Aug 9, 2026 · 45 min · 18 segments
On February 7, 2017, Connie and Larry Van Oosten awoke to a masked intruder standing over their bed, gun in hand. For the next two days, they were imprisoned and forced to withdraw $350,000 from their…
Tonight we're talking about Connie and Larry Van Oosten.
They were kidnapped from their own bedroom on February 7th, 2017 by a man with a gun.
And while they had been imprisoned by this person, they were forced to withdraw money from their bank, and they were threatened.
But before we get into that, we have to introduce all the players here.
Her religious household was tight-knit, and she was homeschooled alongside her siblings.
The family eventually relocated to Illinois, and Danielle sought out a friendship in college.
Her young sibling recommended she attend a Bible study with her at Black Hawk College in Moline, Illinois.
So Danielle went to an InterVarsity meeting, an Evangelical Christian student group on campus where she met Chad Christopher Shipper.
And this man was charismatic, full of life, very, I don't know, gregarious maybe.
[laughs] What do you think, Aaron?
Yeah, I mean, this is what drew her in, I guess.
She loved him right away, and she told her parents that she was gonna marry this guy, this guy named Chad.
That's just after one meeting.
Chad was said to be even-keeled, intelligent and kind.
In high school, he was the valedictorian and an active member of his youth group.
He studied finance, and Danielle obviously was taken with him.
Danielle described their first date in an interview with ABC News: Betrayal, Secrets and Lies.
She said they watched movies with her sister and her date.
She cooked lasagna, and Chad changed her car's oil.
She just felt really comfortable about him and with him and said that he seemed to understand her.
her.And when Chad proposed to her, it was a very grand gesture.
According to Donielle on the Betrayal Weekly iHeartRadio podcast, something about Chad you have to know.
He likes to do everything big.
Tonight we're talking about Connie and Larry Van Oosten.
They were kidnapped from their own bedroom on February 7th, 2017 by a man with a gun.
And while they had been imprisoned by this person, they were forced to withdraw money from their bank, and they were threatened.
But before we get into that, we have to introduce all the players here.
Her religious household was tight-knit, and she was homeschooled alongside her siblings.
The family eventually relocated to Illinois, and Danielle sought out a friendship in college.
Her young sibling recommended she attend a Bible study with her at Black Hawk College in Moline, Illinois.
So Danielle went to an InterVarsity meeting, an Evangelical Christian student group on campus where she met Chad Christopher Shipper.
And this man was charismatic, full of life, very, I don't know, gregarious maybe.
[laughs] What do you think, Aaron?
Yeah, I mean, this is what drew her in, I guess.
She loved him right away, and she told her parents that she was gonna marry this guy, this guy named Chad.
That's just after one meeting.
Chad was said to be even-keeled, intelligent and kind.
In high school, he was the valedictorian and an active member of his youth group.
He studied finance, and Danielle obviously was taken with him.
Danielle described their first date in an interview with ABC News: Betrayal, Secrets and Lies.
She said they watched movies with her sister and her date.
She cooked lasagna, and Chad changed her car's oil.
She just felt really comfortable about him and with him and said that he seemed to understand her.
her.And when Chad proposed to her, it was a very grand gesture.
According to Donielle on the Betrayal Weekly iHeartRadio podcast, something about Chad you have to know.
He likes to do everything big.
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