Jaycee Dugard biography

Synopsis

Kidnapping

Born on May 3, 1980, Jaycee Lee Dugard grew up in the community of South Lake Tahoe, California. On June 10, 1991, when Jaycee Dugard was 11 years old, she was kidnapped outside of her home. Jaycee's stepfather, Carl Probyn, saw the abduction through his home's garage window—he was the only witness of the crime.

Probyn immediately called local authorities, who were aided by the FBI in their search for Jaycee. The search included dogs, aircraft and hundreds of law enforcement personnel, but to no avail; Jaycee wasn't found. No one could imagine the horror that was unfolding for Jaycee 170 miles away, in Antioch, California.

Life with Captors

Jaycee was locked in a makeshift recording studio by her captors, convicted rapist Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy Garrido, in the backyard of their home. Renamed "Alyssa," Jaycee soon realized the major motive for her abduction: She was raped repeatedly by Phillip Garrido, which resulted in two pregnancies. At age 14, Jaycee gave birth to her first child, a daughter; three years later, at age 17, she gave birth to a second daughter.

Jaycee spent more than 18 years in captivity with the Garridos, who fed her countless lies and largely prohibited her contact with the outside world. During that time, she wrote in a journal frequently, documenting deep depression, fear, loneliness and feelings of being "unloved." She constantly wondered about her family members and whether they were searching for her, but over time—and cut off from any relationships outside of the Garrido home—the severely depressed victim grew to cherish any human interaction, even that from her kidnappers. Jaycee didn't know how to leave, and after years of lies from her captors about her family's lack of love for her, she wasn't even sure whether she had anyone to flee to.

Arrest of Phillip and Nancy Garrido

In August 2009, Phillip Garrido began passing out fliers about his new church, God's Desire, on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. He was with Jaycee, and their two daughters, at the time. During his solicitation, campus security officers approached him and asked him to register his organization with campus offices. When he did, they discovered Garrido's criminal past and decided to do a quick background check by calling his parole agent.