Have any of you read Jaycee Dugard's book regarding her 18 years in captivity? I just picked it up the day before yesterday, and I literally could not put it down! I just finished it, and several points stood out for me... I'm bringing them up here, because it might give a lot of insight into Jacob's case....
-> While she was in captivity she found thinking of her mom so very painful that she actually blocked out her thoughts of her as much as she could. Interestingly, Jaycee even eventually forgot what her mom looked like. She could say that her own children reminded her of her mom, but could not pinpoint why as she just had lost the memory of her mom's visual appearance. She was 11 when she was abducted. It surprised me to learn that a child of that age could forget what her mom looked like!!
-> While in captivity, she never said her own name. She wrote it once, but was scolded for doing so by her captors, and then she buried it and assumed a new name. She even insisted on using the new name when parole officers were told by her captors that she was a kidnap victim that he had taken many years ago. She was unable to even say her own name when confronted with the reality of her situation by officers, and had to write it down for them.
-> She came to rely on her captors, and could not imagine a life without them doing for her / providing for her. She became 100% dependent on them for everything. She spent years locked away in a secret backyard... all alone. Despite the horrors Philip Garrido subjected her to, he brought her food, and drink, and provided company at times (as did the female captor). Even up to the last hours when Philip revealed that he had kidnapped her to the parole officers..... she maintained that she was someone else, and sought to protect her captor from police.
In reading her story of survival - it occurs to me that Jacob may also be out there somewhere! Jaycee was eventually allowed out on supervised outtings with her captors, and her children. She sought to blend in, afraid of being recognized, and afraid of what would happen to her. She had access to the internet, but never once searched her own name -- b/c she believed her captor had full control of the computer, and could read everything she did on there whenever he wanted!!
If Jacob is out there somewhere, its possible that he too is petrified of being discovered, half hoping someone will notice him, and end break his invisibility!! Maybe he doesn't remember his own name, or can't bring himself to use it. Maybe he cannot remember the faces of those who know and love him -- maybe (like Jaycee), he fears what they might think of him, and any issues he might be carrying with him.
I can't imagine what he might have endured, or how he might have survived! I only he is alive somewhere, and that like Jaycee he might one day be able to be found, and return to his loved ones!!
