Experts: Abductees such as Jaycee stay out of fear
By EVELYN NIEVES (AP) – 33 minutes ago
SAN FRANCISCO — In the 18 years that Jaycee Lee Dugard allegedly spent captive in Phillip Garrido's backyard, shielded from the world by trees, tarps, tents and tool sheds, she no doubt had a chance or two to tell someone the truth.
Customers of Garrido's Antioch home-based printing business say the young woman whom they knew as Garrido's daughter "Allissa" designed business cards and helped with the family business.
They never suspected that "Allissa" was a South Lake Tahoe girl kidnapped in 1991 at age 11.
Neighbors also had no idea that Garrido's two young daughters — now 11 and 15 — were Dugard's offspring, fathered by Garrido.
Why didn't Jaycee Dugard escape, reach out, scream for help?
The question arises every time an abductee is found with their abductors after years of hiding. But the question, and its implicit criticism of the survivors, is unfair, say experts on kidnapping.
"It's really important that people not jump to judgments or conclusions in these cases," said JoAnn Behrman-Lippert, a Reno, Nev.-based psychologist who has done extensive research on child abduction cases. "We know there are many cases like this, and it's very detrimental to the survivors to have such a simplistic view that does not take into account the actual situation the person was in."
By EVELYN NIEVES (AP) – 33 minutes ago
SAN FRANCISCO — In the 18 years that Jaycee Lee Dugard allegedly spent captive in Phillip Garrido's backyard, shielded from the world by trees, tarps, tents and tool sheds, she no doubt had a chance or two to tell someone the truth.
Customers of Garrido's Antioch home-based printing business say the young woman whom they knew as Garrido's daughter "Allissa" designed business cards and helped with the family business.
They never suspected that "Allissa" was a South Lake Tahoe girl kidnapped in 1991 at age 11.
Neighbors also had no idea that Garrido's two young daughters — now 11 and 15 — were Dugard's offspring, fathered by Garrido.
Why didn't Jaycee Dugard escape, reach out, scream for help?
The question arises every time an abductee is found with their abductors after years of hiding. But the question, and its implicit criticism of the survivors, is unfair, say experts on kidnapping.
"It's really important that people not jump to judgments or conclusions in these cases," said JoAnn Behrman-Lippert, a Reno, Nev.-based psychologist who has done extensive research on child abduction cases. "We know there are many cases like this, and it's very detrimental to the survivors to have such a simplistic view that does not take into account the actual situation the person was in."
