The Maples - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

typhoo · 04-30-2003, 09:59 PM

Unfortunatly, they showed the update to the sad case of Bobbi and Kristi, who were kidnapped by their grandparents The Maples (can't remember B&K's last names). In case you don't know about this case, it happened in Mufusburo (I hope I'm spelling that right), Tennessee. The Maples' were Bobbi and Kristi's grandparents to their mom's side. The evil Maples, however wanted custody of them, for God knows what, and soon went to court to get their custody. They accused Bobbi and Kristi's parents of practicing satanic rituals and other crap that was entirely false. As far as I remember, the day the grandparents were to testify, they dissapeared along with Bobbi and Kristi. Though this case was updated, it was only a pseudo-update because a viewer who owned an apartment complex called UM and had pictures of both Bobbi and Kristi in a swimming pool, where they were living temporarily before they fled again. No further sightings have been seen and the case is already nearly 20 years old. However, besides being a sad case, this was also, IMO, one of the scariest and most sinister cases on UM ever profiled. Actually, the update is more like that for the following reasons:

-First off, anything superimpsoed on that UM black marble background is creepy, for me at least. Unfortunatly, they had to show the pool pictures of them behind the marble background.

-Robert Stack and the entire update seemed really rushed and short, which also contributed to it's overall creepiness.

-I don't know why for the life of me, but those age progression photos of the children scared the crap out of me. Maybe it's just the fact that they have unnatural smiles, but whatever it is they just are eerie.

-And of course, as always, GARY REMAL MALKIN'S SCARY MUSIC!!!!!!! In this case, he chose a nice little piece, which had a sinister shrieking "EEE-EEE! EEE-EEE!" combined with a sinister and harsh sounding drum machine. This, IMO, makes the UM theme seems like Love Is A Very Many Splendor Thing. Heck, how does that guy sleep performing such creepy music. I mean it was so horrifying sounding that I wanted to change the channel!

-Finally, the most scariest thing is the fact that this case hasn't been solved so far. That leads me to belive in some way, that Bobby and Kristi are dead and that those Maples are having the time of their lives. I mean, both would be in their 20's now and would have control. But, I'm not a pessimistic guy, so I hope for the best.

I hope this case will someday get updated, as I hate watching the update right now. I haven't seen the Winneabago murders nor Little Miss Panfoskee or the Dale Kersherrter case, but for me, this is the scariest case on UM ever. Heck, I knew something was wrong when the UM logo came up out of nowhere after the final segment had been over. Even though I have forgotten their names, I pray for those parents who have missed their kids for all this time.

dynoguy88 · 05-20-2003, 10:25 PM

No case on Unsolved Mysteries has ever angered me more than this one involving Sandra and Marvin Maple. LOL, I've talked about this case here so much that people are probably sick of me!

I wrote a letter to Mark and Debbie Baskin (Bobbi and Kristi's parents) last year just to tell them that I'm praying for them and hopefully that their children would some day reunite with them.

And YES! The update music was pretty damn freaky if I do say so myself.

Here is an article that I found on the net about this case that was written in 1998....

