Jaycee 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 25, 2009, convicted sex offender Phillip Craig Garrido visited the campus of UC Berkeley accompanied by two young girls. Their unusual behavior there sparked an investigation that led to his bringing the two girls to a parole office on August 26, accompanied by a woman who was then identified as Dugard.
Garrido, 58, and his wife Nancy Garrido, 54, of Antioch, California, were arrested for kidnapping and other charges; they pleaded guilty on April 28, 2011 to Dugard's kidnapping and sexual assault. 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.
“The more knowledge I gain, the more like an adult I feel. I never got this chance to become an adult.”
“Love is not part time and its not conditional. I learned this from my mom.”
“I enjoy life so much more now, and I try hard to appreciate each and every day, but deep down I am still afraid it will be taken away.”
“She reminds me of a turtle; you can never quite know wha ta turtle is thinking.”
“Life's adventure is important.”
“I learned in therapy the word "No" is a complete sentence.”
“I love metaphors and she has come up with the idea of lighting candles to symbolize my past, present, and future. My past and present were the two candles we started with; she would ask me what I would like to start with or deal with today. I would light up either my past or my present depending on the answer. During the last few sessions we've used the candles I've noticed my past melting more and more and becoming duller and duller in light.”
“A light that I thought had been extinguished was slowly coming back to life.”
“Our relationship was built on a house of cards. One good blow and you find the pieces scatter in the wind quite easily.”
“Is life worth living simply because you live, or is it worth more if you make life happen?”
“Love is the easy part; it's the living without the love you need is hard.”
“The fact is it happened. It's over now. I do not live my life constantly wishing that I could change the past.”
“Ask yourself, "what would you do to survive?”
“There are moments in which all of us need to have a backbone and feel that we have the right to say no to adults if we believe they are doing the wrong thing. You must find your voice and not be afraid to speak up.”
“For nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the ind as a steady purpose -- a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.”
“Hearts become attached as easily as they become broken and our minds are left sifting through the pieces, which I fear take a lifetime to put back together to achieve any form of acceptance.”
“We live in a world where we rarely speak out and when someone does, often nobody is there to listen.”
“I don't believe in hate. To me it wastes too much time. People who hate waste so much of their life hating that they miss out on all the other stuff out here.”