USA: A STOLEN YOUTH
Suddenly she was snatched and bundled into a car
On 10 June 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard was walking outside her home in South Lake Tahoe, California.
Suddenly, she was snatched and bundled into a car.
Jaycee’s stepdad attempted to chase the car on his mountain bike, but couldn’t catch up.
No trace
Police tried to track down the kidnapper, but their search was fruitless.
For 18 years,
Jaycee’s mother Terry lived in purgatory, not knowing if her daughter was dead or alive.
But in 2009, convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido visited the University of California to enquire about holding a religious event. He was accompanied by two girls.
The unusual behaviour of the trio led officers to investigate, and he was ordered to take the two girls to a parole office in Concord.
Mystery solved
At the meeting, Garrido was accompanied by a woman who identified herself as Jaycee Dugard. By then she was 29.
Garrido, 58, and his wife, Nancy 54, were arrested for kidnapping, imprisonment, and sexual assault.
The court case revealed how Jaycee was kept in concealed tents and sheds behind the Garridos’ house in Antioch for 18 years.
During this time she had two daughters, one when she was 14, another when she was 17.
In June 2011, Garrido pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 431 years in prison. His wife Nancy received a minimum of 36 years for her role in the crimes.