If you are a fan Netflix true crime contentchances are you remember the Jan Broberg kidnapping case covered in the 2017 documentary “Kidnapped in plain sight.” The nature of Jan’s kidnapping, and the emotional upheaval it causes the Broberg family, is a terrifying and deeply disturbing story that will make you question who you trust, no matter how close or friendly they may seem.
After the documentary, Yana’s case is told again, but this time through a dramatic prism Peacock series “A friend of the family“, starring Colin Hanks, Anna Paquinand Jake Lacy. Ian, along with his mother, Mary Ann Broberg, executive produced the series, which premiered on Peacock on October 6. Read all about what Ian is up to today.
Who is Jan Broberg?
Born to Robert and Mary Ann Broberg on July 31, 1962, Ian grew up with his younger sisters, Karen and Susan, in the small town of Pocatello, Idaho. In the summer of 1972, the tight-knit family met Robert “Bob” Berchtold when his family moved a few streets away, according to ABC News. The Brobergs and the Berchtolds hit it off right away, as both Roberts had a lot in common, for example, their children were the same age and attended the same church.
As the families grew closer, Berchtold gradually began to gain their trust and became a father figure to the Broberg girls, especially Jan. Idaho State Journal, Berchtold regularly visited their home and showered Jan with attention and gifts. Jan’s seemingly innocent relationship with Berchtold, whom she often referred to as “B,” would take a dark turn in the fall of 1974.
How was Jan Broberg kidnapped twice?
By October 1974, Berchtold was essentially an extension of the Broberg family and was very close to Mary Ann, Robert and Jan in particular. When Berchtold approached Mary Ann and Robert one day to ask if he could give John a ride, the parents agreed. Berchtold, however, had other plans in mind. While taking Yana on horseback, he drugged and kidnapped her. When Jan woke up, she was in a mobile home in the middle of the desert (an investigation would later reveal that Jan was in Mexico), according to the Idaho State Journal.
She was brainwashed into thinking she had been abducted by aliens and that she had to complete a “mission” to save their planet by having a child with a “male companion,” she told the Idaho State Journal. When she was tied to the bed, there was a tape recorder next to her, and she later remembered it BBC, “The message said, ‘You will go to a motor home and meet a companion.’ All this time they called me “companion”. I get up and who’s laying on the little couch in the motor home? Robert Berchtold”.
Five weeks later, the FBI tracked down the couple, and Ian returned home without telling anyone about the violence and the aliens. “My dad never let Berchtold into our house, back into his life,” she explained to the BBC. “He knew something was completely wrong with him. But [my dad] didn’t know he molested me or raped me because I didn’t tell. People.
Two years later, in 1974, Berchtold kidnapped Jana a second time when she was 14. This time, instead of spending most of her time in his mobile home, Berchtold took Jana to Pasadena, California and enrolled her in a Catholic group for girls. boarding school under a different name, according to ABC News. Three months later, she was rescued again by the FBI, but this time Berchtold was sent to a mental hospital instead of prison.
Where is Jan Broberg now?
She has since recovered and sought counseling to get her life back on track, the BBC reported in June 2019. She also used her story to help other young children and parents find warning signs for herself and her family once she missed it. In 2003, Jan’s mother wrote a book called Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story. Gian told the BBC she hoped other survivors would feel “able to move forward with their lives and fix what’s broken” after hearing her story. Ian wants people to trust their instincts “and keep looking, not turn away.”
In addition to raising awareness of his story, Ian is also active in the film industry. Among her many credits, she is an actor, best known for her role as Louise on the WB’s Everwood, and now a producer on Family Friend. Touching on the impact of the show, Ian said “today” in October: “This way of storytelling allows the audience to get involved – to see themselves – so they can stop it in their tracks. If they notice something wrong in their own life, it’s not a big red flag. It’s just some spidery sense for, you know, 30 seconds.’
Watch Family Friend now streaming on Peacock and watch the series trailer below.