sympathetic to "TheLostOne", that they are his extended family, that he has only known his parents and not them. But they have never made themselves part of his or Michael's lives in all those 20 years. For all their ranting that Christie and Bobby were saved from a lifetime of abuse, they have never shown any apparent concern that Michael or the adopted son were being abused as well, made any move to try to remove them or take them into their own family, away from their abusive parents. Like Sandra and Marvin, they just seemed to leave the youngest child to his fate, and they seemed to disown him as they disowned his mother.

I imagine books will be written on the case, but a Hollywood movie? Right now I find the idea distasteful in the light of what the family is going through. Sure, they made a telemovie based on the parallel Pat Farmer case, "A Kidnapping in the Family". They may do the same for this case. But right now I will be happy with a book.

Some people are already pouncing on the idea of a movie, though. On some threads suggestions are already circulating for the casting.

oh no, that is not good, that Bobby was mad about it too. If that's the case then I agree these kids must have been brainwashed. And if that is the case why didn't anyone care about Michael? This whole thing is so tragic, and makes little sense.


I'm worried too, but we don't quite know why Bobby was angry and we don't know exactly what he said.

This is a minor thing, but I think there's a small element of coming from a comparatively well-to-do place such as Murfreesboro: if Maple goes to trial and is convicted (and he surely will be), that'll be a "death blow" to the reputation of the Maple name. I'm not trying to say anything ugly about those areas (I have lots of relatives from Nashville and Dixon myself), but in those communities surrounding Nashville that are a little better off, things like that matter. Big time. I'm sure that's in part what's feeding the hysteric rants on all these news sites.

I hadn't thought of that! I imagine that when the custody battle blew up, the same went for the Baskins, which must be one reason why they left Murfreesboro.

Even if the Maple family was not helping Sandra and Marvin to hide, and the police find no evidence of this, the taint of suspicion will remain on the Maples, just as the taint of suspicion of child abuse remains on the Baskins. Some of them may even leave town to get away.

The town will remain divided as MTMomma said. The divisions will probably become even more entrenched. Some people may reconsider their positions, others won't, while others prefer to keep their opinions to themselves. And whatever position you take, the Marvin Maple case will leave an indelible impression on Murfreesboro which will never go away.

Lets remember sometimes the papers get it wrong and it sounds like the comment about Bobby being upset is speculative. It wasn't a quote it was "they told people they knew". It didn't even sound like the people who are claiming that want to be named.

On a more positive note the link below does state that the detectives have been in contact with Christi. From what I gather she apparently hasn't ruled out meeting with them and told them she "needed time to think" and they stated she was very upset.

http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_11645206

Well, nobody can blame her.

Lets remember sometimes the papers get it wrong and it sounds like the comment about Bobby being upset is speculative. It wasn't a quote it was "they told people they knew". It didn't even sound like the people who are claiming that want to be named.

On a more positive note the link below does state that the detectives have been in contact with Christi. From what I gather she apparently hasn't ruled out meeting with them and told them she "needed time to think" and they stated she was very upset.

http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_11645206

Thank you for bringing that up. I just got finished watching the press conference and that one little statement from the investigator has given me some hope. She's obviously upset over what has happened. She knows her parents are flying out to California. But she said she needs some time. She could have very easily said, "No. I don't want to see them now or ever."

It's understandable that she needs some time to sort this whole mess out. In the past 4 days, she has discovered that the last 20 years have been a lie. I suspect the Baskins will probably leave California without reuniting with the kids BUT this whole ordeal is a huge stepping stone to rebuilding their relationship in the future, I think. The seeds have been planted. Once Christi and Bobby have had some time to deal with the reality of this whole situation, maybe they will want to meet up their parents and brothers after all. Here's hoping.

Just out of curiosity, did anyone see the Baskin/Maple case when it was featured on America's Most Wanted? If so, did they give any other tidbits of the case that Unsolved Mysteries never mentioned?

We have to accept and not be angry at the Baskin children if their allegiance is still to their grandparents The Maples. As I'm sure we're all aware there are many cases where parents or guardians have been convicted of terrible crimes against their children and yet the children still feel some degree of compassion towards them.

