History Main / LockedUpAndLeftBehind

[AC:Film-Animated]]

[AC:Film-Animated]

[AC:Film - Live-Action]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

* The hostage takers, in one episode of, ''Series/BurnNotice'', planned to do this to the hostages they had taken once they stole the money they were after. Specifically, they were planned to lock the hostages in the vault and let them suffocate.

* One episode of ''Series/{{CSINY}}'', "Get Me Out of Here," had a fraternity initiation prank gone horribly wrong. One of the pledges was locked in a coffin in a crypt and the others had to find him. However, the pledge master who run the initiation was murdered and he was the only one who knew where the crypt was.
* One episode of the original ''{{Series/CSI}}'' featured a former JerkJock, who turned out to have been killed by another student he once left duct taped up in a locker (the result being that he was left with scars from removing the duct tape and ended up in hospital for so long he had to drop out of high school, essentially ruining his life).

* Played for mean-spirited humor in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''. Tetra and her band of pirates rob a rude bomb store owner and steal all his bombs, leaving him BoundAndGagged, which you the player witness before the pirates leave. He struggles infinitely as long as the player is still there, and it's impossible for the player to free him. However, when you eventually visit him again, not only is he free, but he is much more well mannered and his prices become reasonable.

* Before a drinking game in the iPhone app "Roommates Visual Novel", the character Dominic is tied to a chair so he can't interfere with the partying. After getting horribly drunk, the other characters stumble upstairs and leave him there for the whole night. Understandably, they are horrified when they walk downstairs the next morning and find him still there. Luckily, Rakesh loses the rock-paper-scissors game and has to untie him.

* In {{Webcomic/Sunstone}}, during one of Ally and Alan's early sessions, a bad burrito on Alan's part and a blown out fuse conspired to leave Ally alone and tied up for forty minutes that were utterly agonizing for both her and Alan. It was the incident that convinced the both of them that they needed to buckle down and change the game.

* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' begins this way, with Taylor Hebert becoming victim of a prank by the local AlphaBitch duo that traps her inside of her locker (that the bullies [[{{Squick}} had filled with garbage and biological waste beforehand--it even ends with her getting infected cuts]]) and left inside for what is implied to be several class periods. The trauma of this event triggers superpowers within her.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' Stewie falls for his teenage babysitter and gets rid of her boyfriend by tying him up and locking him in Brian's car boot. At the end credits, he realises mid sentence that he forgot to let him out.

Sometimes, when someone is locked in a closet or BoundAndGagged, it's not for ransom or use as a hostage or some other practical concern, but instead merely as a mean prank, or to get someone out of the way. The poor victim is left behind and... what's going to happen to them? Are they being left behind to die, or are they left out in a public place where they'll clearly be rescued? Are they knowingly being left where no-one will rescue them, or did the captor take that into account? For that matter, did the captor just leave them somewhere and then forget about them?

This trope is sometimes the result of bullying or a prank. It's often PlayedForLaughs when it's done by the heroes or to an annoying or intentionally dislikeable character. Other times, it's PlayedForDrama, with [[DeadlyPrank tragic consequences]]. And sometimes it's done for dark humor.

Often crosses over with SomethingWeForgot, in which the victim is left somewhere intentionally but for longer than their captor intended.

* One episode of ''Series/{{CSINY}}'', "Boo," had a fraternity initiation prank gone horribly wrong. One of the pledges was locked in a coffin in a crypt and the others had to find him. However, the pledge master who run the initiation was murdered and he was the only one who knew where the crypt was.

* One episode of ''Series/{{CSINY}} '', "Boo", had a fraternity initiation prank gone horribly wrong. One of the pledges was locked in a coffin in a crypt and the others had to find him. However, the pledge master who run the initiation was murdered and he was the only one who knew where the crypt was.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E1PartnersInCrime "Partners in Crime"]], reporter Penny Carter is captured and tied to a chair by the villains twice, the second time after being freed and ignoring the Doctor's advice to GetOut She turns up at the end carrying the chair, which she's still tied to, and rather peeved about the whole thing.

* For most of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' episode "His Story III", JD is locked up by the Janitor in a water tower.

* At the end of ''Film/TradingPlaces'', [[spoiler:as Randolph Duke is being wheeled past Winthorpe and Valentine, he yells, "Where in hell is Beeks?" "Beeks!" Winthorpe muses. [[SomethingWeForgot "Yeah, I forgot all about that guy!"]] Cut to a cage being loaded onto a ship bound for Africa, containing the amorous gorilla and Beeks, who's still in the ape costume Winthorpe and Valentine put him in when they locked him in the cage.]]

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]

* For most of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' episode "His Story III", JD is locked up by the Janitor in a water tower.
** The Janitor enlists Ted and Todd to duct tape JD to the cafeteria ceiling.
** The Janitor has the rest of the custodial staff duct tape Dr. Cox in the morgue drawer after he lightly pushes The Janitor.
--->Duct-taped two hours in a morgue drawer; don't piss off the Janitor; end of story.

* An episode of ''Series/ColdCase'' featured a villain who would abduct women and imprison them in a windowless cell for months in order to break their spirit. Once this was achieved, he would leave them there to starve to death.