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) -- The agonizing wait continues for Mark and Debbie Baskin, whose two oldest children were kidnapped by her parents nine years ago. There have been few solid leads since Christi Baskin, now 17, and Bobby Baskin, now 16, were taken by Marvin and Sandra Maple of Murfreesboro.
Their disappearance came near the end of a nasty custody battle. The Maples claimed their daughter and son-in-law were members of a satanic cult that practiced animal sacrifices and bizarre sexual rituals. Investigators found no evidence the children were abused. The grandparents, who had been awarded temporary custody of the youngsters, fled about a week before the Baskins were to have regained custody. "We don't know so many things, not the least of which is where they are right now," said Mrs. Baskin, who lives with her husband in Barbourville, Ky.
Even though the Maples told investigators the Baskins abused the children, the youngsters never corroborated the accusations. An attorney in the case said the youngsters told incredible tales that were not believable. "The things they were describing were fantastical. And each time I talked to them it got worse and worse," said Karen Hornsby, an attorney who was appointed to represent the children in the custody battle. Sgt. Anita Flagg of the Murfreesboro Police Department said she often is reminded of the case. "There doesn't come a time when I'll be out in the public, where there's a large group of people, and someone will ask me, 'What about those kids? Have they been found yet?" Flagg told The Tennessean. "That case still sticks with people. It was just an unusual one." Marvin Maple is now 62 and his wife is 60. Occasionally, FBI agents will call the couple to say they are working on a tip. The TV show "Unsolved Mysteries" featured the case in 1990. There is sketchy evidence to suggest the Maples and their grandchildren disappeared with help from an Atlanta-based "underground railroad" that hides children who allegedly have been abused. Eight years ago, Christi and Bobby were believed spotted at an apartment complex in California. But the occupants had moved by the time investigators arrived.
"For our FBI agent's benefit, it's extremely difficult to work a case when you don't have any leads, or the leads are nine years old," Mrs. Baskin said. Mark Baskin, a one-time student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., withdrew from the seminary after the kidnapping and took a job as an insurance salesman. The couple moved to Barbourville with their remaining son, Michael, now 15. "People ask us how can we go on knowing that our children are missing, and we say we don't have a choice," Mrs. Baskin said. "Life goes on. We have to continue."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My theory is that while the Maple's have threatened to kill Bobby and Kristi rather than see them returned to their parents, it will never happen. The Maple's are apparently good liars, after all, they were able to convince a judge that the children were abused by their parents leading to a investigation with ABSOLUTELY NO PROOF.

I believe the Maples' have told Bobby and Kristi that their parents have died, therefore, they will have no reason to go looking for them never knowing that they were in fact, kidnapped.

I'm hoping that the Maple's can get arrested for all the pain they have caused before it is too late. Here's hoping that Kristi and Bobby and some day be reunited with their parents. They have suffered long enough.

Here's some links...

http://www.missingkids.com/missingki...archLang=en_US

http://bannerkids.com/MissingKids/Vi...7&PersonID=763

typhoo · 05-21-2003, 06:53 PM

Thanks for replying Dynoguy! I nearly forgot this post.

It's OK if you keep on talking about this case here. After all, the more it's mentioned, the better chance that Bobbi and Kristi or someone that hopfully knows them could stumble upon one of those links. It was much better to see the age progression photos on the sites than on UM. I think they did composites if I'm not mistaken, and those are always creepy.

That was very good of you to write a letter to the Baskin's. You know, I wonder about them a lot of times. I hope that one day they will be reunited with their children and hopefully the Maples will be put in jail and remain until they die, which probably won't be too long. But then again, it's been 14 years since their kidnapping, and though I hate to think negativly, the Maples' could have done the "rituals" they accused the Baskin's of doing.

Maybe with Robert Stack's recent passing, Lifetime will air this segment and someone will be watching who may know the truth. All we can do is hope and wait...

dynoguy88 · 05-21-2003, 09:22 PM

I think one of the reasons this case always stuck with me was for a couple of reasons...

1. I'm in the same age group as Kristi and Bobby - 5 months older than Kristi, a year older than Bobby.

2. It's one of the very few kidnapping cases featured on the show that's never been solved.

3. The Baskin's seem like such a nice couple and it's heart breaking to see bad things happen to good people.

I think the judge that ruled the kids to be put in temporary care of the Maple's and to start an investigation against the Baskin's deserves part of the blame in this story. How on earth can a couple in their late 50's walk into a judges chamber WITHOUT ANY PROOF, WITHOUT TALKING TO THE CHILDREN OR THE BASKIN'S and simply take the Baskin's rights away as parents? Heck, I can say that the sky is pink, but that doesn't make it true. You need proof/evidence to back up such statements.

I don't know what would ever cause an elderly couple to destroy the lives of their daughter and son-in-law by making up cruel lies and to just run off with their children. It boggles the mind. I just don't know how they can sleep at night knowing what they have done. And how on earth have they been able to hide all this time without getting caught?

The sad thing about a family abduction case, especially where a parent or grandparent has taken a child and ran like this one, is that the kidnapper fills the children's heads with so many lies about how their mom/dad/parents making them out to be the bad guys so that they eventually believe it and then never want to look for them. At the end of the segment, Debbie's final statement really breaks your heart (I have it on tape) ...

