Around 9pm on February 4, 1974, Patricia Hearst, heiress to the greatest newspaper fortune in the US, answered a knock at her apartment door in Berkeley, California.

Three people ran into the room, attacking and tying up Patty's partner, Stephen Weed, before grabbing the 19-year-old, dragging her outside and pushing her into the boot of a car.

Neighbours reported seeing Patty struggling as she was carried away, blindfolded. They were powerless to help her as the kidnappers began firing shots into the street and around them to cover their escape.

And so began one of the strangest kidnappings in American history.

Patty had been kidnapped by a virtually unknown revolutionary group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). The domestic terrorists had already shot two Oakland school officials with cyanide-tipped bullets, killing one and wounding the other.

Then the strangest thing of all; a few weeks later, Patty stunned the nation when she was photographed holding a machine gun as the group robbed a bank in San Francisco.

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On February 7, the SLA contacted a Californian radio station, announcing it was keeping Patty as a "prisoner of war" and demanding the Hearst family hand over $70 worth of food to every needy person from Santa Rosa to Los Angeles.

If this demand was carried out, the SLA said they'd begin negotiations for Patty's return. But when Randolph Hearst gave away $2 million worth of food, the SLA claimed this was not enough and asked for $6 million more.

This led to the Hearst Corporation agreeing to donate the extra food if Patty was safely released. In April, the drama took a fascinating turn when CCTV footage captured Patty participating in the armed robbery of a bank, as well as helping with the robbery of a Los Angeles store.

The reasoning behind the SLA's decision to kidnap Patty was simple; she came from a rich, powerful family and they knew her disappearance would be front-page news around the world.

Once Patty was in their clutches, the SLA began brainwashing her, hoping to turn her into a "poster child" for their planned revolution.

The brainwashing seemed to work. In April, the group released a tape to the media, featuring Patty confirming she'd joined their fight to free the oppressed and changed her name to 'Tania'. She also explained she had joined the SLA of her own free will.

Two weeks later, Patty was seen on bank surveillance cameras wielding an assault weapon during an SLA bank robbery. She also yelled directions at terrified bystanders and provided cover to her SLA colleagues.

The FBI launched one of the biggest manhunts in US history to track down the SLA and rescue Patty.

On May 16, two SLA members had attempted to steal weapons and other equipment from a gun store, but they managed to get out without being caught. But, luckily the groups' getaway car was found, leading police to an SLA "safe house."

That night, police managed to raid the SLA's secret headquarters, where a massive shootout took place. Six of the SLA were killed, including the leader, Donald DeFreeze, an African American ex-prisoner who was also known as "General Field Marshal Cinque." But neither Patty nor two other SLA members were on the premises during the police raid, so the hunt continued.

It wasn't until September 18, 1975, that Patty was finally captured in a San Francisco apartment and arrested for armed robbery.

Patty's rescue was a relief for her family, but even though she defended herself by saying she'd been brainwashed by the SLA, she was sentenced to seven years behind bars for her role in the bank robbery.

However, after serving just 21 months, her sentence was officially commuted by US President Jimmy Carter. The last two members of the SLA were arrested in 1999 and 2002.

After her release from prison, Patty returned to her usual life, and later married police officer Bernard Shaw. The couple has two daughters, Gillian and Lydia.

In 2001, she was officially pardoned by President Bill Clinton.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the kidnapping was Patty's switch from victim to supporter, sparking countless psychological studies. The transition in Patty's behaviour with the SLA has been widely attributed to the psychological phenomenon known as 'Stockholm syndrome', where victims start feeling positive towards their captors.

Stockholm Syndrome occurs when the victims' initially terrifying experience is later countered with "acts of compassion or camaraderie by those same individuals."

There have been multiple films and documentaries made about Patty's dramatic kidnapping, including The Ordeal of Patty Hearst, Patty Hearst, Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst and the more recent documentary The Radical Story of Patty Hearst.

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The kidnapping and brainwashing of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst - 9Honey