Oh, I absolutely agree that, no matter what happens, any anger directed at the now grown children is misplaced. No matter what you believe in the Baskin vs. Maple argument, the children are victims. Personally, I am firmly convinced that no abuse ever occurred at the hands of the Baskins, and that is why I hope they are able to reunite with and form a family relationship with their children once again. But no matter what, none of this is the fault of the children, and I have the utmost sympathy for them and all they have gone through.

Does anyone know offhand why some of these cases are prosecuted and some are not? Tony Cox kidnapped his daughter Kyoko after a judge awarded sole custody to Yoko Ono, http://www.vivona.net/TonyCox.htm but does not seem to have been prosecuted. Surely there's not a statute of limitations on kidnapping, nor does it depend solely on the custodial parent pressing charges, as the F. B. I. or whatever national agency has authority takes an interest in these cases? Does the kidnapping have to take place on U. S. soil, or the kidnapper be extradited to where it happened? Perhaps authorities there just didn't want to take the time, money, and trouble to prosecute the case.

This is a minor thing, but I think there's a small element of coming from a comparatively well-to-do place such as Murfreesboro: if Maple goes to trial and is convicted (and he surely will be), that'll be a "death blow" to the reputation of the Maple name. I'm not trying to say anything ugly about those areas (I have lots of relatives from Nashville and Dixon myself), but in those communities surrounding Nashville that are a little better off, things like that matter. Big time. I'm sure that's in part what's feeding the hysteric rants on all these news sites.

This may also help explain why they disowned Debbie in the first place. They didn't want to be associated with anyone who had been marked with the label "child molester", "Devil worshipper" etc. Whether Debbie was guilty or not is beside the point.

Oh, I absolutely agree that, no matter what happens, any anger directed at the now grown children is misplaced.


Bingo!

Like it or not, the following apply:

1. They are victims in this
2. They are adults now
3. They have been subject to quasi-Stockholm Syndrome for over 20 years

I agree with Dante. At a minimum, we know the kids are ALIVE and well overall, Marvin MapleS is in custody, and the Baskins can have at least some peace of mind. Like Dante said, the "Hollywood" ending at this point is not likely to happen.

I do not think Marvin Maple is originally from here; I know he raised his kids here but not sure if there is a large presence of Maple family members actually living in Murfreesboro. The "prominent" family that someone referenced as being here in Murfreesboro is actually the Maples family, not Maple family. The Maples family is very well known, they develope real estate (Clark Maples), practice law, etc.

I certainly never said I knew more about the case than anyone on here; quite the contrary, I pointed out that I was in middle school when the case developed. The only insight that I would have is public perception in the actual community that it occurred. My point was that there are people on both sides here in the actual community, so that seems relevant to me. I don't have a loyalty to anyone. I read these boards because I am curious and enjoy reading information I haven't read before. When I get on here or WS threads for other cases, and someone can offer some true insight from the actual area, I am always glad to know what the real local opinion is. Here it is split, rather than die-hard in one direction. I thought some might find it interesting to have that knowledge. I am certainly not arguing with anyone. If anyone feels that I am arguing then they need to take a close look at their tolerance for differing opinions. :)

The Baskin children being they are adults right now even if the evidence is to the contrary have every right to side with whomever they want in regards to this case.

Exactly. Remember the Barbara Kurth case? Her husband took their daughters amid allegations of abuse, and hid them for more than 20 years. He was found, arrested, and convicted, but the daughters stood by him and as far as I know (and I Googled it recently) they've never had any contact with their mother.

I would imagine that they will likely choose to stay in California where they have established their lives, and I don't think that means anything negative about the Baskins. It would seem strange for them to up and move across the country even if they do develope a great relationship with the Baskins.

I hadn't thought of that! I imagine that when the custody battle blew up, the same went for the Baskins, which must be one reason why they left Murfreesboro.

Having not seen the segment in years, I may have the facts tangled, and we have discussed how Unsolved Mysteries doesn't tell the whole story in most cases, but my understanding was that due to her extreme need for companionship, Sandra Maple blew up at Debbie Baskin over her plans to move out of state when her husband was offered a better job. The Maples then offered to keep the kids till the Baskins were settled in, then invented the allegations of abuse and ran off with the kids strictly because of Sandra's need for companionship/control and to get back at Debbie for defying Sandra's wishes, not really because of abuse. Marvin was such an enabler he was willing to turn his life upside down for this and now faces criminal consequences. Correct me if you think I've interpreted this wrong, but I understood the Baskins planned on leaving the area BEFORE the abuse allegations. It was their planned leaving which started all the trouble.

