13 Facts About Jeffrey Rignall

Jeffrey D Rignall was an American memoirist who wrote 29 Below about surviving a 1978 attack by serial killer John Wayne Gacy and his subsequent search to find his attacker.

Jeffrey Rignall was profoundly affected both mentally and physically by the attack for the rest of his life.

Jeffrey Rignall attended Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green and then worked as a building renovator.

Jeffrey Rignall woke up intermittently during the car ride to Gacy's house and recognized a few landmarks, but was chloroformed again and eventually lapsed into unconsciousness.

Jeffrey Rignall said that when he awoke, he was inside Gacy's house.

Jeffrey Rignall was fastened to a torture device consisting of a wooden board laced with chains pinning Rignall's limbs.

Jeffrey Rignall regained consciousness the next day under a statue in Chicago's Lincoln Park.

Jeffrey Rignall made it back to his girlfriend's house and she took him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he stayed for six days.

Jeffrey Rignall took on the investigation himself, staking out freeway exit ramps and overpasses in Northwest Chicago, looking for Gacy's black Oldsmobile.

Jeffrey Rignall eventually spotted Gacy, recorded his license plate number, and followed the car to Gacy's house in Norwood Park Township.

Jeffrey Rignall provided police with the license plate number and address, but they did not act quickly on the information.

Gacy was tried for murder in Chicago in 1980; Jeffrey Rignall appeared as a witness for the defense.

Jeffrey Rignall partnered with Wilder and ghostwriter Patricia Colander to write a memoir of his experience with Gacy and his investigative attempts to find the rapist afterward.