In December 1968, a 20-year-old woman was buried alive in a wooden box beneath the Georgia countryside. Her kidnappers left her with an air supply, a little food, water, and a light. Then they walked away. Her name was Barbara Mackle, and she would spend more than three days underground, waiting for someone to find her before her air, supplies, or hope ran out. Barbara was a college student and the daughter of a wealthy Florida real estate developer. She had been staying at a motel in Decatur, Georgia, while recovering from the flu when a man posing as a police officer knocked on her door. The man was Gary Steven Krist, accompanied by Ruth Eisemann-Schier. They overpowered Barbara and her mother, then abducted the young woman. Their demand was staggering: $500,000 in ransom, equivalent to several million dollars today. But what they did to Barbara was almost beyond comprehension. They placed her inside a specially constructed fiberglass-reinforced wooden box, roughly the size of a coffin, and buried it in a remote wooded area. Inside were blankets, food, water, a battery-powered lamp, and a ventilation system. The kidnappers had even installed equipment intended to keep her alive while they negotiated payment. Barbara was completely alone. She could not stand. She could not escape. Above her was several feet of earth, and nobody passing through the woods would have known she was there. Her father arranged the ransom payment while the FBI launched a massive search. For approximately 83 hours, Barbara remained buried underground. Then, on December 20, FBI agents finally located the burial site. They dug through the earth, uncovered the box, and opened it. Barbara was alive. Despite the terrifying confinement, she had survived with remarkable composure. She was taken to safety and reunited with her family. Krist was eventually captured and convicted. Eisemann-Schier was also apprehended and imprisoned. Barbara later married, raised a family, and largely withdrew from public attention. But one detail makes her ordeal particularly haunting. Her kidnappers had photographed her lying inside the box before burying her. That photograph became one of the most chilling images associated with the case. A young woman staring upward from what was effectively her own grave. She was supposed to remain there until strangers decided whether she would live or die. Instead, 83 hours later, she emerged alive. #BarbaraMackle #TrueCrimeHistory - @stdbox2