# Captive Witness > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Captive_Witness > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Captive_Witness.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captive_Witness > Source revision: 1354714183 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Nancy Drew 64, published 1981 Captive Witness First edition Author Carolyn Keene Cover artist Ruth Sanderson[1] Language English Series Nancy Drew stories Genre Detective, mystery novel Published November 11, 1981[2] Publisher Wanderer Books Publication place United States Media type Print (paperback) Pages 186 Preceded by The Twin Dilemma Followed by Mystery of the Winged Lion ***Captive Witness*** is the 64th volume in the [Nancy Drew](/source/Nancy_Drew) Stories series.[3] It was originally published in 1981 by the Wanderer imprint of Simon & Schuster and ghostwritten by Richard Ballard. Scholastic also released a version of the book, titled as *Captive Witness Mystery.*[4] The original edition cover was by [Ruth Sanderson](/source/Ruth_Sanderson), with six internal illustrations by Paul Frame. ## Plot summary Nancy is on a student tour of [Austria](/source/Austria) with Emerson college. After an attempted theft, the tour leader, professor Raymond Bagley, tells Nancy of his secret mission: to smuggle ten children aged six to thirteen out of an Iron Curtain country to relatives in England, France, and the United States. Another Emerson student, Eric Nagy, who had been paralyzed by an accident and uses a wheelchair, is also in on the mission as his thirteen-year-old cousin is one of the children. Upon arriving in [Salzburg](/source/Salzburg), the large group finds that their hotel reservations have been canceled. An obnoxious man named Herr Gutterman offers reservations at another hotel for a large group that had canceled. Grudgingly, the professor accepts the offer as there is no other alternative. At the hotel, Nancy focuses on an assignment given to her by her father. A famous film director named Kurt Kessler created a devastating political film about the oppression of human rights in his home country in Eastern Europe. However, the film was stolen and the studio with the negative burned down, so the stolen film is the only copy of Kessler's *Captive Witness.* Kessler had hoped to enter a film contest in five days, and unless Nancy can find his film, he will not be able to show the world his important work. ancy thinks that the stolen film is in Vienna, which the tour will not reach for another few days, so she convinces her boyfriend Ned Nickerson to drive there with her. Because no rental cars are available, Nancy convinces Herr Gutterman to take her and Ned in his car. As soon as they leave, however, Nancy realizes that she and Ned are being kidnapped by Herr Gutterman, who is the person who tried to steal Professor Bagley's luggage. Herr Gutterman and his chauffeur, Herr Burger, drive Nancy and Ned high into the Alps. Herr Burger is not a cautious driver, and the car almost goes over the edge of a cliff. Later, Gutterman and Burger drive up to a small cabin high in the Alps. They question Nancy, but she escapes and steals their car. The car is amphibious, and she and Ned drive into a river that turns into a waterfall. They make it safely to Vienna. After an attempt to find the film fails, Nancy goes with Gutterman and sees half of *Captive Witness*. She returns to the hotel to meet Ned, and later the rest of the tour arrives. While they are eating lunch, a man tells Professor Bagley that he has a message for him regarding the children. But before he can say anything, he has a heart attack. While being lifted into the ambulance, the man keeps looking at Eric as if trying to say something. Nancy has a sudden idea and takes apart Eric's wheelchair, where she finds an envelope containing information on where to bring the children across the border. She meets Emile Popov, who asks for help in the rescue mission as two of the couples who planned to help the operation have been arrested, and the refugee organization does not have anyone it can spare. Eric reveals that he can actually walk, and Nancy then devises a daring plan. She send her friends on a decoy mission to throw Gutterman off the trail, and she and Eric successfully rescue the children with the help of Emile Popov and his wife. She then finds the stolen film, *Captive Witness*. It is shown at the film festival and wins