Jaycee Lee Dugard Exclusive: Reporter Remembers Girl's Abduction 18 Years Ago

By: Edecio Martinez
Topics: Daily Blotter

(CBS)

Photo: Jaycee Lee Dugard in a home video taken some time before she was kidnapped in 1991.

Story Contributed by Anthony Batson, a Senior Producer at CBS' The Early Show.

He covered Jaycee Lee Dugard's disappearance and interviewed her parents 18 years ago. He is still haunted by the case.

NEW YORK (CBS) At my first job in TV at the Fox network show "America's Most Wanted," I covered a case that stayed with me for a long, long time. An 11-year-old girl from South Lake Tahoe in Northern California, Jaycee Lee Dugard, had been abducted while waiting for a school bus about two blocks from her home.

Her step dad Carl watched helplessly from his garage as he saw a couple in a station wagon drive up to Jaycee and watched as a female pulled his step daughter into a station wagon.

Carl jumped on his bike and tried to go after the car as it sped off. He only got a generic vehicle description but was able to give police a description of a woman he saw drag Jaycee into the car.

A month or so after the abduction we profiled the case on "Most Wanted."

In those days at "Most Wanted" we were not after the sensational story. We had one mission -- to get the public to come forward with any information they had about a case. It was my first time dealing with the parents of a missing child face to face.

Photos: The Search For Jaycee
Photos: Jaycee Lee Dugard Found Alive
Photos: Inside Jaycee's Terror Tent

It was a situation I would encounter several times over the eight years I worked at "Most Wanted". But this case is the one I will always remember. In this role as a producer at "Most Wanted" you play a very different role than the reporter for the 5pm local news. He or she is on a tight deadline. For them it's a few quick sound bites, some shots of the crime scene, before rushing off to do a live shot. Then it's onto the next story.

In the role of a "Most Wanted" producer, you are a representative of a show that is hosted by John Walsh, the father of a child who was abducted and murdered. In one of the first conversations I had with Walsh, he was adamant that "Most Wanted" never "re-victimize the victim."

His point was the media tended to find blame with victims, something he could relate to when there was unfounded speculation that his business dealings as a Florida real estate developer were somehow connected to his son's murder. There was never any connection. Police believe his son Adam was most likely murdered by Otis Toole, a serial killer.

In the late summer of 1991, I flew out to Sacramento and drove to Jaycee's home. Together with "Most Wanted" correspondent Lena Nozizwe, we talked to Jaycee's parents, Terry and Carl Probyn. They were devastated and desperate. They knew the national exposure on "Most Wanted" would help law enforcement and possibly lead to information about Jaycee or her abductors. We sat in the backyard of the couple's home, under a canopy of pine trees, and talked about the morning she disappeared.

It was a routine day, nothing out of the ordinary. Terry had left the house before Jaycee walked to the bus stop. Tears flowed throughout the interview. Some were mine.

Later we talked to Carl in the garage, where he was standing as he witnessed his step daughter being grabbed. As part of our report we videotaped Terry in Jaycee's bedroom. On top of her neatly made bed were her Teddy Bears and dolls. I forget what posters were on the wall.

I remember a couple of trophies. I sat on the bed with Terry and talked about how hopeful we were that our story would generate leads for the FBI, who had taken the role as lead investigators on the case. They were working closely with the local sheriff's department, but the Feds take over all kidnapping cases.

(CBS13)

(CBS)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anthony Batson is the Senior Broadcast Producer for the CBS News broadcast The Early Show. Before that he spent much of his 12 year career at 48 Hours covering criminals and their crimes. In the 1990s at "America's Most Wanted" he was instrumental in establishing the network's Missing Child Alerts. He first covered the crime beat in Australia, at the Sydney Sun.

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by cjohnthan September 7, 2009 7:02 PM EDT: another puzzle really shocked me is that: this bease's mother/father was trying to help him out! yeah! this is quite normal, but you know what? the poor child had been ruined (i would define as manslaught, what you americans think?) like that!!!

if this **** is involved in another felony, i can understand that, because this is family.

another black wom0n, milino, is a obviously racist. i do believe america is absolutely not post-racial.

what the hell is going on in america??? i am so sick of all this serials now.

milino, your business will be rewarded after grila got out. watcha! you will be deeply satified then.

may god with you. may compassion with you just for a little bit.; Reply to this comment


by midnight14210 September 1, 2009 1:18 PM EDT: Has anyone read the transcript at http://www.kcra.com/news/20604335/detail.html

If you read the transcript almost to the bottom of the page hes states that he slept in the same bed as his boys.Jaycee was found with her daughters.I went and listened to the audio which is horrible but when it comes to the same part in the phone interview it almost sounds as if hes saying boys as well.So my question is if he is talking about boys then where are they? And how many other children did she give birth to that didnt make it for one reason or another??; Reply to this comment


by ky-man August 31, 2009 12:45 PM EDT: I wonder if any of you can really imagine living even 1 year of your life with interaction with only 2 other people.....It is beyond comprehension..and it was more than likely at least 4 years of no contact , at least until the 1st baby was born..what stories must have been told to this child..and by the time he put her to work in his business .. then she had contact,but what to do with it?? she had 2 children herself to take care of..think about it.; Reply to this comment


by Topotraveler August 31, 2009 8:24 AM EDT: The Sad fact is, Jaycee may never get past or move on beyond her 18 yrs of captivity, and her children were never integrated into society or socialized with other children, can you imagine the outcome of this in another 10 years. These kids now 11/15 have no
formal education, where do they go from here? Are the forever damaged or themselves trained in the ways of criminal actions? I hope for the best for these people, but this is one heck of a long road for them, one that may be unobtainable.; Reply to this comment

by edgy44 August 28, 2009 9:04 PM EDT

I just hope they bulldoze the whole backyard, and liquidate the home. This young woman is going to need a lot of money, and a lot of love. I hope they set up a fund for her, and prime it with whatever they can from this mans estate. I have a bad feeling about what's buried there, so I hope they search it all the way down to bedrock. Who knows how many kids she bore that didn't survive.