I don't know if Bobby and Christi have totally forgotten about their parents/childhood, I think it may be more of the memories are locked away in their brains. I think probably what needs to happen now is them being shown pictures or a toy they had when they were young, something that triggers all these lost memories. Then everything might snap into place.

Ya'll want to see some Maple fighting? I'm goin to town on em...

http://www.murfreesboropost.com/news.php?viewStory=15245

SparkofSanity, have you seen what the Maple family is saying about us up at the Murfreesboro Post? I've pasted some of it in here:

"Just ask SparkofInsanity. She's on another forum where they are horrible, and where, btw, certain members of my family are not allowed to post. She has tried and they have been deleted. We are supposed to sit quietly like good little girls and boys, and say nothing in defense. Well, guess what? That is not going to happen. I am not here to contribute to the Maple bashing. I will NEVER do that, they have done nothing wrong. I will also not give you information that you have no right to. Bottom line, this is no one else’s business. It is between the people involved, period. Someone in the did at one point try to give what information they had and people tore it to shreds, telling her she knew more than she was telling, telling her basically that the facts she had weren't good enough. They wanted more and more and more, even though she had told them everything that she did know, and TOLD them that she didn’t know anything else. Apparently they only want to hear trash about the Maples, and if you don't have that, then I guess you're just supposed to make up "facts" as you go, to appease their sick preoccupation with something that they saw on a TV show. As far as the aiding and abetting, SEVERAL people have accused us of that, some of which DO know my name, so yes, it is libel, and it is defamation of character, the definitions of which I am perfectly aware of, but thanks for spelling it out for everyone else!"

I wondered why I hadn't been seeing any more Maple family posts here. And after a check back, it looks like the post from "MapleFamily" has been removed. Hooray for the Moderator!:D

I don't know if Bobby and Christi have totally forgotten about their parents/childhood, I think it may be more of the memories are locked away in their brains. I think probably what needs to happen now is them being shown pictures or a toy they had when they were young, something that triggers all these lost memories. Then everything might snap into place.

I read somewhere the parents are bringing a Spiderman toy Bobby and Christi gave to Michael. Michael has enclosed it with a message saying that he kept it to remind himself of them all these years.

Wow. i hadn't been on this forum in a few days, and Icome back and find that this ase has finally been solved. When I read it, I said "Thank God" rally loud, and my Fiance' was like "What?" We are both happy for the Baskins. I can only hope and pray that Christi and Bobby will want to speak with them, If anything to ask about their past. It is understandable that it will take some time, but I hope that this will have a happy ending. I am 28, same as Christi, and I don't remember a whole lot from when I was 7. This is truly great news, and I hope that things will come together.

I read somewhere the parents are bringing a Spiderman toy Bobby and Christi gave to Michael. Michael has enclosed it with a message saying that he kept it to remind himself of them all these years.

Yes. Was that a tear jerking moment during the press conference or what? Apparently, Bobby gave that Spiderman figure to Michael when he was 5 and Michael has kept it all these years to remind him of his brother. Michael also mentioned in his letter that he and Bobby used to sneak into Christi's bedroom and remove all the heads from her Barbie dolls. :lol: I used to do that to my sister when I was little too.

IMO, I don't think we have to worry about Christi and Bobby needing pictures and toys to regain their memories of the first 8 years of their life because I'm sure they never lost them. What the Baskins need to worry about is the 20 years of lies the Maples told them about their parents. That amount of brainwashing can not be cured over night.

http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_11645206

One more.

For those that didn't watch the press conference, here are the letters that Michael and Paul wrote to Christi and Bobby. (The Baskins adopted Paul as a 5 week old 4 years after Christi and Bobby were kidnapped.)


From Michael...


To my brother Bobby,

I remember how you were a super big fan of Spiderman and had a figure of him. One day your Spiderman went missing and mom and dad went out and bought you a new one. But you did not like the new one as much. After a few days, mom found your old Spiderman so you gave me your new one. That very figure I have cherished all these years because it helped me to remember you and that very Spiderman is the one that is placed here before you. I pray and hope that maybe looking at it will help you to remember me and our few years together. I also hope that you will be willing to see me. I want to talk to you and see you so badly. I love you, brother.