"You get up every morning and you think to yourself, perhaps this is the day that our FBI agent will call or somebody will call and say that we have found the kids. And then it doesn't happen and you have a little boy who will go to bed at night and say, "Please don't let Grandma and Grandpa come and take me too." I don't have a family anymore. I don't know if they are alive or if they are dead. They have threatened to kill the kids before they restore them, so, it's fear, it's constant fear. Sometimes when people ask me how many children I have I just want to say "Michael," so I don't even have to deal with it. But 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 some kind of a monster."

That's some sad stuff. With Kristi and Bobby being missing for 14 years now, I fear the only way they will ever learn the truth about their evil grandparents is for one of them to sit down one day and catch a rerun of their story on Unsolved Mysteries. Only then can they learn the truth, but it's a long shot.

CrushedVelvet · 08-01-2003, 01:12 AM

Has this case aired on America's Most Wanted? Good grief, there are FOUR people here in this case so why cant America spot even one of them? Something aint right. Hiding or not, they had to have been and/or continue to be interacting with people. AGH!!!!! Cases like this drive me nuts. The case just needs to continue to be exposed until solved.

TC500 · 03-29-2006, 04:30 PM

Here it is three years later and I just saw the re-run on Lifetime. I really can't believe these children have never been found. What is so strange is that there is virtually nothing about this case on the internet. Anybody have any news?

dynoguy88 · 03-29-2006, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TC500

Here it is three years later and I just saw the re-run on Lifetime. I really can't believe these children have never been found. What is so strange is that there is virtually nothing about this case on the internet. Anybody have any news?

I wish there was new news but as of right now, there is still no update to the case. Here are a few links -

http://www.forthelost.org/family/baskin.html

http://www.missingkids.com/missingki...archLang=en_US

DarkDante · 03-29-2006, 11:26 PM

Various thoughts:

1) I have a degree in psychology as I might have mentioned a few times on this board. The Baskin case interests me from both a professional and a personal standpoint. From a personal standpoint the actions of the Maples makes me ill but from a professional standpoint there are portions of the segment that don't make sense.

The segment made it seem like The Maples just suddenly snapped and turned into these crazed liars who accused Debbie and Mark Baskin of doing all sorts of horrible things to the kids and started this whole custody battle. There has to be MORE to this story. I think the reason lies in something that Sandra says to Debbie early on in the segment when she says "I thought you'd be the one who'd never leave me". In some cases I've seen elderly parents have trouble transitioning from a stage where their life revolved around their family to a point where their children have grown up, moved away and began lives of their own seperate from them.

I believe we all go through "seasons" in our lives and some people have more trouble than others adjusting to the changes. I can easily see Marvin and Sandra Maple's abduction of their grandchilden as a way of creating some type of psuedo-family for themselves. Its a twisted sense of logic but is the only motive I can think of. It doesn't EXCUSE their actions by any means but is an ATTEMPT to explain them.

2) Underground Railroad: There is a site (link provided at the bottom of the post) that deals with what is known as an "Underground Railroad" which helps women and children in crisis disappear from abusive situations. These groups have fallen under harsh criticism because they often result in the abduction of children from their custodial guardians on trumped up and often false charges of neglect and abusive behavior such as what The Maples accused The Baskins of doing. Both Kristi and Bobby Baskin are featured on this site and it is widely believed that they and their grandparents "went underground". Marvin and Sandra don't strike me as articulate enough or savvy enough to keep their grandchildren in hiding for this long period of time without having some aide. I believe their abduction of Kristi and Bobby started by the grandparents taking off with them to California (as shown in the segment) but when they saw that Debbie and Mark had enlisted the help of the FBI that probably spooked The Maples and they went underground with the children.

3) They are probably outside of the USA: These "underground railroads" operate with a secrecy similiar to the witness protection program. The parties are given new identities and relocated. We know from people who have been part of these "underground railroads" and later resurfaced that the chief priority of these groups is to protect the anonymity of the group which means that even if the people who initally wanted to disappear have second thoughts they are held against their will (usually by threats of violence) and essentially are forbidden to return to their lives prior to entering the group.

In essence their past is erased. It is also very common for people in these groups NOT to be in the United States where they can be commonly spotted and identified. Top places where children who have been "hidden" by these groups have been located include France, The Netherlands and various islands such as Bermuda. I would highly doubt that either Kristi or Bobby are in the continental US at the moment.

