Kidnapping and Hostage of Jaycee Dugard

One of the most upsetting (but interesting) child abduction cases is that of Jaycee Dugard from South Lake Tahoe, California in 1991. During one of her last days of school, while walking to the bus stop, a couple (Phillip and Nancy Garrido) kidnapped her and drove her more than 100 miles to their own house in Antioch. They held Dugard against her will for 18 years in a compound of sheds, tents, and storage units in a concealed area of their backyard. During her first six years in captivity, Phillip subjected her to horrific sexual abuse and she would end up having two daughters while in captivity. I believe that overtime, the Garrido's gave Jaycee and her daughters more freedom (and even took her on outings outside their property), but the reason she did not call out for help because she was too scared and she had been manipulated into thinking that it was too dangerous.

Besides the abuse Dugard endured, the most upsetting things were that Phillip Garrido had actually kidnapped and raped a woman back in 1976 and was sentenced to 50 years in prison, but was paroled in the late 1980's due to good behavior (he met and married his wife in prison). At the time of the kidnapping, Garrido was on lifetime parole. But the point is, he should have never been released early in the first place. Also, during Dugard's time in captivity, parole agents visited the Garrido residence at least 60 times, but not once did they find the hidden area where Jaycee and her daughters were kept. I think that the state of California really failed this poor girl.

The only reason Dugard and her daughters were rescued was because in late August of 2009, Phillip went to the campus of U.C. Berkley with Dugard's daughters to inquire about setting up for a 'religious' event there, and two female campus police officers became suspicious when they saw how erratically Garrido was acting and withdrawn the girls appeared. The officers found out that Garrido was a convicted sex offender and contacted the parole office, and the following day, Garrido, Jaycee, and her daughters all went to there where Phillip eventually confessed to what he had done to Dugard and she revealed that she was abducted 18 years earlier. It did not take long for Jaycee to be reunited with her mom, and the Garrido's were both arrested (two years later, they were convicted and Phillip was sentenced to 431 years to life; Nancy to 36 years to life).

I can say that I am so happy Jaycee was found and her mother got to see her daughter again. Of course though, I feel terrible for what they had to endure for almost two decades. If I'm correct, this case was the longest in the United States in which someone was held hostage but survived. What is remarkable is that during their entire time in captivity, neither Dugard nor her daughters went to school, the doctor, or the dentist. I can't imagine what it was like for them if they got sick, not having access to medical care. Also, Jaycee used books and TV to homeschool herself, and later, her children.

It has been a long road to recovery for Jaycee Dugard, who developed what is called Stockholm Syndrome during her time in captivity. She obviously would have needed extensive counseling and therapy in addition to support from her family to overcome all this psychological trauma. From what I hard, she and her children live in an undisclosed location, but I hope that they are all doing well and that they can have happy and successful lives