Peggy Ann Bradnick
Encyclopedia
Peggy Ann Bradnick was 17 years old when she was kidnapped by ex-convict and ex-mental patient, William Diller Hollenbaugh a.k.a. "The Mountain Man", "The Bicycle Man", and "Bicycle Pete," near Shade Gap, Pennsylvania
in May 1966. She was held captive by him for seven days, before being rescued by state troopers and other lawmen at a farm in Burnt Cabins, Pennsylvania
. Her ordeal made national headlines.
They lived in Shade Gap, Pennsylvania
, a small village in Huntingdon County
. Peggy Ann attended Southern Huntingdon County High School.
Hollenbaugh was convicted of burglary in 1939 and spent the next 20 years in prison and the insane asylum. In 1962 he came to Shade Gap. He was called "The Bicycle Man" or "Bicycle Pete" because he rode a bicycle all around the Shade Gap area. In August 1964 he broke into the home of Mrs. Christine Devinney. He shot a rifle out of her hand, but then bound her wound and left. Shortly thereafter, a woman driving on a back road was blocked by a pile of logs and a man fired a shot breaking her baby's nursing bottle. On Good Friday, April 16, 1965, Ned Price surprised a trespasser on his property and was shot and lost a leg. These incidents and others led to this sniper being known as "The Mountain Man." Hollenbaugh told Peggy Ann that he was responsible for these shootings.
Leaving Mary Louise to tend to the younger children, Jim Bradnick ran home and told his father, who was home frying chicken for dinner, while their mother was on a housecleaning job. Eugene Bradnick ran to try to find Peggy Ann; when he could not, he went into town to notify the police.
Stopping in a clearing in the woods, Hollenbaugh took off his goggles and stowed them in a haversack he was carrying. He then took out a cheek-filler made from two wooden discs wired together. Peggy Ann was so startled she blurted out, "I think I know who you are," and identified him as the "Bicycle Man". Hollenbaugh then removed a second jacket and second pair of pants and ordered Peggy Ann to wear them over her dress, saying, "That red dress sticks out like a sore thumb."
He took Peggy Ann under the Pennsylvania Turnpike
through a culvert and was out of the search area. But then he was worried about his dogs, so he took her back north of the turnpike. He fetched a chain, chained her to a tree, and attempted to get his dogs but was not successful at that time. He took Peggy Ann to a cave that he had dug into the mountain, got a couple of cans of food and shared them with her. A few days later, he was able to fetch his dogs.
On May 16, he forced Peggy Ann to accompany him as he burglarized a house. He found a .32 automatic in the house.
On May 17, FBI agent Terry Ray Anderson spotted one of the Mountain Man's dogs and called to it. The Mountain Man (William Diller Hollenbaugh) opened fire, killing Anderson. He then shot two tracking dogs, killing one. Some of the other searchers spotted Peggy Ann so they knew she was still alive. They disappeared into the forest before the searchers could reach them.
That evening, after being unable to escape the search area by going under a bridge near Fort Littleton, Hollenbaugh came to a hunting lodge with a car parked there, in Burnt Cabins. The lodge had an outside washhouse. He made Peggy Ann hide with him in the shower of the washhouse. Shortly after dawn, Cambria County Deputy Sheriff Francis Sharpe came out to use the washhouse, where Hollenbaugh shot and wounded him. He then forced Sharpe to drive him and Peggy Ann toward the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The car was stopped by a closed cattle gate. Rain had been falling that morning, sometimes heavily. Hollenbaugh ordered Sharpe to open the gate. Sharpe called out to officers near the gate that Hollenbaugh was in the car. Hollenbaugh began firing through the car windows, left the car, and eventually got away; he took Peggy Ann down to US 522 and a farm owned by Luther Rubeck.
At first it was thought that Larry Rubeck had killed Hollenbaugh. That was reported in newspapers published that afternoon, May 18, 1966, and the following morning. Later it was determined that State Trooper Grant H. Mixell fired the fatal shot.