I know this doesn't provide the best outlook for a reunion between Kristi and Bobby and their parents but I hope I helped to answer some of the questions that have been floating around about this case. For more about "underground railroads" check here:

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

NDAlum2003 · 03-30-2006, 05:28 AM

I agree. At this point it's doubtful that the children are still in the US. After UM profiled the case more than likely the Maples did go "underground" and exited the USA. In 1989 it would have been a bit easier to go underground as things weren't linked by computer like they are today.

My thoughts and prayers are with the parents. I can't imagine what things were like for them.

hipster91 · 03-30-2006, 11:33 AM

One other thing to keep in mind is the advanced age of the grandparents by this point in time. It is by no means out of the question that one or both of them may have passed on or be in ill health. Given the age of the children at this point, it is truly baffling that no sign of them has surfaced anywhere.

I agree with others here that the children were fed lies and convinced that their parents were either abusers or dead. This would explain why they have not contacted anyone (especially if they are outside the U.S. which is a strong possibility).

The segment did not mention any other family members. One would think that a sister, brother, aunt or uncle of the wife/mother would have had some contact with the grandparents - over so many years, it would be hard to believe that the grandparents would have completely cut themselves off from all of their kin. You have to ask, what possibly could drive the grandparents to make this choice - let alone stick with it for so many years?

When you are as old as they would be at this juncture, you would think that conscience would catch up with at least one of them. I hope that someday these parents get an answer to this mystery.

TC500 · 03-30-2006, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hipster91

The segment did not mention any other family members. One would think that a sister, brother, aunt or uncle of the wife/mother would have had some contact with the grandparents - over so many years, it would be hard to believe that the grandparents would have completely cut themselves off from all of their kin. You have to ask, what possibly could drive the grandparents to make this choice - let alone stick with it for so many years?

When you are as old as they would be at this juncture, you would think that conscience would catch up with at least one of them. I hope that someday these parents get an answer to this mystery.

My thoughts exactly! And I would really like to know what other family members think about this. The show mentioned that the Maples had three daughters. How could they give up contact with their own children & their other grandchildren for all these years. And separating those kids from all their relatives especially their little brother.

I guess what upset me the most about this case is that I got it mixed up with another one from Tennessee, Morristown, I think. In that case, the grandparents tried to take custody of the grandkids and it was in the national spotlight. On Donahue and there was a made-for-tv-movie about it. So I was stunned to learn that this was a different case where the grandparents abducted the kids and are still missing.

Thanks for the links in the earlier post. I realized that I was searching Maples when the actual name is Maple. Thank you.

TC500 · 03-30-2006, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkDante

In some cases I've seen elderly parents have trouble transitioning from a stage where their life revolved around their family to a point where their children have grown up, moved away and began lives of their own seperate from them.

I believe we all go through "seasons" in our lives and some people have more trouble than others adjusting to the changes. I can easily see Marvin and Sandra Maple's abduction of their grandchilden as a way of creating some type of psuedo-family for themselves. Its a twisted sense of logic but is the only motive I can think of. It doesn't EXCUSE their actions by any means but is an ATTEMPT to explain them.

I get the idea of seasons. When I got married years ago, my in-laws did some really weird things almost as if they wanted to sabotage the wedding. When my husband asked his grandma about their behavior, she said, "Honey, some people can't accept getting old." This helped me not to take their actions personally but I'm glad it never escalated into something like this. It is scary what people can do to someone they love.

dynoguy88 · 03-30-2006, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hipster91

One other thing to keep in mind is the advanced age of the grandparents by this point in time. It is by no means out of the question that one or both of them may have passed on or be in ill health. Given the age of the children at this point, it is truly baffling that no sign of them has surfaced anywhere.

Today Marvin would be 70 and Sandra would be 69. Much as I think the Maples are off their nut, I would hate to think they have passed away before facing the music for what they have done. You steal your grandchildren and pretty much destroy your daughters life and you get away with it? That's not only heartless but it's completely unfair.

