When you hear the word boogeyman, the first thing that comes to your mind is an American horror movie.
But what if we told you Andre Rand isn’t just a story but there’s basically an Andre Rand Documentary that you’d be surprised to know that it’s basically a piece of truth.
The Staten Island True Andre Rand American Horror Story
It’s not a myth but a reality where according to some urban legends on Staten Island, there was a man with a hook instead of a hand. This man kidnapped children and dragged them into the Seaview Hospital which was abandoned by the government for ages.
We’re not exaggerating when we tell you that this man actually, in real life, kidnapped children and one man in the early 1970s. Although only one body has been found, the police and people around believe this man is behind all of the dead and missing children. Andre Rand who was also known as Cropsey was never sentenced to jail or accused of murder even once in life.
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Andre Rand American Horror Story In Real Life
So this started in 1960 when Rand was working as a custodian which happened to be a school called Willowbrook State School. What’s crazy about this horror story and Andre Rand is that this school was for children with mental disabilities.
The school was exposed by an investigative report by Geraldo Rivera in 1972 for having low space and overcrowding of children there with inhumane conditions.
After the quick analysis by Government officials, they shut down Willowbrook State School in 1987. Although Andy left before the closure, 4 years before the shutting down, he worked for the Staten Island school bus company.
Story Of The Missing Children
Andre picked up some children that we know for sure were eleven in number, for lunch.
He took them to Newark Internation Airport in New Jersey while the parents of these children did not know about this. Right upon finding out, they threw him into jail since it’s a crime of course. Taking kids without their parent’s permission somewhere especially a whole school bus to a far-off place.
They sentenced him to 10 months in jail for unlawful imprisonment. They did believe that before this incident happened, on Staten Island, people did start to disappear. These people were not just children but elder men, adults, as well.
The Few Missing Children In The Beginning
Five-year-old Alice Pereira was the first little girl that went missing. It happened in 1972 when she was playing in a building with her brother on the island. When her brother left her alone for a bit and came back to see, she was missing. No one ever saw her again.
Just like that, a 7-year-old Holly Ann Hughes went to the store with her friend and no one saw her again. This happened in 1981. Andre Rand drove a Volkswagen at that time which people saw with their own eyes. He was driving up to these two girls heading towards the store.
He pulled inside his car Holly Ann Hughes and drove off quickly. We’re not sure whether people did think it was her kid or what. But what’s crazy is that no one did do anything, not at least the near-by witnesses.
Again in 1983, Tiahease Jackson who was an 11 year old was missing. Her parents filed a report for missing at the police station. But just like the rest of the kids, they did not see her again. This was basically 12 days after Rand got free from the jail.
The Kidnapping Continues
It’s quite insane to think that Andre Rand didn’t just abduct little girls.
But a 22-year-old Hank Gafforio was also one of his targets. Hank suffered from an extremely low I.Q and other disabilities regarding his mental health. People see Hank eating at a diner with Andre but then went missing the same day. It’s crazy to say that since there wasn’t enough evidence.
The court did not convict Andre of kidnapping or anything.
This event of missing people came to an end when the last little girl who was 12 years old. She was suffering from Down syndrome, went missing. People saw Jennifer Schweiger walking with Rand in early 1987.
People around the block searched 35 days straight for her when someone actually found a foot near Willowbrook Stae School. They found her body on the ground later. This was when they charged Andy with not just kidnapping but first-degree murder of Schweiger. But then again, because the jury couldn’t reach a verdict, they convicted him of only kidnapping and did sentence to 25 years.