Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 16, 1993 TAG: 9301160052
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
GIRL, HELD CAPTIVE, GETS OFFERS OF HELP
Counselors tried to help 10-year-old Katie Beers get over the trauma of her 16-day entombment in a dank dungeon and calls poured in from around the country Friday with offers of money, toys - even adoption.Calls were received by state and county offices and by the news media.
In a telephone call to The Associated Press, one anonymous caller from Philadelphia voiced the sentiments of many touched by Katie's ordeal.
"Anybody would be touched by this," said the caller, who wanted to set up a trust fund for Katie. "Any human being would be touched. Especially someone who has children of their own. It's such a shame."
Katie was held, sometimes chained by the neck, at the home of the family friend who reported her disappearance. John Esposito, 43, was being held on $500,000 bail on second-degree kidnapping charges.
In a public briefing, police said Katie didn't have the run of the 6-by-7-foot room Esposito constructed beneath his Long Island home, but was confined to a compartment, 7 feet long, 2 feet wide and 3 feet high, that was bolted to the ceiling.
Hundreds of people have called Suffolk County officials asking to donate money to Katie, become her foster parents or adopt her. Some showed up holding stuffed animals at the offices of Suffolk County Child Protective Services.
No funds have been set up for the girl.
Katie said she screamed in terror when she was forced into the subterranean room, police said Friday.
During her captivity, "I cried a lot," the girl told a law enforcement source, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
The source talked to Katie on Friday and described her as "a very happy, perky little girl. It's amazing she came through it like this."
But as the nation responded to Katie's plight, her extended family fought over custody. Her mother, Marilyn Beers, 43, an unemployed cab driver, and godmother, Linda Inghilleri, 43, both say they want the child back.
Katie was discharged Thursday night from a hospital and was being held at an undisclosed location. Social workers said she will be undergoing psychological counseling and placed in a foster home before a permanent decision on her custody is made.