Peggy Ann was taken to the Fulton County Medical Center and reunited with her family. She had no serious injuries and had not been sexually assaulted
, but her feet were badly blistered and she was dehydrated. She gave an interview with the media a few days later. She left the Medical Center on June 1.
Peggy Ann Bradnick told her story to the Saturday Evening Post, which published it in their July 16, 1966 edition.
On Holy Thursday, March 23, 1967, Peggy Ann was married to Darrell Logan. They lived in Lewistown, Pennsylvania
. They had a daughter, Alicia. They moved to La Porte, Indiana
shortly thereafter. Darrell Logan died on February 18, 1980. Peggy Ann was remarried to Albert Jackson in August 1984. Her father, Eugene Bradnick, died on December 23, 1987. Peggy Ann and Albert Jackson moved back to Pennsylvania in 1990 and are now living in southern Huntingdon County. Her daughter, now Alicia Stiltner, had a son, Peggy Ann's grandson. His name is Brian and he is in the United States Army
. He is now married. Her mother, Mildred Bradnick, died on March 19, 2004. On October 16, 2008, Peggy Ann Bradnick Jackson made her first major public appearance as featured speaker at the Fulton County Historical Society's Fulton Fall Folk Festival to a standing room only crowd. She continues to make public appearances, planning to make sixty per year. She spoke at the Maryland Correctional Training Center on April 23, 2010. She was the featured speaker at the Fulton Fall Folk Festival again on Thursday evening, October 14, 2010. She spoke at the meeting of the Middleburg/Mason-Dixon Historical Society at State Line, PA, on Thursday, April 21, 2011. On Sunday, October 16, 2011, a marker was erected at the cemetery in Shade Gap, PA, to honor slain FBI Agent Terry Ray Anderson. Peggy Ann was present at the ceremony.
movie of the week, Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann, was produced about the kidnapping and first shown on May 6, 1991, with Megan Follows
playing the part of Peggy Ann Bradnick, David Morse
as Hollenbaugh, David Soul
as Agent Anderson, and Taylor Fry as Carol Jean Bradnick.
John Madara, David White, and Jimmy Wisner wrote a song called "Eight Days at Sha-de Gap" in 1967, sung by Russ Edwards, and recorded on the Decca label. It is available on YouTube.
Shade Gap, Pennsylvania
Shade Gap is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 97 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Shade Gap is located at ....
in May 1966. She was held captive by him for seven days, before being rescued by state troopers and other lawmen at a farm in Burnt Cabins, Pennsylvania
Burnt Cabins, Pennsylvania
Burnt Cabins is an unincorporated community in Dublin Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania, United States, at the foot of Tuscarora Mountain. It contains U.S. Route 522 and I-76 ....
. Her ordeal made national headlines.
Prelude
Peggy Ann was the oldest of six siblings. At the time she was kidnapped, she had a brother Jim, 16; a sister, Mary Louise, 11; twin brother and sister, Donnie and Debbie, 9; and a sister, Carol Jean, 8. Her parents were Eugene and Mildred Bradnick.They lived in Shade Gap, Pennsylvania
Shade Gap, Pennsylvania
Shade Gap is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 97 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Shade Gap is located at ....
, a small village in Huntingdon County
Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania
Huntingdon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2010, its population was 45,913.Huntingdon County was created on September 20, 1787, from part of Bedford County. Its county seat is Huntingdon.-Geography:According to the U.S...
. Peggy Ann attended Southern Huntingdon County High School.
Hollenbaugh was convicted of burglary in 1939 and spent the next 20 years in prison and the insane asylum. In 1962 he came to Shade Gap. He was called "The Bicycle Man" or "Bicycle Pete" because he rode a bicycle all around the Shade Gap area. In August 1964 he broke into the home of Mrs. Christine Devinney. He shot a rifle out of her hand, but then bound her wound and left. Shortly thereafter, a woman driving on a back road was blocked by a pile of logs and a man fired a shot breaking her baby's nursing bottle. On Good Friday, April 16, 1965, Ned Price surprised a trespasser on his property and was shot and lost a leg. These incidents and others led to this sniper being known as "The Mountain Man." Hollenbaugh told Peggy Ann that he was responsible for these shootings.
