Jaycee Dugard releases videos of life after kidnapping
'It's been a long haul,' Calif. woman held for 18 years says
Last Updated: Friday, March 5, 2010 | 4:54 PM ET
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Jaycee Dugard is seen in a family photo taken before she was kidnapped in 1991. (Associated Press)California kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard appeared on television Friday, her first TV appearance since she was rescued last August from her 18-year ordeal as a captive in a backyard compound in Antioch, Calif.
Videos of Dugard's home life since being rescued and reunited with her family were shown on ABC's Good Morning America, and the network said it will show additional clips on 20/20 and Nightline later in the day.
Dugard, 29, has largely avoided the spotlight although she did release photos of herself, her mother, Terry Probyn, and her half-sister, Shayna. The images were published by People magazine, along with an interview with Dugard, in October 2009.
"Hi, I'm Jaycee," she says in one clip. "I want to thank you for your support, and I'm doing well … It's been a long haul, but I'm getting there."
In another, Dugard is seen laughing in the kitchen with her 50-year-old mother and her half-sister as they decorate Christmas cookies at their home in an undisclosed location in northern California.
"I've never gotten to decorate a cookie before," Dugard says with a grin.
Another clip shows her riding a black-and-white horse in a fenced outdoor ring, a part of her therapy program.
Most of the talking on the videos was done by Probyn, who thanked supporters for "all the love and support" they've shown in the past six months.
Probyn pleaded for the family's privacy, saying they want to be left alone during their healing process.
"It is our desire to share the miracle with the world," she said, "but it must be done on our terms."
Dugard willing to testify: reports
Convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, are awaiting trial on charges that they kidnapped Dugard outside her home in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., in 1991 when she was 11 and sexually assaulted her for several years. Prosecutors say she was kept in a tent-compound in a secret backyard at the couple's home. The Garridos have pleaded not guilty.
Dugard had two daughters, now 12 and 15, by Phillip Garrido. The girls were not shown on the videos.
Court documents suggest Dugard is co-operating with El Dorado County authorities who are prosecuting the Garridos, and a county spokesman told The Associated Press that she is willing to testify at a trial.
Over the past six months, she has obtained a driver's licence and birth certificates for her daughters.
According to ABC, she plans to attend college.
In November, Dugard's family criticized plans announced by low-budget filmmaker Shane Ryan to make a movie based on Dugard's ordeal.
The family's spokeswoman Nancy Seltzer called the director's plan "exploitive, hurtful and breathtakingly unkind."
Only Dugard and her family should decide whether a film is made about her, Seltzer said in a statement.
With files from The Associated PressShare Tools
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