Katie Beers and other harrowing survivals in secret lairs
Jaycee Duggaed
Credit: AP Photo
Jaycee Dugard, then 11, was kidnapped while walking to her Tahoe, Calif., school in June 1991 by Phillip and Nancy Garrido. Dugard spent the next 18 years of her life in a backyard shed, the place where she was sexually abused, and the place where she gave birth to her two daughters. Undersheriff Fred Kollar described the location in 2009 as a "hidden back yard" within a larger yard that was arranged in such a way "to isolate the victims from outside contact." Entrance to the secret yard was guarded by a 6-foot-tall fence, tall trees and a tarp, he said. Despite the residential area and Phillip Garrido's status as a sex offender, authorities never searched the shed. Dozens of home visits by the California Department of Corrections over the years turned out to be missed opportunities at freedom for Dugard and her daughters. In 2009, two female police officers at the University of California, Berkeley, used their "mothers' intuition" when they noticed something was not right with Garrido, who had brought along his two daughters as he preached. Further questioning led authorities to Jaycee, ending the 18 year nightmare. "Now I can walk in the next room and see my mom," Dugard told ABC News' Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview. "Wow. I can decide to jump in the car and go to the beach with the girls. Wow, it's unbelievable, truly."
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