Michelle Knight Still Not Reunited With Family After Ohio Kidnap Rescue [Report]

Ohio kidnap victim Michelle Knight broke her silence yesterday in a video “thank you” released by Knight and fellow captives Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus — but after the three were unmasked for the first time and appeared well and on the mend, some reports suggest she has yet to see her family since the dramatic rescue two months ago.

Early reports indicate that Michelle Knight was a sole holdout in the days after the kidnapping, unwilling or reluctant to see her family following the long and harrowing ordeal.

The Ohio kidnap victims have been very thoroughly shielded in post-rescue reporting, with the only images of the three until this week dating back to before their kidnappings.

According to initial reports, Knight refused to see her family after she was rescued, possibly believing that no one had come looking for her after she vanished and was held captive by Ariel Castro for years.

Britain’s Daily Mail — which has, in the past, been the source of spurious claims and statements — quoted an unnamed direct source close to Michelle Knight’s mother Barbara.

The source, the paper says, confirms that Knight has refused contact with her mother, stemming back to Knight’s disappearance and a belief that the woman, then 21, had possibly run away when her child was taken by social services.

The friend allegedly told the Mail:

Barbara is hurt. She is very hurt. All she wants to do is see and speak to her daughter. She wants her youngest daughter Katie to meet Michelle … She has sent lots of letters and cards. Presumably they are being given to Michelle but she has not had a single word from her. She has tried repeatedly to make contact, but has heard nothing back. It is very sad.

The unnamed source added:

“Barbara is not interested in money. All she wants is to be reunited with her daughter.”

Michelle Knight has not publicly addressed the alleged familial rift following her rescue.