Sunday, August 30, 2009

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From: vincent@trade-show-expo.com <vincent@trade-show-expo.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2009 6:45 PM
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Subject: For real-time mobile news, go to - http://usatoday.mlogic.mobi

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Kidnapped girl etched in Tahoe community's heart

Some knew her, others only knew of her. But they will never forget the day 18 years ago when the blonde, blue-eyed 11-year-old was snatched in broad daylight on her way to a bus stop.

Her scream. A frantic sprint on a mountain bike by her stepfather up the twisted mountain road as he tried to catch up to the Ford Granada and the unknown man and woman who had just ripped his family's lives to shreds before his eyes.

QUESTIONS: Linger after girl found 18 years laterIN COURT: Couple pleads not guilty; suspect calls kidnap 'heartwarming'

A world renown tourist destination, South Lake Tahoe on the Nevada-California line is dominated in summer by gamblers, boaters and beach goers. In winter, by gamblers, skiers and snowboarders.

But beneath the facade of a tourist town, where workers come and go with each passing season, is a tight-knit community that never forgot Jaycee Lee Dugard, a little girl who loved the color pink.

Her mother, Terry Probyn, and stepfather, Carl, were relative newcomers to the Tahoe community.

"They were brand new to the district," Sue Bush, Jaycee's fifth grade teacher, said Friday. "I met them at parent-teacher conference twice."

But the community shared their nightmare and embraced them, holding fundraisers, putting up fliers and adorning the town in pink ribbons to keep Jaycee in their hearts after she was kidnapped June 10, 1991.

In 2001, 10 years later, more than 100 people marched on U.S. 50, the main 'highway through town, in a pink ribbon parade to remember the little girl and raise awareness of child safety and Jaycees' unsolved kidnapping.

Terry Probyn, who left Tahoe in 1998 and moved to Southern California, returned for the anniversary.

"Someone out there knows what happened," she said at the time. "We need peace. Give us that gift."

It arrived, out of the blue, Wednesday night when she received a call from investigators, saying her daughter had been found alive. Nearly two decades of questions, what ifs, and suspicions against Dugard's stepfather, Carl Probyn, were replaced by tears of joy.

Phillip Garrido, 58, and his 54-year-old wife, Nancy, were arrested last week on suspicion of abducting Dugard. They pleaded not guilty Friday to a total of 29 counts, including forcible abduction, rape and false imprisonment