It’s been over a decade since that Monday in May when the world stopped. You probably remember the grainy footage of neighbor Charles Ramsey, the chaotic 911 call, and the collective gasp when we realized three women had been living in a "house of horrors" right in the middle of a Cleveland residential street. But honestly, the way we talk about Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight—and Amanda Berry—is often stuck in 2013. We focus on the chains, the basement, and the monster who put them there.
That’s a mistake.
If you look at where they are now, in 2026, the story isn't about the kidnapping anymore. It’s about what happens when people refuse to be defined by the worst thing that ever happened to them. People always ask, "How are they doing?" or "Do they still talk?" The reality is a lot more complex than a TV-movie ending. They aren't just "the girls from Cleveland" anymore; they're grown women who have spent the last 13 years reclaiming their names, their bodies, and their voices.
Michelle Knight: The Name You Might Not Know
Here’s a hard truth: when Michelle Knight went missing in 2002, the world didn’t look for her the way it looked for the others. She was 21, an adult. The police basically wrote her off as a runaway. They figured she was just a young mom who couldn't handle a custody battle and bailed.
Because of that, her face wasn't on the evening news for a decade. She didn't have the same massive search parties. While Gina DeJesus had vigils every year, Michelle was—for all intents and purposes—forgotten by the system.
Today, she doesn't even go by Michelle Knight. She’s Lily Rose Lee now.
She legally changed her name to distance herself from the trauma and the version of herself that was "the victim." Lily has been incredibly open about the fact that she was the one Castro targeted most brutally. She suffered five miscarriages because of the abuse she endured in that house.
Life as Lily Rose Lee
Nowadays, Lily is a different person. She got married in 2016. She’s a New York Times bestselling author. She’s heavily involved in animal rescue—basically running a mini-sanctuary for creatures that have also been discarded or hurt.
- Her Nonprofit: She started "Lily’s Ray of Hope," a foundation that helps victims of domestic violence, child abuse, and human trafficking.
- The Animals: Lily often says that animals were her first source of comfort after she got out. They didn't ask her questions. They just let her exist.
- The Son: One of the most heartbreaking parts of her story is her son, Joey. He was adopted while she was missing. While she hasn't disrupted his life, she has made it clear she loves him from afar and hopes to meet him on his own terms now that he’s an adult.
Gina DeJesus: Turning a Crime Scene into a Sanctuary
Gina DeJesus was only 14 when she was taken. She was a kid. When she came home at 23, she had to literally re-learn how to be a person in the modern world. Think about it: she missed the rise of the smartphone, the entire Obama era, and the transition from childhood to adulthood.
She famously had to re-learn Spanish because she hadn't spoken it in a decade.
But what Gina did next is probably one of the gutsiest things I've ever seen. She didn't move away to a quiet suburb and hide. She stayed in Cleveland. Even more than that, she opened her nonprofit, the Cleveland Family Center for Missing Children and Adults, right on the corner of West 25th and Seymour Avenue.
If you know the area, you know that’s basically a stone's throw from where the house stood.
Why she stayed
Most people would want to burn the whole neighborhood down and never look back. Not Gina. She wanted to reclaim the space. She wanted the street that was synonymous with her pain to become a place where other families find hope.
She works with her cousin, Sylvia Colon, who never stopped searching for her. They don't just "raise awareness"—they actually train police officers. They teach detectives how to talk to families of the missing so that cases like Michelle Knight’s don't happen again. Gina is "just a regular girl," as she puts it, but she’s arguably the most influential advocate for the missing in the Midwest.
The Bond: Are They Still Friends?
This is the question everyone searches for. People want to imagine them as this inseparable trio of sisters. The reality is more human than that.
They were bonded by trauma, but they are very different people. Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus remain very close. They wrote a book together (Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland). They show up at events together. They are family.
Lily Rose Lee (Michelle) took a slightly different path. She needed more space. She has stated in interviews that while she loves them and they share a bond no one else can understand, she needed to separate herself from the "Cleveland Three" identity to heal. It’s not that there’s "beef"—it’s just that healing isn't a one-size-fits-all process.
What Most People Get Wrong
People often think these women are fragile. Like they’re "broken."
If you spend five minutes listening to Gina talk about police reform or Lily talk about her advocacy work, you realize they are anything but fragile. They are experts. They know more about the psychology of survival, the failures of the American legal system, and the grit required to rebuild a life than almost any academic expert.
- Misconception: They "just want to move on."
- Reality: They have moved through it. They talk about it because they want to prevent it.
- Misconception: They are wealthy from their books/interviews.
- Reality: While the Cleveland Courage Fund helped them get on their feet, they work hard. Running a nonprofit like Gina’s or an advocacy platform like Lily’s is a full-time, often exhausting, job.
How to Support Their Work Today
If you actually want to honor the journey of Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, don't just go back and watch the old news clips. That’s voyeurism. Support the work they are doing now.
- Check out Cleveland Missing. If you’re in Ohio or just want to support a grassroots organization that actually helps families navigate the first 48 hours of a disappearance, Gina’s center is where the real work happens.
- Read "Life After Darkness." This is Lily’s (Michelle's) second book. It’s less about the kidnapping and more about the "now." It’s a blueprint for anyone dealing with PTSD or trauma.
- Pay Attention to the "Runaways." The biggest lesson from Michelle Knight’s case is that when the police say a young person "probably just ran away," they might be wrong. Advocacy for "missing adults" is a huge gap in our system that Lily continues to highlight.
Ultimately, their lives didn't end in that house. They started over. And honestly? That's the most "human" part of the whole story.
Next Steps for You
If you want to dive deeper into the actual systemic changes prompted by their story, look into the Northeast Ohio AMBER Alert Committee. Gina DeJesus sits on this board, and they’ve revolutionized how alerts are handled for kids who don't fit the "traditional" kidnapping profile. You can also visit the Cleveland Family Center for Missing Children and Adults website to see how they provide direct services to families currently in the midst of a search.