No clues from Dugard in other cases

A woman kidnapped 18 years ago from South Lake Tahoe has so far not offered any clues in two other child abductions in Northern California in the 1980s, police said Friday.

Hayward and Dublin authorities said they have not directly interviewed Jaycee Dugard, who was snatched outside her South Lake Tahoe home in 1991, but have asked other law enforcement agencies involved in her case to question her on their behalf.

"She's not saying anything that helps us solve our case," said Hayward Lt. Chris Orrey.

Dugard, now 29, was reunited with her family Aug. 27, a day after her alleged captors were arrested. Phillip and Nancy Garrido have been charged with kidnapping and raping Dugard. Prosecutors say they hid Dugard in their Antioch backyard. The Garridos have pleaded not guilty.

Since their arrest, other law enforcement agencies have been trying to determine whether the Garridos had anything to do with unsolved child abductions in their cities.

Orrey would not disclose what questions were asked of Dugard or her answers. Asked if Dugard indicated if she knew anything about other children, Orrey said she did not know specifically about that, "I just know that there is nothing definitive for our case."

Hayward and Dublin authorities are searching the Garridos' property and a next-door neighbor's yard for any clues that would tie the couple to the 1988 kidnapping of Michaela Garecht outside a Hayward market and the 1989 disappearance of Ilene Misheloff in Dublin.

So far, the search has not yielded any strong links, Orrey said.

"Thus far in the operation, we have not found a piece of physical evidence that tells us conclusively that Phillip Garrido was involved in the Michaela Garecht abduction," Orrey said.

Hayward police Lt. Kurt von Savoye said they have recovered many items that warrant a second look, but "nothing that with certainty leads us to believe that there is a definite link between the Garridos and Ilene's disappearance."

Orrey said that was not necessarily bad news.

"I wouldn't say the lack of a key piece of evidence is a frustration for us. We certainly hope to find more but in a sense it could indicate they are alive," she said.

Investigators planned to remove debris from the Garrido backyard and home Friday.

Once yard is cleared, investigators plan to use high-tech equipment that can look for any indication of remains under the ground. On Thursday, two cadaver dogs picked up a scent that may be a sign of remains.

New photographs taken by Contra Costa County building inspectors at the request of the sheriff's department show the inside of the home cluttered with clothing, overturned mattresses and other debris.

Tables, couches, beds and other pieces of furniture also are buried under paperwork, toys, pillows and clothes. Piles of dishes spilled out of the sink; pots and bowls emptied onto the kitchen floor from overcrowded cupboards, the pictures showed.

Cords snaked through the house hooking up a computer, television and other electronics, and a fish tank was clouded with dirty water.