With no seeming “light at the end of the tunnel” for Jaycee Dugard who was kidnapped and forced to bear two children for her captor, today brought a bright spot into her unfortunately dark life. CNN reported today that Jaycee and her two daughters will soon be reunited with their 5 cats, 2 dogs, 3 cockatiels, a pigeon and a mouse. Animal control has been caring for the animals and stated that they are all in good health and were obviously loved and very well taken care of by Jaycee and her daughters. Jaycee and her girls have been looking forward to the homecoming ever since the animals were seized from the property where they had lived with their captor, sex offender Philip Garrido.
The “home” in which they lived was a soundproof shed located in the back of the Garrido’s property. Though probation officers, fire crews, and police had all been to the property numerous times over the 18 years that Jaycee was held there, nothing caused suspicion in any of the law enforcement personnel. Further, several neighbors reported to police that they saw people living in Garrido’s backyard, but when police arrived to inspect the property, there was a fence and some trees that fully obscured the area where Jaycee and her daughters were living. They left without finding them.
In something that can only be understood by child psychologists, Jaycee seemed to stay with Garrido of her own free will when she came of age. She regularly helped him with his printing business and assisted customers while going under the name of “Alissa”. There is no doubt that if his customers had known that he was a registered sex offender, they would never have done business with him. He regularly made home deliveries to his clients; thus exposing them to his deviant ways. This is why it is so vitally important that employers perform criminal background searches and run employment screening checks with a reputable company like Accu-Screen.
People Magazine reported on September 3 that Jaycee reunited with her Aunt Tina and that the meeting was very emotional. She describes the meeting as being filled with “laughter, crying, sitting quietly, and holding hands.” She also described part of their reunion as including time lying on the grass and looking up at the clouds. Jaycee’s mother, Terry, talked about brushing and braiding her daughter’s hair for the first time in nearly 20 years. It is something that she missed and felt that the ritual brought her “a sense of comfort, optimism, and happiness.” She went on to say that the “darkness has lifted” now that her daughter has been found.
The family enjoyed meeting Jaycee’s two daughters, Starlit and Angel and commented that they were both “educated and bright” thanks to Jaycee teaching them to read and write. Jaycee has “grown into a fabulous, beautiful woman” her mother said when she was asked how she felt about seeing Jaycee all grown up. This incredible story with a happy ending has been made possible through the motherly instincts of a school security officer at Berkeley who first suspected something was wrong with Garrido’s “family”. Though many people over the years had met Garrido and suspected nothing, this woman was able to bring Jaycee and her daughters out of captivity.
This story brings to light the fact that we can never know exactly who someone is without doing the proper criminal background searches and employment screening. Hiring a trusted leader in the industry, such as Accu-Screen, can make all the difference in your business!