Your brother,
~Michael


To my sister Christi,

I know that you might not remember how you always took loving care of me when we were very young. In fact, it was so long ago, I don't remember everything myself. But I do remember that whenever mom and dad would put me in the playpen, you would bring me large stuffed animals so I would climb out. It was because of this that mom and dad could never keep me in that playpen. I also remember that Bobby and I used to sneak in your room and pull the heads off your Barbie dolls. You seemed to never get angry even though I deserved it. I remember how much fun I had playing games like CandyLand with you. I miss you so much and wish to talk with you again. I love you.

Your brother,
~Michael


From Paul...


Dear Bobby and Christi,

The song, "Talk," by Coldplay says what I feel in my heart.

Oh brother, I can't get through this,
I've been trying hard to reach you,
cause I don't know what to do.
Oh brother, I can't believe it's true,
I'm so scared about the future,
and I want to talk to you.
Do you feel like a puzzle?
Can't find the missing piece?
Tell me how you feel.

~Paul

Is it at all possible that Bobby remembers his former life and Christie doesn't? We have (admittedly conflicting) reports that Bobby read the story along with his grandfather and was upset about it; in addition, Bobby has not spoken to any police. Christie, on the other hand, we know is very upset, and told authorities that she knew Marvin and Sandra as her father and mother.

I'm wondering if Bobby possibly believes (rightly or wrongly) that Mark and Debbie abused him, and has gone along with pretending that Marvin and Sandra were his parents, all the while knowing that they weren't--but Christie actually believed that Marvin and Sandra were her parents and didn't remember anything different. Of course, this is HUGEly speculative, but it would explain their differing reactions, as well as the fact that pictures of Christie were more readily available online than were pictures of Bobby (he may have been making more of an effort to maintain a low profile, but it could just be coincidence).

I'm not trying to drum up any more controversy, but the bigger point that I think is important to keep in mind is that Christie and Bobby's memories of the first 10 years of their lives are not, in all likelihood, identical; nor are the methods used to brainwash each one (if indeed that is what happened); nor, necessarily, will their reactions to this new situation in their lives. It's plausible, though perhaps improbable, that one of them might be willing to meet with Mark and Debbie, but not both.

I opened up aol friday and the news article caught my eye. i'm an aspiring journalist, and this case is really bugging me. the one question i keep asking is "what do the kids have to say?" :confused: I have read various news sources, and thousand of comments, and have carefully formulated my opinions. I belive Maple should be in jail for the rest of his life, which probably won't be very long. He shouldn't have taken the two kids, and I wonder why they left one behind.

:rant: I also wonder why people of conflicting views always downtalk everyone else. This has bugged me since i started going online, which was when i was ten. It also makes me angry. I'm sure none of you would mind if i believed he was innocent and justified if I didn't yell at you all and call you stupid. People are not stupid for having conflicting views and values. Thats what makes us human. I have seen barely any comments like that in this thread, which is why i chose to comment here. I hate it when people disrespect other peoples views.
I apologize for that little rant, but it just exploded out. :crazy:

In the event of Christi reuniting with the Baskins and Bobby not wanting to, hopefully Christi, Michael and Paul would all be able to convince Bobby to come around.

In the event of Christi reuniting with the Baskins and Bobby not wanting to, hopefully Christi, Michael and Paul would all be able to convince Bobby to come around.
I thought bobby wanted to but christy didn't. but i read that in some angry comments, not an article so I could be mistaken.

I don't know that one does and the other doesn't, or that both do, or neither. It may be something we don't learn for many years to come. I'm just offering it up as another way to view the situation. I'm hopeful that a suitable conclusion can be met, but it may take a long time--a lot has happened very quickly, and Bobby and Christie, given the pressure they're under, may need more time to truly know what to do with the situation.

I'm casting my mind back to the Pat Farmer case, which also featured on Unsolved Mysteries and has so often been compared with the Baskin case.

