Reappearance Jaycee Lee Dugard
The kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard occurred on June 10, 1991, when she was 11 years old. Dugard was abducted from a school bus stop within sight of her home in South Lake Tahoe, California.Searches began immediately after the kidnapping, but no reliable leads were generated. She remained missing for more than 18 years. On August 26, 2009, Dugard, her daughters, and Phillip Craig Garrido appeared in the office of her kidnapper's parole officer in California. Their unusual behavior sparked an investigation that led to the positive identification of Jaycee Lee Dugard, living in a tent behind Garrido's home.
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| image: guardian.co.uk |
Phillip Craig Garrido, 58, and his wife Nancy Garrido, 54, of Antioch, California, were arrested for kidnapping and other charges; they pleaded guilty to her kidnapping and sexual assault on April 28, 2011. Law enforcement officers believe Dugard was kept in a concealed area behind Garrido's house in Antioch for 18 years. During this time Dugard bore two daughters who were aged 11 and 15 at the time of her reappearance.
On June 2, 2011, Philip Garrido was sentenced to 431 years' imprisonment; his wife received 36 years to life.
On August 24, 2009, Garrido visited the San Francisco office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and left a four-page essay containing his ideas about religion and sexuality, suggesting he had discovered a solution to problem behaviors like his own past crimes. The essay described how he had cured his own criminal sexual behaviors and how that information could be used to assist in curing other sexual predators by "controlling human impulses that drive humans to commit dysfunctional acts." On the same day, Phillip Garrido went to a University of California, Berkeley police office seeking permission to hold a special Christian event on campus as a part of his "God's Desire" program. He spoke with U.C. Berkeley special events manager Lisa Campbell. She perceived his behavior as odd and asked him to make an appointment for the next day, which he did, leaving his name in the process.
The next morning, August 25, Campbell notified campus police officer Ally Jacobs about the meeting later that morning with Garrido, and her concerns. Jacobs ran a background check and learned that Garrido was on parole for rape, and decided to sit in on the meeting. Garrido arrived with two girls, whom he introduced as his daughters. At the meeting, Jacobs felt that the girls' behavior was unusual, and phoned the parole office to relay her concerns. As no one was in, she left a report of the meeting on voicemail.
After hearing Jacobs' recorded message, two parole agents drove to Garrido's house later that day. Upon arrival, they handcuffed him and searched the house, only finding his wife Nancy and his elderly mother at home. Then the parole agents drove Garrido back to the parole office. En route, Garrido said that the two girls who had accompanied him to UC Berkeley "were the daughters of a relative, and he had permission from their parents to take them to the university." Although the parole office had barred Garrido from being around minors a month before, the agents overlooked this violation. After reviewing his file with a supervisor, they drove him home and ordered him to report back to the office again the next day to further discuss his visit to UC Berkeley and follow up on their concerns about the two girls.
Garrido arrived at the parole office on August 26 with his wife, Nancy, the two girls and Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was introduced as "Alyssa". When they arrived, his parole officer was on the phone with Jacobs to obtain a more detailed description of her interaction with Garrido and the two girls. Jacobs informed the officer that the girls were calling Garrido "Daddy," but the parole officer believed that Garrido had no children. The parole officer then decided to separate Garrido from the women and girls to obtain an identification.
Dugard, maintaining her false identity as "Alyssa", stated that she was the girls' mother. When the parole officer said that she looked too young to be the mother and asked her age, "Alyssa said that she was 29 years old, laughingly explaining that she often gets that comment and that people believe she is the girls' sister," the report states. As the questioning continued, Dugard and Nancy Garrido became agitated and wanted to know why they were being questioned. When the parole officer explained that he was investigating Garrido's visit to the UC campus with the two girls, Dugard said that she knew Garrido had taken the girls to the campus and that she also knew he was a paroled sex offender who had kidnapped and raped a woman. "She added that Garrido was a changed man and a great person who was good to her kids. Alyssa subsequently stated that she didn't want to provide any additional information and that she might need a lawyer."
It was later suggested that Dugard was beginning to show signature signs of Stockholm syndrome during her questioning.
The parole agent then asked Garrido in another room to explain the relationship between himself and "Alyssa" and the two girls. Garrido said that all three were his nieces, the daughters of his brother in Oakley. "Garrido stated that the parents were divorced, the girls were living with them and other people, and he did not know his brother's address or phone number," the report states. The parole officer returned to the women and insisted on seeing identification from "Alyssa," but Dugard replied that she "had learned a long time ago not to carry or give any personal information to anyone." She also said she needed a lawyer. At this point, the parole officer called in Concord police.
The report continues: "As they waited for the officer to arrive, Alyssa said she was sorry that she had lied. She explained that she was from Minnesota and had been hiding for five years from an abusive husband. She was terrified of being found, she said, and that was the reason she could not give the parole agent any information." Two Concord police officers continued the questioning of Dugard, who maintained her false identity and the story she had told to the parole agent. In the other room, a Concord police sergeant questioned Garrido, who finally admitted that he was the father of the two girls. When the parole agent resumed his questioning of Garrido, the latter admitted to kidnapping and raping "Alyssa". Under further questioning, Dugard revealed her true identity and confirmed that she had been kidnapped and raped by Garrido.
Garrido and his wife were then put under arrest. An FBI agent put Dugard on the telephone with her mother, Terry Probyn. Dugard retained custody of her children and was soon reunited with her mother