* The hostage takers, in one episode of, ''Series/BurnNotice'', planned to do this to the hostages they had taken once they stole the money they were after. Specifically, they were planned to lock the hostages in the vault and let them suffocate.

[[AC:{{Web Original}}]]

* One scene of the ''Series/DoctorWho''-episode "Mark of the Rani" required the Doctor (Creator/ColinBaker) to be tied to a large pole in order to pull off a TribalCarry. Because Baker wore a difficult support harness to take the strain off his wrists, it was impossible to untie him in-between takes, so they just laid him on the ground when the cameras weren't rolling. However, due to rapidly fluctuating weather, the team had to quickly move every time it started raining to film a different scene set in the rain. During one such move, Baker noticed the team packing up, but didn't realize they'd forgotten to bring him along until they were already out of earshot. It took half an hour for someone to realize he'd been left behind and to come get him.
** Baker told this story in the DVD-commentary of "Mark of the Rani". He also said that, because the filming took place in a public forest, he was found after ten minutes by a couple and their dog. But because the couple had never heard of ''Doctor Who'' and didn't recognize him, the absurdity of the situation led them to just leave him there.
* Two of Belgian pedophile Marc Dutroux's victims had died because he was incarcerated for car theft, and they starved to death while being kept captive on one of his properties. The worst part: a detective went to search the property and was alerted to the sound of screaming children by a colleague, but he mistook it as children playing in the street and unwittingly left them there.

* At the end of ''Film/ThePitAndThePendulum'', [[spoiler:Nicholas' wife Elizabeth is left locked in an iron maiden. The only person who knew she was there is dead and everyone else thinks she is dead, so the survivors turn out the lights and seal up the dungeon forever.]] The last thing we see before the FadeToBlack is [[spoiler:a close-up of her terrified eyes peering through the tiny slot in the face of her prison.]] It's OK, though, because [[KarmicDeath she deserved it]] after [[spoiler:deliberately [[GasLighting driving her husband insane]]]]. Just try not to think about the fact that [[spoiler:she's going to [[NightmareFuel slowly die from starvation and/or dehydration]]]]...

!Examples:

* Two of Belgian pedophile Marc Dutroux's victims had died because he was incarcerated for car theft, and they starved to death while being kept captive on one of his properties. TheStinger: [[spoiler:a detective went to search the property and was alerted to the sound of screaming children by a colleague, but he mistook it as children playing in the street and unwittingly left them there.]]

* In ''[[MalazanBookOfTheFallen Reaper's Gale]]'', Rhulad Sengar (who, it should be noted, is being driven insane by his ArtifactOfDoom sword) orders his parents chained up in the dungeons after they dared speak against him in open court. When he remembers later to let them out, he's told that they drowned when the dungeons flooded, days earlier.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Toph escapes from a metal box by spontaneously metalbending, then traps her captors inside. There is no indication that the captors are ever found or rescued, and they are never seen again for the rest of the series. [[FridgeHorror is however thankfully averted when the sequel comic ''The Rift'' reveals that they got out somehow, but gave up their hunt for Toph after that incident.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Toph escapes from a metal box by spontaneously metalbending, then traps her captors inside. There is no indication that the captors are ever found or rescued, and they are never seen again for the rest of the series.

* Two of Belgian pedophile Marc Dutroux's victims had died because he was incarcerated for car theft, and they starved to death while being kept captive on one of his properties. TheStinger: [[spoiler:a detective went to search the property and was alerted to the sound of screaming children by a colleague, but he mistook it as children playing in the street and unwittingly left them there.]]

<i>dirk testing</i>

* Two of Belgian pedophile Marc Dutroux's victims had died because he was incarcerated for car theft, and they starved to death while being kept captive on one of his properties. TheStinger: [[spoiler:a detective went to search the property and was alerted to the sound of screaming children by a colleague, but he mistook it as children playing in the street and unwittingly left them there.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', "Honeypot": two Cuban agents tie up Archer's elderly butler Woodhouse, and at the end of the episode Archer suddenly remembers it, and that he'd probably been tied up for hours...and finds it ''hilarious''.

This trope is sometimes the result of bullying or a prank. It's often PlayedForLaughs when it's done by the heroes or to an annoying or intentionally dislikeable character. Other times, it's PlayedForDrama, with tragic consequences. And sometimes it's done for dark humor.

* ''{{Archer}}'', "Honeypot": two Cuban agents tie up Archer's elderly butler Woodhouse, and at the end of the episode Archer suddenly remembers it, and that he'd probably been tied up for hours...and finds it ''hilarious''.

* One episode of ''CSINewYork'', "Boo", had a fraternity initiation prank gone horribly wrong. One of the pledges was locked in a coffin in a crypt and the others had to find him. However, the pledge master who run the initiation was murdered and he was the only one who knew where the crypt was.
** Another episode of CSI featured a former JerkJock, who turned out to have been killed by another student he once left duct taped up in a locker (the result being that he was left with scars from removing the duct tape and ended up in hospital for so long he had to drop out of high school, essentially ruining his life).