The segment said that the Maples had two other daughters besides Debbie. I wonder what they think about all of this. When the Maples chose to take the children into hiding, they abandoned their other daughters as well. It makes you wonder what kind of parents they were while their children were growing up. Were they always this horrible? Or did DarkDante's theory of them not handling their children growing up come into place?

synthisislab · 03-31-2006, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by typhoo

However, besides being a sad case, this was also, IMO, one of the scariest and most sinister cases on UM ever profiled. Actually, the update is more like that for the following reasons:

-First off, anything superimpsoed on that UM black marble background is creepy, for me at least. Unfortunatly, they had to show the pool pictures of them behind the marble background.

-Robert Stack and the entire update seemed really rushed and short, which also contributed to it's overall creepiness.

-I don't know why for the life of me, but those age progression photos of the children scared the crap out of me. Maybe it's just the fact that they have unnatural smiles, but whatever it is they just are eerie.

-And of course, as always, GARY REMAL MALKIN'S SCARY MUSIC!!!!!!! In this case, he chose a nice little piece, which had a sinister shrieking "EEE-EEE! EEE-EEE!" combined with a sinister and harsh sounding drum machine. This, IMO, makes the UM theme seems like Love Is A Very Many Splendor Thing. Heck, how does that guy sleep performing such creepy music. I mean it was so horrifying sounding that I wanted to change the channel!

-Finally, the most scariest thing is the fact that this case hasn't been solved so far. That leads me to belive in some way, that Bobby and Kristi are dead and that those Maples are having the time of their lives. I mean, both would be in their 20's now and would have control. But, I'm not a pessimistic guy, so I hope for the best.

I hope this case will someday get updated, as I hate watching the update right now. I haven't seen the Winneabago murders nor Little Miss Panfoskee or the Dale Kersherrter case, but for me, this is the scariest case on UM ever. Heck, I knew something was wrong when the UM logo came up out of nowhere after the final segment had been over. Even though I have forgotten their names, I pray for those parents who have missed their kids for all this time.

I agree with all of this. That video and those pictures mixed with the music and abruptness of the update was completely creepy.

NDAlum2003 · 04-01-2006, 12:53 AM

At ages 70 and 69, the Maples could be living as well as they were in 1989, but think about the children. I am about the same age as Bobby is today, and there's a lot of paperwork we all have to have like SSNs. However, maybe the underground assists others in faking paperwork to get appropriate identification.

Lastly, Bobby and Kristi are now majority age, and it's notable that they haven't seen themselves or attempted to contact their parents.

04-30-2003, 09:59 PM	#1
typhoo Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 06, 2003 Posts: 12	The Maples Unfortunatly, they showed the update to the sad case of Bobbi and Kristi, who were kidnapped by their grandparents The Maples (can't remember B&K's last names). In case you don't know about this case, it happened in Mufusburo (I hope I'm spelling that right), Tennessee. The Maples' were Bobbi and Kristi's grandparents to their mom's side. The evil Maples, however wanted custody of them, for God knows what, and soon went to court to get their custody. They accused Bobbi and Kristi's parents of practicing satanic rituals and other crap that was entirely false. As far as I remember, the day the grandparents were to testify, they dissapeared along with Bobbi and Kristi. Though this case was updated, it was only a pseudo-update because a viewer who owned an apartment complex called UM and had pictures of both Bobbi and Kristi in a swimming pool, where they were living temporarily before they fled again. No further sightings have been seen and the case is already nearly 20 years old. However, besides being a sad case, this was also, IMO, one of the scariest and most sinister cases on UM ever profiled. Actually, the update is more like that for the following reasons: -First off, anything superimpsoed on that UM black marble background is creepy, for me at least. Unfortunatly, they had to show the pool pictures of them behind the marble background. -Robert Stack and the entire update seemed really rushed and short, which also contributed to it's overall creepiness. -I don't know why for the life of me, but those age progression photos of the children scared the crap out of me. Maybe it's just the fact that they have unnatural smiles, but whatever it is they just are eerie. -And of course, as always, GARY REMAL MALKIN'S SCARY MUSIC!!!!!!! In this case, he chose a nice little piece, which had a sinister shrieking "EEE-EEE! EEE-EEE!" combined with a sinister and harsh sounding drum machine. This, IMO, makes the UM theme seems like Love Is A Very Many Splendor Thing. Heck, how does that guy sleep performing such creepy music. I mean it was so horrifying sounding that I wanted to change the channel! -Finally, the most scariest thing is the fact that this case hasn't been solved so far. That leads me to belive in some way, that Bobby and Kristi are dead and that those Maples are having the time of their lives. I mean, both would be in their 20's now and would have control. But, I'm not a pessimistic guy, so I hope for the best. I hope this case will someday get updated, as I hate watching the update right now. I haven't seen the Winneabago murders nor Little Miss Panfoskee or the Dale Kersherrter case, but for me, this is the scariest case on UM ever. Heck, I knew something was wrong when the UM logo came up out of nowhere after the final segment had been over. Even though I have forgotten their names, I pray for those parents who have missed their kids for all this time.

