Kidnapped US girl walks into police station 18 years
on
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - - A woman who had been missing
since she was kidnapped 18 years ago at age 11 walked into a
California police station in good health and identified herself,
police said Thursday.
Jaycee Lee Dugard, now 29, came into the Concord, California,
police station on Wednesday and said she was the missing girl,
police officials said.
"We are ninety-nine percent sure that it is her, based on
conversations the mother had with the daughter this morning,"
Lieutenant Les Lovell of the El Dorado County Sheriff's office
said.
He said a man and a woman had been arrested with the help of the
FBI and taken into custody by the Concord Police Department, but
would not identify them.
"We have not charged anybody at this point in time. We are still
investigating, but there are two people in custody that are
suspects in our case," he said.
The sheriff's office said Dugard was "in good health in the
greater Bay Area of California."
Contra Costa Country Sherrif's Captain Daniel Terry identified
the couple in custody to ABC News as Phillip and Nancy Garrido.
Phillip Garrido is a registered sex offender who has served
prison time for kidnapping and rape, he said. The couple are in
police custody charged with kidnapping to commit rape, and bail has
been set at one million dollars.
Dugard was 11 years old on June 10, 1991 when she was last seen
by her stepfather Carl Probyn outside her home in South Lake Tahoe
being kidnapped by two occupants in a car.
Probyn, who is now 60, gave chase on a bicycle but was too far
away to stop the abduction.
"I had personally given up hope," Probyn told ABC News, adding
he was just just hoping to find the people responsible.
Probyn told the news network his wife had spoken to Dugard, who
told her she now has two children of her own. He did not provide
any further details.
Probyn, his wife Terry and another daughter flew Thursday
morning from Riverside, California to San Francisco to meet
Dugard.
Authorities involved with the case are expected to give a press
conference later in the day.
"Since the date of occurrence the investigation has been ongoing
and today's events could bring it to resolution," the El Dorado
county sheriff's statement said.
