Catherine Kerkow (1951-present) was at the heart of the longest distance sky-jacking in American history and remains on the FBI’s most wanted list. She is considered “armed and dangerous.”
Catherine Kerkow (1951-present) was at the heart of the longest distance sky-jacking in American history and remains on the FBI’s most wanted list. She is considered “armed and dangerous.”
In honor of the spookiest month, we’re revisiting our favorite Womanica episodes featuring villains, troublemakers, magic, and mystery all October. Join host Jenny Kaplan — with a few special introductions — as she takes you back in time, highlighting women like Sadie the Goat, Marie Laveau, Patricia Krenwinkel and more who were ruthless, vengeful, and mystical. The riveting stories of these women are sure to keep you up at night.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Brittany Martinez, a producer here at WMN, and I’m so excited to be introducing this “best of” episode of Womanica.
This episode was originally part of our October 2021 theme, “Troublemakers.”
Today, we’re telling the story of the longest sky-jacking – yes, stealing an airplane – in American history, and the young woman at the heart of the crime.
I actually produced this episode. When I first heard this woman’s story it sounded more like an action film than reality. So I scored it that way.
Now here’s host Jenny Kaplan to talk about Catherine Kerkow.
According to the modern myth, Catherine was a good girl, with a capital G. All-American, like apple pie.
She was born and raised in Coos Bay, a small city on the Oregon coast. After high school, she moved to southern California. Cathy dreamed of being a singer. But she instead found work in a massage parlor.
One day, while she was in the shower, her doorbell rang. She answered it in her bathrobe. When she managed to rub the soap out of her eyes, she came face to face with Roger Holder.
Roger was a Vietnam vet and a member of the Black Panthers. He’d been looking for Cathy’s roommate. But he and Cathy hit it off, and soon Cathy became a member of the Panthers, too.
By the early 1970s, the Black Panthers had weathered years of being vilified. By the press, by white Americans, by the FBI. Several of their leaders had been assassinated, others jailed. Some escaped the U.S., choosing instead to live in exile.
On June 2nd, 1972, Roger’s mother drove the couple to the airport in Los Angeles. They told her they were heading to Coos Bay, to meet Cathy’s parents.
Instead, they got on a plane to Seattle. Roger then handed a stewardess a handwritten note.
It read:
“Success through Death.
Everyone, Except the Captain, will leave the Cabin. There are four of us and two bombs. Do as you’re told and No shooting will take place.”
Roger gestured to a large briefcase he’d carried on board. Wires were sticking out. The bombs, he implied, were in there.
Roger also insisted on $500,000 from the airline, and for the release of Angela Davis, a Black Panther who had been in jail for over a year on several felonies. They got the half a million dollars. And Angela was acquitted two days later.
Roger and Cathy let about half the passengers off in San Francisco, and the other half off in New York. They went back and forth on where they wanted to go. Vietnam was on the list. Then they settled on Algiers, in North Africa.
It remains the longest distance sky-jacking in American history.
In the media frenzy that followed, many questioned whether Cathy had been taken hostage herself. Why would a 20 year old white girl from Oregon hijack a plane in the name of the Black Panthers? But in phone interviews with news outlets, Cathy said that living in Coos Bay had left her in the dark about the world. She decided she wanted to make change, rather than sit around, waiting for it to happen.
“Would you jump into something like that without doing a lot of thinking?” She said to a reporter. “I had a lot of people to think about, a lot of consequences to worry about.”
For the next six years, Roger and Cathy remained on the run. The international headquarters of the Black Panthers were in Algiers. The couple settled there at first. In 1974, they traveled to Paris, using fake passports.
They were arrested, but French authorities didn’t feel the crime warranted extradition to the U.S. because of its political motivation.
For the next few years, Cathy and Roger, but especially Cathy, found their cultural niche. Jean-Paul Sartre was an advocate of theirs. So was the French actress Maria Schneider.
In 1977, Roger walked into the Associated Press’ Paris office. He told a reporter that he would go back to the U.S. and face whatever punishment was waiting for him. He also said he hadn’t seen Cathy, now 25, for over a month. He was worried.
That was the last time anyone heard from -- or about -- Cathy.
Roger finally returned to the U.S. in 1986, and spent two years in prison. But Cathy… disappeared. She remains on the FBI’s most wanted list. And she’s still considered “armed and dangerous.”
All month, we’re bringing you the best of villainy, magic, and mystery. Tune in tomorrow for another of our favorite episodes.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!