Reply to this comment


by sharoncalla August 29, 2009 3:40 PM EDT: I agree with edgy44, I can't imagine being Jaycee, or the little girls, for starters they need a home, a home built for them by caring people, close to Jaycees real mom. She will need her mom for moral support, there will be sad depressed moments because she is "so behind", in education, awareness, internet use, everything. All three need physicals, dental visits, temporary funds until they can get a grip. The girls are so behind, it would be "horrible" to be any one of these gals. So they need rallying and support from every source available. I hope they fully recuperate, and find "joy". Welcome home girls, so very glad "you are alive".


by yoyoinla August 28, 2009 2:49 PM EDT: I just think is horrible that some of you are trivializing this child's (now woman) tragedy, as well as her family's, to make a political statement. Are you not confident enough in your mudslinging to fight your battles on a political blog?

May the Jaycee and her family have peace.

On a personal note, I wish that this for the evil man and his wife....may they rot..in a 4x6 claustrophobic room...alone...for the rest of their miserable lives. And may every morning someone with an electric prod with a STRONG current "wake them up"...just enough to be very painful, but not enough so they can't relive the experience the next day.; Reply to this comment

by rickwar August 28, 2009 1:41 PM EDT

I lived in S Lake Tahoe during this period, I remember the events all too well. One of my employees lived next door to her house. I was a dark cloud that fell over the community for at least a full year. The stepdad was under the gun all the time as knowing more than he divulged.

It's not a happy ending, but it is an ending.

Hillarynow, you are a complete idiot.

Reply to this comment


by Thatscrazy22 August 28, 2009 6:03 PM EDT: "The stepdad was under the gun all the time as knowing more than he divulged"
Even now, this possibility should not be excluded.


by kdadams1 September 9, 2009 3:31 PM EDT: WHAT!?!? Are you serious Thatscrazy22???? I say your name here says it all!!! Don't you think the family has suffered enough over the past 18 years & how horrible that must have been for the stepdad to have gone through the torture of being a suspect & then there are dumba** people like you who can still point the blame even though the world now kows who is responsible for taking Jaycee???? You are pitifull!!

by edgy44 August 28, 2009 12:16 PM EDT

I'm available for any stoning that will be required. I can bring in some real sharp ones. This couple needs to die. Hopefully they will liquidate their property and ownings and give it to the victim and her daughters.

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by dcrewsing August 28, 2009 1:02 PM EDT: line up the folks next door also for not having a clue as if we all don't know what children sound like at play or as if they never surfaced from the back yard screw it line up the whole block for not knowing


by kdadams1 September 9, 2009 3:27 PM EDT: I agree with dcrewsing. The neighbors not reporting what they thought was wrong or suspicious makes them guilty too. Maybe they did not committ the horrible acts that were suffered by Jaycee & her daughters, BUT they sure as hell didn't do anything about it either!!


by Speakeasy32 August 28, 2009 11:07 AM EDT: HillaryNow: Put your granola bar down, climb down from that tree, and snap back to reality for a second. Kidnapped at 11, repeatedly raped, having children by 14, living in a compound with no access to the outside world for 18 years........ so that makes him a Republican? Impossible...he lives in California. So now that we have all agreed that he is a Democrat, where does this lead us?; Reply to this comment

by hillarynow August 28, 2009 10:26 AM EDT

This is what happens when the mentally ill take their religious beliefs too far. This freak is the type of religious nut if he were President would have started a war that decimated American life as we once knew it. Believing as long as God spoke to him and appointed him, it was justified to do what he was doing.. oh wait, we already had a religious nut job for a President that did that. Remember that same nut said the same kinds of crazy things, that one day you will see, when the whole story unfolds you will see what a wonderful thing I did, history will show one day..... uh yeah right.. don't ever vote Republican ever again, these are the kinds of dangerous overzealous religious nuts you are giving limitless power to and trusting with your life. This country is in the mess it is now in because of one of them.

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by applianceman August 28, 2009 10:40 AM EDT: Oh Please...
Trying to connect this to President Bush is juvenile at best and such a typical left-wing Democratic move. No where does the story say that his religious beliefs caused him to kidnap Jaycee. In fact, he says his so-called religious beliefs caused him to realize how wrong this entire incident was.

The real problem is that this is a sick dude that needs to be put down. He was convicted in the past and should have been in prison rather than kidnapping Jaycee. The constant drum of liberalism that preaches reforming and ignores recidivism rates of sex criminals is why this happened. It is the result of left-wing policies.

So back at you HillaryNow. You are an idiot.


by monique-m August 29, 2009 8:41 PM EDT: You had to get political. We are writing about this case. That is what happens when child molesters are not put in jail for the crimes they commit. They need to be better monitored when they get out or stay in jail longer, because these people do not get rehabilitated. Left wing nut jobs always want them out of jail and give us this sad story about what happened when they were young. And how we should have compassion. Look what is happening in CA, the left wing legislature wants criminals release from jail. We pay the most to house these criminals in jail and they have better health care than I, but yet the left wing nuts want them out. Send them to other states, other states will be happy to take them in.