Unbelievable that this girl was found alive after so many years held captive by this psychopath....
_http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32583149/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts
PLACERVILLE, Calif. - Jaycee Lee Dugard's family responded with joy on Friday after the woman, kidnapped nearly two decades ago when she was 11, was found alive.
Their rejoicing came even as horrifying details emerged about how she has lived all those years: kept by a convicted rapist in his backyard as a sex slave and forced to bear two of his children.
Her stepfather said that the victim, now 29, was "fairly healthy" after her ordeal.
Dugard, who was snatched from her school bus stop in 1991, was locked away from the outside world behind a series of fences, sheds and tents in the back of a suburban home, police said.
Her abductor, investigators said, raped her for years and fathered two children with her, the first when Jaycee was about 14. Those children, both girls now 11 and 15, also were kept hidden away in the backyard compound.
Dugard's stepfather, who witnessed her abduction and was a longtime suspect in the case, described his first reaction as "total shock."
Carl Probyn told NBC's TODAY show, "I never expected this. This is an absolute miracle, to get her back, and get her back alive. And she's fairly healthy. My wife says he looks like almost like she did when she was kidnapped."
Probyn, 60, said he has not spoken to his stepdaughter, but that his wife said she was "feeling guilty for bonding" with the suspect,[classic Stockholm Syndrome?] referring to convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido, 58, who was charged with various kidnapping and sex charges.
Probyn said the kidnapping killed his marriage. "We were happy," he told TODAY in an interview. He also said that Jaycee and his wife, from whom he is separated, got on so well that they were like sisters. "He destroyed our lives," he said.
As for Garrido, Probyn said he had little to say other than he hopes he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. "He's pretty sick," he said.
Garrido is expected to appear in court on Friday afternoon. Investigators said he did not yet have an attorney.
NBC News, The Associated Press and most other media, as a matter of policy, avoid identifying victims of alleged sexual abuse by name in its news reports. However, Dugard's disappearance had been known and reported for nearly two decades, making impossible any effort to shield her identity now.
Living in the backyard
Dugard was reunited Thursday with her mother, but the meeting was tempered with sadness as the family learned their smiling, blue-eyed, blond little girl had spent most of her life as a virtual slave.
"She was in good health, but living in a backyard for the past 18 years does take its toll," El Dorado County Undersheriff Fred Kollar said.
The compound had electricity from extension cords and a rudimentary outhouse and shower, "as if you were camping," Kollar said.
Garrido's wife was also arrested, and authorities said she was with him during the kidnapping in South Lake Tahoe.
Suspect speaks
Aug. 27: Phillip Garrido spoke with a reporter from jail, claiming he had turned his life around.
NBC News Channel
Garrido told NBC station KCRA of Sacramento in a telephone interview Thursday from jail that he has turned his life around.
"Wait until you hear the story of what took place at this house," he said. "You are going to be completely impressed. It's a disgusting thing that took place with me at the beginning. But I turned my life completely around and to be able to understand that, you have to start there."
He added: "If you take this a step at a time you're going to fall over backwards and in the end, you're going to find the most powerful heart-warming story."
Nothing seemed amiss
Garrido was on lifetime parole, and his arrest raises questions about how closely parolees are monitored. But Kollar said a visitor to Garrido's house would not notice anything was amiss — the compound was well concealed by shrubs, garbage cans and a tarp.
But neighbors said there were clues. Diane Doty said she could see the tents and often heard children playing in the backyard, the corner of which abuts her own backyard. She said she even suspected the children lived in the tents, but that her husband said she should leave the family alone.
"I asked my husband, 'Why is he living in tents?'" she said. "And he said, 'Maybe that is how they like to live.'"
Captive’s tale
Authorities said they do not know if Garrido also abused his daughters, but that they are investigating.
The case broke after Garrido was spotted Tuesday with two children as he tried to enter the University of California, Berkeley, campus to hand out religious literature. The officers said he was acting suspiciously toward the children. They questioned him and did a background check, determining he was a parolee, and informed his parole officer.
Garrido was ordered to appear for a parole meeting and arrived Wednesday with Dugard, his wife and two children. During questioning, corrections officials said he admitted kidnapping Dugard. It was not known if he had a lawyer.
