Kidnapper was not helped

A NOTORIOUS Austrian kidnapper who held a young woman captive for eight and a half years acted alone, officials said yesterday.

Natascha Kampusch was snatched on her way to school in 1998 and imprisoned in a cramped, windowless cell. She fled in August 2006, aged 18, after making three failed attempts to get away.

Her abductor, Wolfgang Priklopil, committed suicide hours after her escape.

Theories had circulated suggesting Priklopil had accomplices.

But during a presentation of the latest – and final – findings in the case, senior prosecutors and other officials said they found no evidence that Priklopil had help carrying out his crime.