05-20-2003, 10:25 PM	#2
dynoguy88 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 01, 2000 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 3,675	reply No case on Unsolved Mysteries has ever angered me more than this one involving Sandra and Marvin Maple. LOL, I've talked about this case here so much that people are probably sick of me! I wrote a letter to Mark and Debbie Baskin (Bobbi and Kristi's parents) last year just to tell them that I'm praying for them and hopefully that their children would some day reunite with them. And YES! The update music was pretty damn freaky if I do say so myself. Here is an article that I found on the net about this case that was written in 1998.... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) -- The agonizing wait continues for Mark and Debbie Baskin, whose two oldest children were kidnapped by her parents nine years ago. There have been few solid leads since Christi Baskin, now 17, and Bobby Baskin, now 16, were taken by Marvin and Sandra Maple of Murfreesboro. Their disappearance came near the end of a nasty custody battle. The Maples claimed their daughter and son-in-law were members of a satanic cult that practiced animal sacrifices and bizarre sexual rituals. Investigators found no evidence the children were abused. The grandparents, who had been awarded temporary custody of the youngsters, fled about a week before the Baskins were to have regained custody. "We don't know so many things, not the least of which is where they are right now," said Mrs. Baskin, who lives with her husband in Barbourville, Ky. Even though the Maples told investigators the Baskins abused the children, the youngsters never corroborated the accusations. An attorney in the case said the youngsters told incredible tales that were not believable. "The things they were describing were fantastical. And each time I talked to them it got worse and worse," said Karen Hornsby, an attorney who was appointed to represent the children in the custody battle. Sgt. Anita Flagg of the Murfreesboro Police Department said she often is reminded of the case. "There doesn't come a time when I'll be out in the public, where there's a large group of people, and someone will ask me, 'What about those kids? Have they been found yet?" Flagg told The Tennessean. "That case still sticks with people. It was just an unusual one." Marvin Maple is now 62 and his wife is 60. Occasionally, FBI agents will call the couple to say they are working on a tip. The TV show "Unsolved Mysteries" featured the case in 1990. There is sketchy evidence to suggest the Maples and their grandchildren disappeared with help from an Atlanta-based "underground railroad" that hides children who allegedly have been abused. Eight years ago, Christi and Bobby were believed spotted at an apartment complex in California. But the occupants had moved by the time investigators arrived. "For our FBI agent's benefit, it's extremely difficult to work a case when you don't have any leads, or the leads are nine years old," Mrs. Baskin said. Mark Baskin, a one-time student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., withdrew from the seminary after the kidnapping and took a job as an insurance salesman. The couple moved to Barbourville with their remaining son, Michael, now 15. "People ask us how can we go on knowing that our children are missing, and we say we don't have a choice," Mrs. Baskin said. "Life goes on. We have to continue." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ My theory is that while the Maple's have threatened to kill Bobby and Kristi rather than see them returned to their parents, it will never happen. The Maple's are apparently good liars, after all, they were able to convince a judge that the children were abused by their parents leading to a investigation with ABSOLUTELY NO PROOF. I believe the Maples' have told Bobby and Kristi that their parents have died, therefore, they will have no reason to go looking for them never knowing that they were in fact, kidnapped. I'm hoping that the Maple's can get arrested for all the pain they have caused before it is too late. Here's hoping that Kristi and Bobby and some day be reunited with their parents. They have suffered long enough. Here's some links... http://www.missingkids.com/missingki...archLang=en_US http://bannerkids.com/MissingKids/Vi...7&PersonID=763
	Last edited by dynoguy88; 05-20-2003 at 10:37 PM.