_http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32583149/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts
PLACERVILLE, Calif. - Jaycee Lee Dugard's family responded with joy on Friday after the woman, kidnapped nearly two decades ago when she was 11, was found alive.
Their rejoicing came even as horrifying details emerged about how she has lived all those years: kept by a convicted rapist in his backyard as a sex slave and forced to bear two of his children.
Her stepfather said that the victim, now 29, was "fairly healthy" after her ordeal.
Dugard, who was snatched from her school bus stop in 1991, was locked away from the outside world behind a series of fences, sheds and tents in the back of a suburban home, police said.
Her abductor, investigators said, raped her for years and fathered two children with her, the first when Jaycee was about 14. Those children, both girls now 11 and 15, also were kept hidden away in the backyard compound.
Dugard's stepfather, who witnessed her abduction and was a longtime suspect in the case, described his first reaction as "total shock."
Carl Probyn told NBC's TODAY show, "I never expected this. This is an absolute miracle, to get her back, and get her back alive. And she's fairly healthy. My wife says he looks like almost like she did when she was kidnapped."
Probyn, 60, said he has not spoken to his stepdaughter, but that his wife said she was "feeling guilty for bonding" with the suspect,[classic Stockholm Syndrome?] referring to convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido, 58, who was charged with various kidnapping and sex charges.
Probyn said the kidnapping killed his marriage. "We were happy," he told TODAY in an interview. He also said that Jaycee and his wife, from whom he is separated, got on so well that they were like sisters. "He destroyed our lives," he said.
As for Garrido, Probyn said he had little to say other than he hopes he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. "He's pretty sick," he said.
Garrido is expected to appear in court on Friday afternoon. Investigators said he did not yet have an attorney.
NBC News, The Associated Press and most other media, as a matter of policy, avoid identifying victims of alleged sexual abuse by name in its news reports. However, Dugard's disappearance had been known and reported for nearly two decades, making impossible any effort to shield her identity now.
Living in the backyard
Dugard was reunited Thursday with her mother, but the meeting was tempered with sadness as the family learned their smiling, blue-eyed, blond little girl had spent most of her life as a virtual slave.
"She was in good health, but living in a backyard for the past 18 years does take its toll," El Dorado County Undersheriff Fred Kollar said.
The compound had electricity from extension cords and a rudimentary outhouse and shower, "as if you were camping," Kollar said.
Garrido's wife was also arrested, and authorities said she was with him during the kidnapping in South Lake Tahoe.
Suspect speaks
Aug. 27: Phillip Garrido spoke with a reporter from jail, claiming he had turned his life around.
NBC News Channel
Garrido told NBC station KCRA of Sacramento in a telephone interview Thursday from jail that he has turned his life around.
"Wait until you hear the story of what took place at this house," he said. "You are going to be completely impressed. It's a disgusting thing that took place with me at the beginning. But I turned my life completely around and to be able to understand that, you have to start there."
He added: "If you take this a step at a time you're going to fall over backwards and in the end, you're going to find the most powerful heart-warming story."
Nothing seemed amiss
Garrido was on lifetime parole, and his arrest raises questions about how closely parolees are monitored. But Kollar said a visitor to Garrido's house would not notice anything was amiss — the compound was well concealed by shrubs, garbage cans and a tarp.
But neighbors said there were clues. Diane Doty said she could see the tents and often heard children playing in the backyard, the corner of which abuts her own backyard. She said she even suspected the children lived in the tents, but that her husband said she should leave the family alone.
"I asked my husband, 'Why is he living in tents?'" she said. "And he said, 'Maybe that is how they like to live.'"
Captive’s tale
Authorities said they do not know if Garrido also abused his daughters, but that they are investigating.
The case broke after Garrido was spotted Tuesday with two children as he tried to enter the University of California, Berkeley, campus to hand out religious literature. The officers said he was acting suspiciously toward the children. They questioned him and did a background check, determining he was a parolee, and informed his parole officer.
Garrido was ordered to appear for a parole meeting and arrived Wednesday with Dugard, his wife and two children. During questioning, corrections officials said he admitted kidnapping Dugard. It was not known if he had a lawyer.
