Would You Have Reported Phillip Garrido?

[Sara Huizenga]

Would You Have Reported Phillip Garrido?

The discovery of kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard 18 years after her abduction has sparked all kinds of conversations. From stranger danger, to the monitoring of sexual predators, this case has enough angles to challenge even the most experienced journalist.

Of course one of the most disturbing aspects is how investigators say the suspect Phillip Garrido kept Kaycee captive for 18 years without discovery. It took an especially observant campus police officer at Berkeley to finally crack the case.

The police officer noticed something seemed “wrong” when she tried to talk to Garrido and his two children. The police officer has said in interviews that the girls wouldn’t make eye contact with her, and kept looking to him for the answers. This chance encounter sent up a red flag for this police officer and it was her keen observation that led to the discovery of Kaycee.

Often in our daily lives we come across situations where we sense something is wrong. I would hope if I saw children living in tents in my neighbor’s backyard, I would report it. If I looked at the sex offender registry and learned that Garrido was living next door, I would keep an especially close eye on what was happening there. The mere presence of two young children in the home should have alerted someone that there was a problem.

It’s easy to find out if you have a registered sex offender living in your neighborhood.
Just log onto http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov , read the disclaimer, and enter your zip code and up pops a complete list with photos, addresses and offenses. If you look up Antioch, you’ll find Phillip Garrido’s photo and address.

Several people now say they noticed something “strange” about Garrido, but never thought much about it. It’s that sixth sense that can help you avert disaster. Call it intuition or common sense, but we all need to be more aware of what’s happening around us.

In a similar abduction case in 2007, 15 year old Shawn Hornbeck of Missouri was discovered 4 and a half years after his kidnapping. Police found Shawn after the kidnapper abducted another boy. The break in the case came from an alert teenager, Mitch Hults, who had seen a white pickup speeding away from the area. This teen's sixth sense told him something wasn't right, and he was able to describe the truck right down to the smallest detail. Here's how the CBS news magazine 48 Hours told the story of Mitch's description.

Sheriff Gary Toelke said "He just starts going down the line, 'Well, you know, I remember seeing a Nissan on the tailgate in dark letters. Uh, a camper top with an elongated window down the side with the knobs on the side. It had a two-inch trailer hitch on the back. Rust or dirt over the fender.' And the FBI agents kinda looking at him, you know, 'right!' because you never get a description like that, even from an adult," Toelke remembers.

The agents didn't believe Mitch at first because he gave them so much detail. But Mitch, it turned out, was a truck fanatic, recalling every minute detail of the vehicle. Ironically, the only detail Mitch didn't remember was the license plate.

Police took casts of the tire treads and an APB for the white truck was broadcast across the state.

Meanwhile, just 45 minutes away in Kirkwood, Mo., a description of the truck caught the eye of Imo's pizzeria owner Mike Prosperi. By coincidence, his long-time manager, 41-year-old Mike Devlin, had a white truck that matched that description.
That description led police to Devlin, and the two missing boys were found.

So look around you. You never know whose life you could save.


Published Tuesday, September 01, 2009 11:06 AM by ksaam

[Sara Huizenga]

It would be impossible to find a punishment for this monster heinous enough to fit the crimes he committed.

[Jesse 'Opie' Ross]

I not only would have reported him, I would have shot him if I could have gotten by with it.

[Jesse 'Opie' Ross]

All it takes for evil men to succeed is for good men to do nothing.

[Sara Huizenga]

Peace4 the Missing's link to all articles, etc about Jaycee Dugard ... http://peace4missing.ning.com/main/search/search?q=jaycee

[April Bosch]

I would most assuredly have reported him. I have made reports in the past, that thankfully were resolved, but I'm glad I made the reports in case the children were in danger.

[Sara Huizenga]

Thank You for posting this, Shelia, I am so glad to see this event planned! It brings a much needed redemptive spirit regarding those who really do truly care yet out there. xoxoxo

[Shelia Bradley-Smith]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sue Novasel
1 September 2009 [e-mail]
[phone]
PINK RIBBON PARADE FOR JAYCEE DUGARD
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA – A Pink Ribbon Parade will begin Sunday, September 6, 2009, at 11 a.m. at the South Lake Tahoe branch of El Dorado County Library at 1000 Rufus Allen Blvd and will end at the South Tahoe Middle School track located at 2940 Lake Tahoe Blvd. The event is to honor Jaycee Lee Dugard and her family.
Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe (SISLT) is coordinating the event, just like the nonprofit did on the 10-year anniversary of Jaycee’s disappearance. The South Shore of Lake Tahoe never quit hoping Jaycee would be found alive after having been abducted June 10, 1991, from a bus stop at Meyers in South Lake Tahoe.
The parade is an opportunity for the community to come together, to share stories, to cry, to laugh, to reinforce the strength we have to survive. While the kidnapping of Jaycee was devastating to our entire community, the crime was the motivation for “A Fighting Chance”, a program currently taught in our local schools by members of Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe, focusing on abduction awareness and escape techniques.
At the request of Terry Probyn, Jaycee’s mother, SISLT Foundation (a non-profit 501(c)3 organization) has established a bank account for Jaycee Lee and her family to help them with immediate and future needs.
Checks may be sent to:
Bank of the West – Account #186153508
SISLT/Jaycee Dugard
(make checks payable to: SISLTF/Jaycee Dugard Family Fund)
2161 Lake Tahoe Blvd.
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
Please wear as much pink as possible on Sunday – Jaycee’s favorite color. The Soroptimists will also be selling pink t-shirts at the event, with all proceeds going to the Jaycee Dugard Family Fund.
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[Maureen Reintjes-Peace4 Admin]

Good point Shelia that woman did seem to have access to both the children and the home. Hopefully it was purely business and she is just misguided in her thinking. Come to think of it how did that monster explain Jaycee, "my daughter", "my lover"......just how in the hell did he explain his relatioship with Jaycee and the children? Everyone seemed to know he had a wife.

[Shelia Bradley-Smith]

You are so right Maureen, that's just like saying that a murderer did good if he cleaned up the blood after decapitating a person. She should not have been allowed on that show and they should investigate what part she may have really played in his life.

[Maureen Reintjes-Peace4 Admin]

I just watched that video....who cares what that house looked like or that the kids were clean? I didn't get her point at all. They lived with a crazy man-monster and woman-monster it's going to take a lot of deprogramming and years of therapy for Jaycee and her children to ever start on a path to a normal life or normal socialization.