The story of Jaycee Dugard raised disturbing questions about both Stockholm syndrome and California's parole system, but it also rekindled hope that other long-missing children may be found alive. Dugard was 11 years old when she was abducted as she was walking to her school bus in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. When she was finally found 18 years later, in Antioch, Calif., she was the mother of two girls, the first born to her when she was 14, the second when she was 18. Dugard had been living with Phillip Garrido, a registered sex offender who had somehow gotten his parole status terminated in 1999, eight years after he allegedly kidnapped the girl. Garrido and his wife Nancy, who kept Dugard and her children in a makeshift hut in their backyard, face charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment and rape. They pleaded not guilty. Dugard, who kept her silence, readjusted to her new existence with her mother and half sister. Her children apparently were doing well in their first days in school.
The Top 10 Everything of 2009
- Top 10 Albums
- Top 10 Animal Stories
- Top 10 Apologies
- Top 10 Art Exhibitions
- Top 10 Awkward Moments
- Top 10 Best Business Deals
- Top 10 Breakups
- Top 10 Buzzwords
- Top 10 Children's Books
- Top 10 Crime Stories
- Top 10 Editorial Cartoons
- Top 10 Facebook Stories
- Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas
- Top 10 Fashion Moments
- Top 10 Feuds
- Top 10 Fiction Books
- Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities
- Top 10 Gadgets
- Top 10 Green Ideas
- Top 10 Heroes
- Top 10 iPhone Apps
- Top 10 Late-Night Jokes
- Top 10 Magazine Covers
- Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
- Top 10 Movie Performances
- Top 10 Movies
- Top 10 New Species
- Top 10 News Stories
- Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- Top 10 Oddball News Stories
- Top 10 Pariahs
- Top 10 Pictures of the Year
- Top 10 Plays and Musicals
- Top 10 Political Gaffes
- Top 10 Quotes
- Top 10 Religion Stories
- Top 10 Scandals
- Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
- Top 10 Songs
- Top 10 Sports Moments
- Top 10 T-Shirt-Worthy Slogans
- Top 10 TV Ads
- Top 10 TV Episodes
- Top 10 TV Series
- Top 10 Tweets
- Top 10 Underreported Stories
- Top 10 Untruths
- Top 10 Video Games
- Top 10 Viral Videos
- Top 10 Worst Biz Deals
TIME charts the highs and lows of the past year in 50 wide-ranging lists