Survivors Dugard and Smart comment on Cleveland case
/ CBS/AP
WASHINGTON Famous kidnapping survivors Jaycee Dugard and Elizabeth Smart have words of wisdom for the three women found this week in Cleveland years after their disappearance.
Dugard was abducted from a California bus stop in 1991 at age 11 and held captive for 18 years in a backyard, where she gave birth to two children conceived by rape. She made an oblique reference Tuesday to the Cleveland case as she accepted an award in Washington from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
"What an amazing time to be talking about hope, with everything that's happening," she said in her brief remarks. She urged the hundreds of people at the annual awards gala not to give up on missing children. "Just urge yourself to care," she said.
In a statement released earlier through her publicist, Dugard said the women need a chance to heal and reconnect with the world. She said that the human spirit is resilient, and that the case reaffirms that people should never give up hope.
Dugard's mother, Terry Probyn, said in Washington that she understood what the relatives of the Cleveland victims were going through.
"I feel the same relief and the same joy that I felt when Jaycee was returned to me safely after 18 hellish years," she said. "I never doubted for one minute that I would someday be reunited with my daughter."
John Ryan, CEO of the center, praised the vigilance of investigators in Cleveland, saying they followed up on tips and never forgot about the missing women.
"There are other missing children out there that are only a phone call away from getting away from their predators," Ryan said. "I have every hope and confidence that this will lead to future recoveries."
Ryan said the three women would likely be honored by his group in the future. "I think they're going to be at the top of the list," he said.
"I am overjoyed," Smart told "CBS Evening News" anchor Scott Pelley when she heard the news. "I think that just goes to show that everyday people, the general public are the people who are going to make the biggest difference. It was because of the bravery and the heroism of that one [neighbor] that ended up saving those three girls because he was willing to listen, he was willing to act, he was willing to help. So I think it's just wonderful."
Smart was kidnapped from her bedroom in Salt Lake City when she was 14. She was freed nine months later when she was found walking with her captor on a suburban street in March 2003.
Survivors Dugard and Smart comment on Cleveland case
/ CBS/AP
WASHINGTON Famous kidnapping survivors Jaycee Dugard and Elizabeth Smart have words of wisdom for the three women found this week in Cleveland years after their disappearance.
Dugard was abducted from a California bus stop in 1991 at age 11 and held captive for 18 years in a backyard, where she gave birth to two children conceived by rape. She made an oblique reference Tuesday to the Cleveland case as she accepted an award in Washington from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
"What an amazing time to be talking about hope, with everything that's happening," she said in her brief remarks. She urged the hundreds of people at the annual awards gala not to give up on missing children. "Just urge yourself to care," she said.
In a statement released earlier through her publicist, Dugard said the women need a chance to heal and reconnect with the world. She said that the human spirit is resilient, and that the case reaffirms that people should never give up hope.
Dugard's mother, Terry Probyn, said in Washington that she understood what the relatives of the Cleveland victims were going through.
"I feel the same relief and the same joy that I felt when Jaycee was returned to me safely after 18 hellish years," she said. "I never doubted for one minute that I would someday be reunited with my daughter."
John Ryan, CEO of the center, praised the vigilance of investigators in Cleveland, saying they followed up on tips and never forgot about the missing women.
"There are other missing children out there that are only a phone call away from getting away from their predators," Ryan said. "I have every hope and confidence that this will lead to future recoveries."
Ryan said the three women would likely be honored by his group in the future. "I think they're going to be at the top of the list," he said.
"I am overjoyed," Smart told "CBS Evening News" anchor Scott Pelley when she heard the news. "I think that just goes to show that everyday people, the general public are the people who are going to make the biggest difference. It was because of the bravery and the heroism of that one [neighbor] that ended up saving those three girls because he was willing to listen, he was willing to act, he was willing to help. So I think it's just wonderful."
Smart was kidnapped from her bedroom in Salt Lake City when she was 14. She was freed nine months later when she was found walking with her captor on a suburban street in March 2003.
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