first prize. ## Background *Captive Witness* was ghostwritten by Richard Ballard. Due to its primary plot of pre-[Glasnost](/source/Glasnost#Glasnost_in_the_USSR) international intrigue, many have theorized the title was originally written to be a part of *The Hardy Boys* series. In 2005, Simon & Schuster allowed *Captive Witness* and the seven titles before it to be republished by Grosset & Dunlap in hardcover "glossy flashlight" format for the first time. The reasoning behind it was for the 75th anniversary of the Nancy Drew character, and the 100th anniversary of the [Stratemeyer Syndicate](/source/Stratemeyer_Syndicate). ## Characters [Nancy Drew](/source/Nancy_Drew) [Ned Nickerson](/source/Ned_Nickerson): Nancy's boyfriend Professor Raymond Bagley: leader of the Emerson tour of Austria, who is using the tour as a cover for his secret mission to rescue ten orphans Eric Nagy: Emerson student involved in the mission to save the ten children Herr Adolph Gutterman: Obnoxious villain who wants to foil the rescue mission and have Kurt Kessler surrender George Fayne: Nancy's best friend Bess Marvin: Nancy's best friend and George's first cousin Burt Eddleton: George's boyfriend and Emerson college student who helps in the rescue mission Dave Evans: Bess's boyfriend and Emerson college student who helps in the rescue mission Emile Popov: A man who helps Nancy and Eric in the rescue mission Kurt Kessler: a film director from River Heights but originally from an Iron Curtain country. He created the film *Captive Witness* about his homeland Herr Burger: Herr Gutterman's chauffeur who almost drives their car over a cliff ## Artwork The original edition featured cover art by [Ruth Sanderson](/source/Ruth_Sanderson) and six internal illustrations by Paul Frame. It was published under the Wanderer imprint of [Simon and Schuster](/source/Simon_%26_Schuster). It was later republished under both Wanderer (1986, cover art by Hector Garrido) and Minstrel (1990, cover art by Linda Thomas) printings with a new cover each time. These two later printings did not include the internal illustrations. Scholastic also released the book in 1981 under the title "Captive Witness Mystery", with different cover art by Kinuko Craft. ## Adaptation The 24th installment in the Nancy Drew [point-and-click adventure game](/source/Point-and-click_adventure_game) series by [Her Interactive](/source/Her_Interactive), named *[Nancy Drew: The Captive Curse](/source/Nancy_Drew%3A_The_Captive_Curse)*, is loosely based on the novel.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [*Captive Witness* at *Nancy Drew World*](http://www.nancydrewworld.com/witness.html) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Captive witness / by Carolyn Keene \[pseud.\]; illustrated by Paul Frame"](https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=4&ti=1,4&Search_Arg=Captive%20Witness&Search_Code=TALL&SL=None&CNT=100&PID=6wbDIiS5CcKGMgaBn1SsKAuifaKi&SEQ=20190424001548&SID=10). *United States Copyright Catalog*. Retrieved April 23, 2019. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [*Captive Witness*](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/924453786) at [WorldCat](/source/WorldCat) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Original edition](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23866281) at WorldCat v t e Nancy Drew Stratemeyer Syndicate Carolyn Keene Edward Stratemeyer Characters Nancy Drew George Fayne Ned Nickerson Writers Mildred Benson Walter Karig Harriet Adams Susan Wittig Albert George Edward Stanley James D. Lawrence See also The Hardy Boys Tom Swift TV series The Dana Girls Books Nancy Drew Mystery Stories The Secret of the Old Clock (1930) The Hidden Staircase (1930) The Bungalow Mystery (1930) The Mystery at Lilac Inn (1930) The Secret at Shadow Ranch (1931) The Secret of Red Gate Farm (1931) The Clue in the Diary (1932) Nancy's Mysterious Letter (1932) The Sign of the Twisted Candles (1933) The Password to Larkspur Lane (1933) The Clue of the Broken Locket (1934) The Message in the Hollow Oak (1935) The Mystery of the Ivory Charm (1936) The Whispering Statue (1937) The Haunted Bridge (1937) The Clue of the Tapping Heels (1939) The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk (1940) The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion (1941) The Quest of the Missing Map (1942) The Clue in the Jewel Box (1943) The Secret in the Old Attic (1944) The Clue