and teenage girls mysteriously vanished for months, even years at a time, only to reappear with wild stories of dungeon captivity and sexual slavery, stories that still might not be believed today if they hadn't turned out to be true. in mid-september 1988, the school year was in full swing and the syracuse football team was gearing up for another winning season. nobody around here was talking about a local native-american girl who'd simply vanished without a trace. that item never made the news. that girl, kirsten howard, was 14 that fall and growing up fast. out late on a saturday night drinking with friends. >> my friends were talking to somebody else up the street, and i was talking to somebody in a car, which i don't really remember.