Held Hostage

Held Hostage
Based on	Held Hostage: The True Story of a Mother and Daughter's Kidnapping by Michelle Renee Ramskill-Estey as Michelle Renee
Teleplay by	James Kearns Maria Nation
Directed by	Grant Harvay
Starring	Julie Benz Brendan Penny Sonja Bennett Natasha Calis
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Running time	86 minutes
Original release
Network	Lifetime
Release	July 19, 2009 (2009-07-19)

Held Hostage is a Lifetime Movie starring Julie Benz that aired on July 19, 2009. It is based on the true story of Michelle Renee Ramskill-Estey who also wrote the novel. Hal Foxton Beckett was nominated for a Leo Award for the music featured in the movie.

Plot

Michelle Ramskill-Estey (Julie Benz), a single mother, is kidnapped by three masked men and held hostage until she is forced to rob a bank which is the only option she has to save her only child's life while they are both wired to explode.[1]

Actual events

In November 2000, Michelle Ramskill-Estey and her 7-year-old daughter Breea Ramskill returned to their Needles, California home, only to find 4 men, armed with guns. They strapped fake bombs to the two and ordered Ramskill-Estey to drive to a Bank of America location, where she worked, and give them the $360,000 in the vault.[2][3] Three people were charged, two men and one woman. The two men were convicted and the woman was acquitted of all charges.[4][5] The story was shown on I Survived... and 48 Hours.

Cast

• Julie Benz as Michelle Ramskill-Estey
• Brendan Penny as Chris Clark/Money One
• Sonja Bennett as Sandi Clark
• Natasha Calis as Breea Ramskill

Other media

The case was reconstructed for an episode of the Japanese television show World Extreme Mystery, which aired in 2019.

References

1. "Man Gets Life For Kidnapping Bank Manager". ABC 10News. February 28, 2003. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
2. Casey Glynn (September 10, 2012). "FBI investigates Calif. bank heist, alleged kidnap as possible "copycat" case". CBS News. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
3. "Vista Bank Kidnappers Convicted". ABC 10News. September 12, 2002. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
4. Moshay Simpson (June 19, 2002). "He testifies bank manager came up with robbery idea". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
5. ""48 Hours Mystery:" Show Me The Money". CBS News. October 3, 2009. Retrieved March 9, 2015.

External links

• Held Hostage at IMDb