05-21-2003, 09:22 PM	#4
dynoguy88 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 01, 2000 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 3,675	reply I think one of the reasons this case always stuck with me was for a couple of reasons... 1. I'm in the same age group as Kristi and Bobby - 5 months older than Kristi, a year older than Bobby. 2. It's one of the very few kidnapping cases featured on the show that's never been solved. 3. The Baskin's seem like such a nice couple and it's heart breaking to see bad things happen to good people. I think the judge that ruled the kids to be put in temporary care of the Maple's and to start an investigation against the Baskin's deserves part of the blame in this story. How on earth can a couple in their late 50's walk into a judges chamber WITHOUT ANY PROOF, WITHOUT TALKING TO THE CHILDREN OR THE BASKIN'S and simply take the Baskin's rights away as parents? Heck, I can say that the sky is pink, but that doesn't make it true. You need proof/evidence to back up such statements. I don't know what would ever cause an elderly couple to destroy the lives of their daughter and son-in-law by making up cruel lies and to just run off with their children. It boggles the mind. I just don't know how they can sleep at night knowing what they have done. And how on earth have they been able to hide all this time without getting caught? The sad thing about a family abduction case, especially where a parent or grandparent has taken a child and ran like this one, is that the kidnapper fills the children's heads with so many lies about how their mom/dad/parents making them out to be the bad guys so that they eventually believe it and then never want to look for them. At the end of the segment, Debbie's final statement really breaks your heart (I have it on tape) ... "You get up every morning and you think to yourself, perhaps this is the day that our FBI agent will call or somebody will call and say that we have found the kids. And then it doesn't happen and you have a little boy who will go to bed at night and say, "Please don't let Grandma and Grandpa come and take me too." I don't have a family anymore. I don't know if they are alive or if they are dead. They have threatened to kill the kids before they restore them, so, it's fear, it's constant fear. Sometimes when people ask me how many children I have I just want to say "Michael," so I don't even have to deal with it. But 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 some kind of a monster." That's some sad stuff. With Kristi and Bobby being missing for 14 years now, I fear the only way they will ever learn the truth about their evil grandparents is for one of them to sit down one day and catch a rerun of their story on Unsolved Mysteries. Only then can they learn the truth, but it's a long shot.

08-01-2003, 01:12 AM	#5
CrushedVelvet Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 25, 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 331	Has this case aired on America's Most Wanted? Good grief, there are FOUR people here in this case so why cant America spot even one of them? Something aint right. Hiding or not, they had to have been and/or continue to be interacting with people. AGH!!!!! Cases like this drive me nuts. The case just needs to continue to be exposed until solved.
	__________________ CrushedVelvet

05-21-2003, 06:53 PM	#3
typhoo Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 06, 2003 Posts: 12	Thanks for replying Dynoguy! I nearly forgot this post. It's OK if you keep on talking about this case here. After all, the more it's mentioned, the better chance that Bobbi and Kristi or someone that hopfully knows them could stumble upon one of those links. It was much better to see the age progression photos on the sites than on UM. I think they did composites if I'm not mistaken, and those are always creepy. That was very good of you to write a letter to the Baskin's. You know, I wonder about them a lot of times. I hope that one day they will be reunited with their children and hopefully the Maples will be put in jail and remain until they die, which probably won't be too long. But then again, it's been 14 years since their kidnapping, and though I hate to think negativly, the Maples' could have done the "rituals" they accused the Baskin's of doing. Maybe with Robert Stack's recent passing, Lifetime will air this segment and someone will be watching who may know the truth. All we can do is hope and wait...

03-29-2006, 04:30 PM	#6
TC500 Member Forum Hawk Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Midsouth Posts: 4	Here it is three years later and I just saw the re-run on Lifetime. I really can't believe these children have never been found. What is so strange is that there is virtually nothing about this case on the internet. Anybody have any news?

