STOCKTON, CA - For any parent hearing the news back in July of 1994, there had to be chills. A 12 year old Lodi girl was tricked into opening the front door while her parents were away, she was kidnapped, and not found for about 20 hours.
Twenty-one years later Katie Romanek is talking about what happened, how she struggled in the years following and how she wants to help other victims of violent crime.
"I need to help, it's why I"m alive, it's why I wasn't murdered. That's why I"m here. Why else would I be here," said Romanek. "Doesn't matter if it's women or a child, I want to be there for them. I'll hold their hand and be there for them," she said.
Romanek was home with her sister and a friend, when Steve Cochran knocked on the door and inquired about the sale of the home. Later in the night when Katie's older sister returned with a pizza, Cochran got into the home. He'd eventually take Katie, and assault her overnight in a pasture east of Stockton. Despite the violence she felt she'd survive the ordeal.
"We were hiding in this pond and I saw a frog. I said the Lords prayer saw the frog hop, and I knew I'd go home," Romanek said. The next morning, with Cochran no longer under the influence of meth, he ended the captivity.
"He told me not to follow him, but I did. I went in that same direction. He walked into people, and I walked into people," she said.
Though Romanek appeared at a brief news conference days later to thank police for her rescue, her life would turn difficult. There would be drug abuse, promiscuity and years later a marriage that ended quickly.
"I hate to use that as an excuse, but it's the truth, it's textbook; people who are victims do these things. It was pretty serious. I even ended up homeless and living out of my grand prix," said Romanek.
A cable T.V. producer recently contacted Romanek about telling her story of kidnap. Romanek realized the rest of her story could be even more helpful.
"I really feel it's important to reach families, bring them up, and heighten their sense of worth," she said.
While taking classes at Humphreys College in Stockton, she's also hoping to work for the San Joaquin Family Justice Center. Once built by the District Attorney's office, the center will offer a variety of services for victims of crime.
Romanek's kidnapper is serving a sentence of more than 100 years at a California state prison.