LaDonna Morrow always had a stormy relationship with her mother, Patricia. Then, apparently because she disapproved of LaDonna's divorce, Patricia used her babysitting sessions with her grandson Jared to coach him about satanic abuse and eventually fabricate a tape with Jared saying his mother was a member of a satanic cult and was ritually abusing him. Pat Farmer then used this tape to sue for custody of her grandson. The judge wisely placed the boy in custody of the court, where he eventually told his father that his grandmother coached him to say these things. From there the case against LaDonna fell apart and custody was returned to her. Then Pat Farmer kidnapped Jared with help of her younger daughter Amanda, who sided with her mother. Patricia was caught very quickly; although Jared was five he understood that what his grandmother was doing wasn't right, and he kept looking around for his mother. Eventually Jared was found and UM showed an update of him happily reunited with his mother.

Patricia Farmer was released from prison 3 May 1991 (doesn't sound like she was there very long). And believe it or not, the arresting detective says that Patricia was utterly convinced she did the right thing and will go to her grave believing that (she probably has now), although it was established that the whole thing had been a complete fabrication on her part. Apparently there is no limit to the levels of human delusion.

I imagine Ladonna and Jared (he must be about 25 or so now) are watching the Baskin case very closely and wincing at the parallels. They may or may not come forward to offer their comparisons.

i honestly believe that maple and his wife believed he was doing the right thing. But, Briony, It doesnt sound like Jared was with his grandmother as long as Christie and Bobby have been. But the cases do sound like they have similarities. I'll have to look that case up!

I would imagine that they will likely choose to stay in California where they have established their lives, and I don't think that means anything negative about the Baskins. It would seem strange for them to up and move across the country even if they do develope a great relationship with the Baskins.

I imagine they will stay in California, although they may not want to stay in San Jose after what has happened. Well, they are grown now after all, and can move to wherever they want. Whether they maintain any correspondence with their parents or extended families remains to be seen. One thing I am wondering about: will they go back to their original names or stick with Bunting? Well, they can always legally change their name to Bunting. Bobby might as it could be awfully messy changing his wife's and kids' names to Baskin. Not to mention feeling rather funny.

I don't think anyones brought this up yet, but what about Bobby's kids? it is going to be an awkward situation explaining all of this to them. they're going to have two new uncles and grandparents they may have never known they have.

i honestly believe that maple and his wife believed he was doing the right thing. But, Briony, It doesnt sound like Jared was with his grandmother as long as Christie and Bobby have been. But the cases do sound like they have similarities. I'll have to look that case up!

No, Jared wasn't with his grandmother that long. If you want to know more about the Pat Farmer case, here is a good link:

http://akidnappinginthefamilymovie.blogspot.com/

i looked up the case on google as soon as you mentioned it, and the first link came to this forum. I thought that was very funny. Thank you for the link =)

I don't think anyones brought this up yet, but what about Bobby's kids? it is going to be an awkward situation explaining all of this to them. they're going to have two new uncles and grandparents they may have never known they have.

No, I for one haven't forgotten them or Bobby's wife. It must be utter turmoil for her, and a tremendous shock to learn she is Mrs Baskin rather than Mrs Bunting, or that her father-in-law is really her grandfather-in-law, her true in-laws are now in San Jose, that everything she was told about her husband's biography is a lie, and now her family has been plunged headlong into a bitter family feud and criminal proceedings. I don't know if Bobby's children are old enough to understand what is going on, but they must sense something really awful and strange is happening. I don't know how Bobby's family will react to these surprise relatives or what relationship they will form with them, if any. I don't know if Mark and Debbie will become part of their grandchildren's lives or if so, by how much. And I can't help wondering what name Bobby is going to go by now. He may legally change his name to Bunting to make things easier for his family.

wouldn't they have to change their names? i don't know how to explain what i mean, so i'll do so very badly. and please, correct me if I am wrong.
i believe Legally their names are Baskin. They were never legally changed as far as I know. If he changed their names when they moved there must be false birth certificates, false social security numbers, that sort of thing. wouldn't they have to legally be under the name Baskin?
Again, someone please correct me if I'm mistaken =X

the case is receiving alot of media attention: Bobby and Christi may also be going through shock over suddenly becoming one of the world's biggest news topics. There's that to consider as well.

the case is receiving alot of media attention: Bobby and Christi may also be going through shock over suddenly becoming one of the world's biggest news topics. There's that to consider as well.

That's true. It must be very disconcerting to go from a private person living your life to a big news story in one day's time, in addition to everything else.