03-29-2006, 11:26 PM	#8
DarkDante Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1,569	Various thoughts: 1) I have a degree in psychology as I might have mentioned a few times on this board. The Baskin case interests me from both a professional and a personal standpoint. From a personal standpoint the actions of the Maples makes me ill but from a professional standpoint there are portions of the segment that don't make sense. The segment made it seem like The Maples just suddenly snapped and turned into these crazed liars who accused Debbie and Mark Baskin of doing all sorts of horrible things to the kids and started this whole custody battle. There has to be MORE to this story. I think the reason lies in something that Sandra says to Debbie early on in the segment when she says "I thought you'd be the one who'd never leave me". In some cases I've seen elderly parents have trouble transitioning from a stage where their life revolved around their family to a point where their children have grown up, moved away and began lives of their own seperate from them. I believe we all go through "seasons" in our lives and some people have more trouble than others adjusting to the changes. I can easily see Marvin and Sandra Maple's abduction of their grandchilden as a way of creating some type of psuedo-family for themselves. Its a twisted sense of logic but is the only motive I can think of. It doesn't EXCUSE their actions by any means but is an ATTEMPT to explain them. 2) Underground Railroad: There is a site (link provided at the bottom of the post) that deals with what is known as an "Underground Railroad" which helps women and children in crisis disappear from abusive situations. These groups have fallen under harsh criticism because they often result in the abduction of children from their custodial guardians on trumped up and often false charges of neglect and abusive behavior such as what The Maples accused The Baskins of doing. Both Kristi and Bobby Baskin are featured on this site and it is widely believed that they and their grandparents "went underground". Marvin and Sandra don't strike me as articulate enough or savvy enough to keep their grandchildren in hiding for this long period of time without having some aide. I believe their abduction of Kristi and Bobby started by the grandparents taking off with them to California (as shown in the segment) but when they saw that Debbie and Mark had enlisted the help of the FBI that probably spooked The Maples and they went underground with the children. 3) They are probably outside of the USA: These "underground railroads" operate with a secrecy similiar to the witness protection program. The parties are given new identities and relocated. We know from people who have been part of these "underground railroads" and later resurfaced that the chief priority of these groups is to protect the anonymity of the group which means that even if the people who initally wanted to disappear have second thoughts they are held against their will (usually by threats of violence) and essentially are forbidden to return to their lives prior to entering the group. In essence their past is erased. It is also very common for people in these groups NOT to be in the United States where they can be commonly spotted and identified. Top places where children who have been "hidden" by these groups have been located include France, The Netherlands and various islands such as Bermuda. I would highly doubt that either Kristi or Bobby are in the continental US at the moment. I know this doesn't provide the best outlook for a reunion between Kristi and Bobby and their parents but I hope I helped to answer some of the questions that have been floating around about this case. For more about "underground railroads" check here: http://members.aol.com/underwatch/

03-30-2006, 05:28 AM	#9
NDAlum2003 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 14, 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 216	I agree. At this point it's doubtful that the children are still in the US. After UM profiled the case more than likely the Maples did go "underground" and exited the USA. In 1989 it would have been a bit easier to go underground as things weren't linked by computer like they are today. My thoughts and prayers are with the parents. I can't imagine what things were like for them.

03-30-2006, 11:33 AM	#10
hipster91 Hipster91 Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 11, 2006 Location: Summit, NJ Posts: 10	One other thing to keep in mind is the advanced age of the grandparents by this point in time. It is by no means out of the question that one or both of them may have passed on or be in ill health. Given the age of the children at this point, it is truly baffling that no sign of them has surfaced anywhere. I agree with others here that the children were fed lies and convinced that their parents were either abusers or dead. This would explain why they have not contacted anyone (especially if they are outside the U.S. which is a strong possibility). The segment did not mention any other family members. One would think that a sister, brother, aunt or uncle of the wife/mother would have had some contact with the grandparents - over so many years, it would be hard to believe that the grandparents would have completely cut themselves off from all of their kin. You have to ask, what possibly could drive the grandparents to make this choice - let alone stick with it for so many years? When you are as old as they would be at this juncture, you would think that conscience would catch up with at least one of them. I hope that someday these parents get an answer to this mystery.

04-01-2006, 12:53 AM	#15
NDAlum2003 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 14, 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 216	At ages 70 and 69, the Maples could be living as well as they were in 1989, but think about the children. I am about the same age as Bobby is today, and there's a lot of paperwork we all have to have like SSNs. However, maybe the underground assists others in faking paperwork to get appropriate identification. Lastly, Bobby and Kristi are now majority age, and it's notable that they haven't seen themselves or attempted to contact their parents.