Kidnapping
On May 11, 1966, as Peggy Ann was walking home from her school bus stop with her five siblings, they were intercepted by Hollenbaugh, who grabbed Peggy Ann and dragged her into the woods.Leaving Mary Louise to tend to the younger children, Jim Bradnick ran home and told his father, who was home frying chicken for dinner, while their mother was on a housecleaning job. Eugene Bradnick ran to try to find Peggy Ann; when he could not, he went into town to notify the police.
Stopping in a clearing in the woods, Hollenbaugh took off his goggles and stowed them in a haversack he was carrying. He then took out a cheek-filler made from two wooden discs wired together. Peggy Ann was so startled she blurted out, "I think I know who you are," and identified him as the "Bicycle Man". Hollenbaugh then removed a second jacket and second pair of pants and ordered Peggy Ann to wear them over her dress, saying, "That red dress sticks out like a sore thumb."
He took Peggy Ann under the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. The three sections of the turnpike system total . The main section extends from Ohio to New Jersey and is long...
through a culvert and was out of the search area. But then he was worried about his dogs, so he took her back north of the turnpike. He fetched a chain, chained her to a tree, and attempted to get his dogs but was not successful at that time. He took Peggy Ann to a cave that he had dug into the mountain, got a couple of cans of food and shared them with her. A few days later, he was able to fetch his dogs.
On May 16, he forced Peggy Ann to accompany him as he burglarized a house. He found a .32 automatic in the house.
On May 17, FBI agent Terry Ray Anderson spotted one of the Mountain Man's dogs and called to it. The Mountain Man (William Diller Hollenbaugh) opened fire, killing Anderson. He then shot two tracking dogs, killing one. Some of the other searchers spotted Peggy Ann so they knew she was still alive. They disappeared into the forest before the searchers could reach them.
That evening, after being unable to escape the search area by going under a bridge near Fort Littleton, Hollenbaugh came to a hunting lodge with a car parked there, in Burnt Cabins. The lodge had an outside washhouse. He made Peggy Ann hide with him in the shower of the washhouse. Shortly after dawn, Cambria County Deputy Sheriff Francis Sharpe came out to use the washhouse, where Hollenbaugh shot and wounded him. He then forced Sharpe to drive him and Peggy Ann toward the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The car was stopped by a closed cattle gate. Rain had been falling that morning, sometimes heavily. Hollenbaugh ordered Sharpe to open the gate. Sharpe called out to officers near the gate that Hollenbaugh was in the car. Hollenbaugh began firing through the car windows, left the car, and eventually got away; he took Peggy Ann down to US 522 and a farm owned by Luther Rubeck.
Hunt
A massive manhunt (the largest conducted in Pennsylvania up to that time) of over 1,000 federal, state and local law officers, National Guardsmen, and civilian volunteers scoured the hills surrounding Shade Gap for any sign of Peggy Ann and her abductor.Rescue
At the Rubeck farm, searchers converged on Hollenbaugh and Peggy Ann. He opened fire with a pistol, ducked behind a corncrib and ran across the road to the porch of a farmhouse. Two shots rang out simultaneously—one fired by Larry Rubeck, 15, from the farmhouse, the other by a state policeman. Hollenbaugh fell dying.At first it was thought that Larry Rubeck had killed Hollenbaugh. That was reported in newspapers published that afternoon, May 18, 1966, and the following morning. Later it was determined that State Trooper Grant H. Mixell fired the fatal shot.
Peggy Ann was taken to the Fulton County Medical Center and reunited with her family. She had no serious injuries and had not been sexually assaulted
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, but her feet were badly blistered and she was dehydrated. She gave an interview with the media a few days later. She left the Medical Center on June 1.