in the Crumbling Wall (1945) The Mystery of the Tolling Bell (1946) The Clue in the Old Album (1947) The Ghost of Blackwood Hall (1948) The Clue of the Leaning Chimney (1949) The Secret of the Wooden Lady (1950) The Clue of the Black Keys (1951) The Mystery at the Ski Jump (1952) The Clue of the Velvet Mask (1953) The Ringmaster's Secret (1953) The Scarlet Slipper Mystery (1954) The Witch Tree Symbol (1955) The Hidden Window Mystery (1956) The Haunted Showboat (1957) The Secret of the Golden Pavilion (1959) The Clue in the Old Stagecoach (1960) The Mystery of the Fire Dragon (1961) The Clue of the Dancing Puppet (1962) The Moonstone Castle Mystery (1963) The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes (1964) The Phantom of Pine Hill (1965) The Mystery of the 99 Steps (1966) The Clue in the Crossword Cipher (1967) The Spider Sapphire Mystery (1968) The Invisible Intruder (1969) The Mysterious Mannequin (1970) The Crooked Banister (1971) The Secret of Mirror Bay (1972) The Double Jinx Mystery (1973) Mystery of the Glowing Eye (1974) The Secret of the Forgotten City (1975) The Sky Phantom (1976) The Strange Message in the Parchment (1977) Mystery of Crocodile Island (1978) The Thirteenth Pearl (1979) The Triple Hoax (1979) The Flying Saucer Mystery (1980) The Secret in the Old Lace (1980) The Greek Symbol Mystery (1980) The Swami's Ring (1981) The Kachina Doll Mystery (1981) The Twin Dilemma (1981) Captive Witness (1981) Race Against Time (1982) The Broken Anchor (1983) The Mardi Gras Mystery (1988) The Case of the Rising Stars (1988) The Mystery of the Masked Rider (1992) The Treasure in the Royal Tower (1995) The Wedding Day Mystery (1997) The E-mail Mystery (1998) Whispers in the Fog (2000) The Legend of the Emerald Lady (2000) Mystery By Moonlight (2002) The Bike Tour Mystery (2002) The Mistletoe Mystery (2002) No Strings Attached (2003) The Riding Club Crime (2003) Danger on the Great Lakes (2003) Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland (2003) Other series The Nancy Drew Files (1986-97) Nancy Drew Notebooks (1993-2005) Nancy Drew on Campus (1995-98) Nancy Drew: Girl Detective (2004-12) Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew (2006-15) Nancy Drew Diaries (2013-present) Nancy Drew Clue Book (2015-present) Hardy Boys crossovers Be a Detective Mystery Stories (1984-85) Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Supermystery (1988-98) Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Mystery (2007-12) Other media Video games Secrets Can Kill (1998) (Remastered, 2010) Stay Tuned for Danger (1999) Message in a Haunted Mansion (2000) Treasure in the Royal Tower (2001) The Final Scene (2001) Secret of the Scarlet Hand (2002) Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake (2002) The Haunted Carousel (2003) Danger on Deception Island (2003) The Secret of Shadow Ranch (2004) Curse of Blackmoor Manor (2004) Secret of the Old Clock (2005) Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon (2005) Danger by Design (2006) The Creature of Kapu Cave (2006) The White Wolf of Icicle Creek (2007) Legend of the Crystal Skull (2007) The Phantom of Venice (2008) The Haunting of Castle Malloy (2008) Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses (2008) Ransom of the Seven Ships (2009) Dossier: Resorting to Danger (2009) Warnings at Waverly Academy (2009) Trail of the Twister (2010) Shadow at the Water's Edge (2010) The Captive Curse (2011) Alibi in Ashes (2011) Tomb of the Lost Queen (2012) The Deadly Device (2012) Ghost of Thornton Hall (2013) The Silent Spy (2013) The Shattered Medallion (2014) Labyrinth of Lies (2014) Sea of Darkness (2015) Midnight in Salem (2019) Mystery of the Seven Keys (2024) Film and television Nancy Drew: Detective (1938 film) Nancy Drew: Reporter (1939 film) Nancy Drew: Trouble Shooter (1939 film) Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939 film) The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977 TV series) Nancy Drew (1995 TV series) Nancy Drew (2002 TV movie) Nancy Drew (2007 film) Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019 film) Nancy Drew (2019 TV series) Authority control databases Open Library --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Captive Witness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captive_Witness) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captive_Witness?action=history)). 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