No, I for one haven't forgotten them or Bobby's wife. It must be utter turmoil for her, and a tremendous shock to learn she is Mrs Baskin rather than Mrs Bunting, or that her father-in-law is really her grandfather-in-law, her true in-laws are now in San Jose, that everything she was told about her husband's biography is a lie, and now her family has been plunged headlong into a bitter family feud and criminal proceedings. I don't know if Bobby's children are old enough to understand what is going on, but they must sense something really awful and strange is happening. I don't know how Bobby's family will react to these surprise relatives or what relationship they will form with them, if any. I don't know if Mark and Debbie will become part of their grandchildren's lives or if so, by how much. And I can't help wondering what name Bobby is going to go by now. He may legally change his name to Bunting to make things easier for his family.


Another thing that I've been wondering that no one has mentioned yet is this...

Okay so we're hearing reports that Bobby knew who he really was. And that he's married with possibly kids.

So my thing is this... what does Bobby's wife know? Did she marry a man who she thought was Jonathon Bunting? And didn't know a thing? Or did she go into the marriage knowing the truth.

If she truely knew nothing about Bobby's past, thats going to be a huge strain on the marriage knowing her husband has lied to her their whole lives together. And what else may he be hiding from her.

If she did know the whole truth then I would think she'd be in trouble for helping them hide out.

I just think its weird that the cops haven't talked to Bobby yet. I wonder why?? You would think they'd talk to him right away like they did with Christi.

I don't think what Bobby's wife knew or didn't know is any of our business. We are understandably all curious for all the details of who knew what, who was told what, who lied about what, who forgot, who remembered, who was brainwashed, who covered up. It's all understandable considering this is a case that many of us have followed, cared about, prayed about, etc. for so many years. But, I think we should all be careful not to be too prying into the lives of these people who never asked for any of this to happen to them. Unless and until Christi or Bobby decides to give an interview, I think we need to respect their privacy.

I don't mean to be attacking or criticizing anyone here. Of course, we all want to know these things. It's completely normal after following the case for so long. I also know that the great majority of people here would never want to do anything to hurt those now-grown children. I just think we all need to remember that before we post.

I don't think what Bobby's wife knew or didn't know is any of our business. We are understandably all curious for all the details of who knew what, who was told what, who lied about what, who forgot, who remembered, who was brainwashed, who covered up. It's all understandable considering this is a case that many of us have followed, cared about, prayed about, etc. for so many years. But, I think we should all be careful not to be too prying into the lives of these people who never asked for any of this to happen to them. Unless and until Christi or Bobby decides to give an interview, I think we need to respect their privacy.

I don't mean to be attacking or criticizing anyone here. Of course, we all want to know these things. It's completely normal after following the case for so long. I also know that the great majority of people here would never want to do anything to hurt those now-grown children. I just think we all need to remember that before we post.

I Agree! These people have had their lives totally turned upside down. If either of the "kids" knew anything, I guess they could have expected this to happen at some point, but you're never really prepared for something like this and all the media attention.

I only wonder, IF they did know, maybe it would have been better for them to find their parents themselves and be the ones in control of the situation.
Maybe they were waiting until their Grandfather couldn't be sent to jail or just banking that they would never be recognized and discovered.

I don't know if Bobby and Christi have totally forgotten about their parents/childhood, I think it may be more of the memories are locked away in their brains. I think probably what needs to happen now is them being shown pictures or a toy they had when they were young, something that triggers all these lost memories. Then everything might snap into place.

I agree! I would imagine that they will consider working with a specialist to see what they may have hidden away in the brains!

Ok and about the names, don't you think they will want to keep the Bunting last names that they are known as? If so, at this point, they have to legally file the paperwork and appear before a judge to have their names changed from Baskin to Bunting. I guess a lawyer can lump a group together for that, considering the circumstances, and make one appearnace to have Bobby, his wife and kids' names all changed at once.

Ok and about the names, don't you think they will want to keep the Bunting last names that they are known as? If so, at this point, they have to legally file the paperwork and appear before a judge to have their names changed from Baskin to Bunting. I guess a lawyer can lump a group together for that, considering the circumstances, and make one appearnace to have Bobby, his wife and kids' names all changed at once.
Of course, it also begs the question of where the senior Maples originally got the Bunting names from. Did they just randomly pick the surname and the four given names or was/is there ever an actual Bunting family whose names have been used without permission? If the latter proves true, they could charge Mr. Maples with four counts of identity theft!