Aftermath
The incident was detailed in the true crime book Deadly Pursuit by Robert V. Cox. ISBN 0811704815Peggy Ann Bradnick told her story to the Saturday Evening Post, which published it in their July 16, 1966 edition.
On Holy Thursday, March 23, 1967, Peggy Ann was married to Darrell Logan. They lived in Lewistown, Pennsylvania
Lewistown, Pennsylvania
Lewistown is a borough in and the county seat of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It lies along the Juniata River, northwest of Harrisburg. The number of people living in the borough in 1900 was 4,451; in 1910, 8,166; and in 1940, 13,017. The population was 8,998 at the 2000 census,...
. They had a daughter, Alicia. They moved to La Porte, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
shortly thereafter. Darrell Logan died on February 18, 1980. Peggy Ann was remarried to Albert Jackson in August 1984. Her father, Eugene Bradnick, died on December 23, 1987. Peggy Ann and Albert Jackson moved back to Pennsylvania in 1990 and are now living in southern Huntingdon County. Her daughter, now Alicia Stiltner, had a son, Peggy Ann's grandson. His name is Brian and he is in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. He is now married. Her mother, Mildred Bradnick, died on March 19, 2004. On October 16, 2008, Peggy Ann Bradnick Jackson made her first major public appearance as featured speaker at the Fulton County Historical Society's Fulton Fall Folk Festival to a standing room only crowd. She continues to make public appearances, planning to make sixty per year. She spoke at the Maryland Correctional Training Center on April 23, 2010. She was the featured speaker at the Fulton Fall Folk Festival again on Thursday evening, October 14, 2010. She spoke at the meeting of the Middleburg/Mason-Dixon Historical Society at State Line, PA, on Thursday, April 21, 2011. On Sunday, October 16, 2011, a marker was erected at the cemetery in Shade Gap, PA, to honor slain FBI Agent Terry Ray Anderson. Peggy Ann was present at the ceremony.
Fictional portrayals
An NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
movie of the week, Cry in the Wild: The Taking of Peggy Ann, was produced about the kidnapping and first shown on May 6, 1991, with Megan Follows
Megan Follows
Megan Elizabeth Laura Diana Follows is a Canadian/American actress. She is most known to international audiences for her role as Anne Shirley in the acclaimed 1985 Canadian television miniseries Anne of Green Gables and its two sequels.-Biography:Follows was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as the...
playing the part of Peggy Ann Bradnick, David Morse
David Morse (actor)
David Bowditch Morse is an American stage, television, and film actor. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack Morrison in the medical drama St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988...
as Hollenbaugh, David Soul
David Soul
David Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
as Agent Anderson, and Taylor Fry as Carol Jean Bradnick.
John Madara, David White, and Jimmy Wisner wrote a song called "Eight Days at Sha-de Gap" in 1967, sung by Russ Edwards, and recorded on the Decca label. It is available on YouTube.
Further reading
- Simpson, Adrian "Peggy to Describe 7 Days As Captive" and "The Sniper Tried The Door--And Then Bullets Flew.." Hagerstown Morning Herald, 19 May 1966http://www.philsp.com/homeville/fmi/t1483.htm#A32434
- Cox, Robert V. Deadly Pursuit.
- Snyder, Jean (October 23, 2008). Peggy Ann Recounts Shade Gap Abduction. The Fulton County News (McConnellsburg, PA).
- Dearth, Dan (April 23, 2010). Shade Gap Kidnapping Victim Shares Story at MCTC. The Herald-Mail (Hagerstown, MD).
- Staff (October 14, 2010). Peggy Ann Bradnick To Share Experiences During FFFF. The Fulton County News (McConnellsburg, PA).
- Hurst, David (October 20, 2011). Peggy Ann Bradnick Kidnapping Reunion Draws Memories. The Fulton County News (McConnellsburg, PA).
- Ott, Pamela and Strait, Lunda. The Mountain Man - The Peggy Ann Bradnick Kidnapping. Pp 123-4, My HOME is Fulton Couny, Pennsylvania. A publication of the Fulton County Historical Society.