How 14-Year-Old Elizabeth Shoaf Outsmarted a Maniac and Saved Her Life

The life of 36-year-old Vinson Philau was not very righteous, so he lived away from people, in a dugout in the forest. This seclusion was the result of his terrible act: he raped a 12-year-old classmate of his adopted daughter. The police were looking for the criminal, and he was forced to hide in the forest wilderness. Without access to the benefits of civilization, he learned to survive by avoiding people. But even in these conditions, Philau planned a new crime, which almost turned into a tragedy.

Vinson Philau was offended by the whole world. He sincerely believed that his "momentary weakness" did not deserve severe punishment, much less the life of a hermit in the forest. In revenge on fate, he decided to kidnap a schoolgirl for love pleasures, to somehow smooth over the feeling of injustice. Philau began to study the surrounding roads and stops, looking for a victim and waiting for the right moment.

Elizabeth Shoaf, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, lived with her parents in the small town of Lugoff, South Carolina. Her home was just a mile from where Vinson Filau was hiding. As fate would have it, their paths crossed on September 6, 2006. Elizabeth got off a school bus near her home when a man in a police uniform approached her.

The "officer" sternly asked the girl's name and said she would have to go with him to the station. He said Elizabeth was suspected of possessing and distributing drugs and he needed to check something. In reality, it was Vinson Filau who had somehow gotten hold of an old police uniform to mislead the victim.

Soon Elizabeth also realized that her companion was not a policeman. The girl knew very well where the police station of her small town was, but they went in the other direction and went deeper into the forest. They circled along barely noticeable forest paths - Philau tried to confuse the victim and create the impression that they had gone far from the city.

The schoolgirl was afraid to contradict the stranger, but she did something anyway. She "lost" first one, then the second shoe. Elizabeth hoped that this would help the police in their search. After several hours of exhausting hiking, Vinson Philau brought the girl to his dugout. He chained her and raped her.

The maniac threatened the victim that if she tried to escape or disobeyed, he would blow her up with a homemade bomb. And this was not an empty threat - his dugout really did contain explosives assembled from improvised materials. Philau raped Elizabeth several times a day, constantly shouting at her and threatening her.

Although the girl was very scared, she decided not to give up. Elizabeth developed a cunning plan that helped her survive. After a couple of days, she pretended to accept her situation. She told the rapist that he liked having sex with him and drew him into conversations on personal topics. The conversations did their job: Philau began to trust the captive. He began to treat her more gently and even removed the chain.

Sometimes he took Elizabeth for walks in the woods, keeping an eye on her. It was impossible to escape, but the girl did not lose hope and actively "followed". In different places she left clumps of hair and scraps of clothing, hoping that the search dogs would pick up the scent. Unfortunately, the police searched for her all over the state, but not in the nearby woods. No one even suggested that the kidnapped girl could be just a mile from home.

On the tenth day of her captivity, Elizabeth persuaded Vinson to give her the phone, supposedly to play with. By that time, the maniac trusted his captive so much that he gave her the device without hesitation. When he dozed off, the girl wrote a message to her mother. The woman immediately went to the sheriff, but he did not want to file a request to track the phone for a long time. The search for Elizabeth Shoaf was carried out throughout the state, and every day there were false calls and messages from pranksters and lunatics.

But it turned out that the number from which the message came was registered in the name of a man wanted for sexual crimes. This convinced the police to begin active actions. The location of the phone was determined. But in the meantime, Philau was closely monitoring the progress of the search, using the radio and walkie-talkie. He realized that the cops were on his trail and were about to reach his dugout.

Elizabeth did not lose her head, noticing Philau's confusion. She calmly suggested that he drop everything and run, leaving her in the shelter. The girl assured him that she would delay the police, sending them down the wrong path. By that time, the maniac trusted his captive so much that he saw her almost as an ally. Without wasting time, he obeyed and rushed to carry out her plan.

Vinson Philau ran into the bush, leaving Elizabeth at the entrance to the bunker. Police found the girl shortly after. The criminal himself was caught a couple of hours later, having managed to get only a few miles from the shelter. Capt. David Thomley of the Kershaw County Sheriff's Department, who led the operation, later shared with reporters:

According to the officer, Elizabeth showed herself to be a brave and intelligent girl who did everything possible to save her life.

Vinson Filau confessed to all the crimes during the first interrogations, hoping for leniency from the law. It is difficult to say whether the scoundrel’s sincere confession influenced the sentence – he was sentenced to 421 years in prison, on several serious charges. Filau was also deprived of the possibility of parole. He died in his cell of a heart attack in 2021 at the age of 51.

Elizabeth Shoaf successfully graduated from school, received an education and got married. Now she is raising a daughter, works as a dental assistant and practices karate. In addition, Elizabeth is actively involved in public life. She cooperates with the sheriff's office and gives lectures for children and parents. At these meetings, she shares her experience on how to act in extreme situations.

The story of a resourceful schoolgirl's rescue from a maniac formed the basis of the film "The Girl in the Bunker", released in 2018. Elizabeth Shoaf managed to demonstrate incredible ingenuity and endurance in a situation that seemed hopeless. What skills do you think are most important for survival in such extreme conditions?