In November 2000, bank manager and single mother Michelle Renee was in her Vista, California, home with her seven-year-old daughter Breea, when three masked gunmen broke into the house. The gunmen held them captive overnight, and in the morning strapped dynamite onto their backs. Breea was shoved into a closet, while Michelle was ordered to rob the bank where she worked. She obeyed, and the next morning she cleaned out the bank vault and gave the gunmen a duffel bag containing $360,000. Police and FBI investigation soon apprehended four suspects: Christopher Butler, Lisa Ramirez, Christopher Huggins, and Robert Ortiz. “48 Hours" correspondent Susan Spencer reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 7/23/2010. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Full Episode
We had gotten home right around 6.30. The sun was setting, and we were getting ready to go into the house and make homemade pizzas. I was a single mother, and my daughter loved when we got to spend time together. We decided to sit down on the couch and play some Game Boy to unwind from the day. And then everything was completely shattered in one blink of an eye.
The back door to our house just came crashing in with a sound that is completely indescribable. There were three men all dressed in black and masked, rushing towards us, SWAT style, in a line. They grabbed us, threw us to the floor. One man was on my back with guns to my head, and the duct tape started to unroll and rip.
My daughter was out of sight, couldn't hear her, didn't know what was going on, and I was screaming for our life. There's three of them. There's nothing, absolutely nothing I could have done to protect her. I'm Michelle Renee, and I was kidnapped and held hostage along with my seven-year-old daughter.
We were held for 14 hours all night long until the next morning when it was time to, as they said, go to work. That meant go rob the bank on that day. They duct taped dynamite to our backs. He showed us a device that he said was a detonation device. He said, if you don't do everything perfect, your daughter will blow up first, you will blow up next. So don't screw this up.
Show me the money.
Tonight's 48 Hours Mystery.
I start feeling anxiety when I'm approaching the house.
It was here at this hillside home in Vista, California, where Michelle Renee once felt happiest.
lived in my dream house pretty much. It was up on top of a hill. It was overlooking the ocean.
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