Over two million viewers tuned in last year for the Lifetime original movie Girl in the Box, based on the disturbing story of abduction survivor Colleen Stan. This May, the network hopes to turn real-life psychological drama in ratings gold once more with Girl in the Bunker.
From the makers of Girl in the Box, Girl in the Bunker tells the true story of teen Elizabeth Shoaf, who disappeared in 2006 following her abduction by a fugitive sex offender impersonating a sheriff’s deputy. Shoaf (portrayed by Anne of Green Gables’ Julia Lalonde) was taken while walking home from the school bus stop and stashed in an underground bunker, which was located deep in the woods and undetectable to the police and volunteers involved in the ensuing search. She eventually manages to escape by earning the trust of her deranged captor, played by Henry Thomas (E.T.). The film also stars Moira Kelly (The West Wing, One Tree Hill) as Shoaf’s mother.
The film will debut Monday, 28 May at 8pm ET/PT. Viewers interested in hearing Shoaf’s own account of the harrowing ordeal depicted in the film can catch the companion docu-special Elizabeth Shoaf: The Girl in a Bunker right after the premiere at 10pm ET/PT.