Imagine, your mother a fugitive, your father a stranger. Your home, your name, your past was any of it real . The first thing i felt, just pit in my stomach. I just felt like it was my fault. A mothers crime. A fathers pain. What kinds of emotions did it stir up when you would see that crib . It would just make me cry. A daughter forced to face the shattering truth. I was shocked and i was just terrified. Im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres Andrea Canning with finding savanna. In 20some years, will i recall how you tucked and curled against my neck and chest . Reporter a fathers love. Harris todd once tried to put it into words. In 20some years will i recall how i often held you long after you had fallen asleep, listening to you breathe . Reporter tried to express what it meant to cradle his baby daughter savanna. And you, what will you remember of these wondrous days as a baby girl along with your old father whose entire life you now are . Reporter back in 1994, harris could not imagine that these wondrous days would abruptly end. That the next 20 years would turn a fathers love into a fathers nightmare . Losing you took most of the life out of me. And sometimes i feel like im already dead and just havent fallen over yet. Reporter it all began in charleston, south carolina, when harris, a financial advisor, met a beautiful Flight Attendant named dorothy lee barnett. Everyone knew her as lee. Reporter when shes at her best, shes a very vivacious and attractive and alluring person. Very lively and interested in a lot of things. She was very outgoing, very friendly. She lived life to its fullest. Reporter patty roth was a fellow Flight Attendant and one of lees best friends. They had traveled the world, but patty said lee ultimately wanted a conventional life. Lee and i both wanted marriage. We wanted children. We wanted animals. We wanted the picket fence. Reporter harris thought that he could build that life with lee, but early in their relationship he noticed some problems. He said she was overly emotional and sometimes quick to anger. Still, he thought love would conquer all. I suffer from the misconception that i can fix things. That i can make things better. Reporter they married in december 1991. But within months, harris said, it became apparent that his fixing skills were no match for lees behavior. I mean, i never knew what was going to face me when i came through the door after work. And it could be nothing, and it could be nothing but screaming and yelling and throwing pots. Reporter things got so bad harris told lee he wanted a divorce. He said, lee told him that she was pregnant. Everything fell apart when she told him that she was pregnant. Reporter patty said what actually made the marriage go sour was harris refusal to have children. He wanted her to terminate the pregnancy, and that was just not an option for lee. It broke her heart. Reporter lee says that you didnt want her to have the child . Not at all true. I never said that. Not once. Reporter either way, the marriage was over. Harris left lee when she was still in her first trimester. And lee initiated divorce proceedings. When baby savanna was born in may 1993 she asked for full custody. I felt at the end of the lee would have her child. Harris would have visitations. Reporter but to everyones surprise, harris countersued. You decided you wanted full custody . From my point of view, i decided that before the baby was born. It was like a responsibility that i suddenly realized had, if you will, been thrust upon me. Reporter the fight for savanna turned into an epic battle. A family Court Showdown that became one of the longest and most contentious that charleston had ever seen. There will be mothers everywhere saying shame on him. How can he, you know, try to rip that baby from her arms when shes still nursing. Shes built this bond. I wasnt trying to take her away from her mother. I just felt that i was the more stable parent. Reporter at the hearing, harris and others testified that lees behavior was erratic, sometimes violent. One psychiatrist testified that lee had a mood disorder. According to harris lawyer, graham sturgis, lees emotional outbursts were on full display in the courtroom. So much so that the judge had to take action. As the case wore on, it was clear that her level of anxiety and frustration rose until the judge required that a bailiff stand behind her chair with his hands on her shoulder to keep her seated. Reporter some people might say that she felt that her baby was slipping away from her. And that any mother might start to lose her mind a little bit in court. I think theres truth in that, but its also indicative of her inability to control her behavior. Reporter but on lees behalf, two other psychiatrists testified she had no mental or emotional disorders, and was a perfectly fit parent. And as for her allegedly manic behavior . Patty and other friends testified they had never seen it. I saw lee almost every day for a couple years, and i did not see any episodes like that. She was full of life. She had a lot of energy, absolutely saw no depression. Reporter after 2 1 2 weeks of acrimonious testimony, it was up to the judge. Harris was with the toddler when the phone rang. Savanna and i were in the yard, and it was a warm day, and she was barefoot walking on the grass. Reporter what do you hear on the phone call . The judge awarding me full and sole custody. Reporter harris was too emotionally depleted from the vicious custody battle to jump for joy, but he was surprised by what he suddenly felt. That overwhelming sense to protect and care for a child. I didnt anticipate the depth. Reporter were you feeling an intense bond with savanna at this point . Oh, tremendous. Id never been happier in my entire life. Reporter but lee was reeling from the verdict that allowed her to see savanna only every other weekend. The judge wrote in his ruling that the psychological and emotional problems experienced by the mother, if left untreated, will create conflict and havoc in the childs life. She was angry. She thought it was corrupt. Reporter babs mccambridge was lees friend and savannas babysitter. She went with lee to pick up savanna for a visitation weekend two weeks after the verdict and said she was horrified when harris handed over baby savanna. She had black and blue marks on her forehead. She had blood on her nose. Lee sat in the back seat with the waeb, and she was crying. And we went to the emergency room. Reporter did you ever harm virginia savanna . Heavens, no. She fell when she was with my mother at the house. Thats all it was. Reporter the emergency room report supported what harris had told lee. Savannas injuries were consistent with a minor fall. The e. R. Doctor wrote he found no signs of abuse. I mean, i would never have let a hair on that babys head be harmed. Reporter but lee was convinced harris was an unfit parent and refused to return savanna until harris forced her to do so by Emergency Court order. The situation seemed to stabilize for a time. But then came april 24th, 1994. A date harris would remember forever. Savanna had been with lee for a weekend visitation, and once again, lee failed to bring the baby back. But when harris went to lees home nobody was there. And then all calls were fruitless. Nothing turned up. Reporter was there a moment where you thought, im getting really scared here. I think that maybe my daughters not coming back . No, i didnt even imagine anything that horrible. Where had they gone . When we come back you have that just instant horror of where is she . A fathers misery would soon become a worldwide mystery. Im john walsh. 1yearold savanna lee barnett is missing. Did you worry that savanna could be in danger . Yes. Ill take those odds. Be unstoppable. The allnew 2015 ford edge. Wish your skin could bounce back like it used to . New neutrogena hydro boost water gel. With hyaluronic acid it plumps skin cells with intense hydration and locks it in. For supple, hydrated skin. Hydro boost. From neutrogena. Brandon thinks hellmanns is heaven in a jar. Thats because our ingredients come from. Farmers committed to responsibly sourced oils. Blended with ingredients like cagefree eggs. Mmm. Heaven. Real ingredients. Thats how were working to bring out the best. Everyday, millions of amazing photos and videos are shot with iphone. Thats because the iphone makes it easy for everyone to shoot amazing photos and video. If its not an iphone, its not an iphone. Harris todds exwife lee had failed to return their baby daughter savanna after a weekend visitation. So he went to her house to get the baby back. But the house was not only empty, it was completely cleaned out. You have that just instant horror of where is she . Reporter harris immediately notified all missing childrens agencies. Since parental abduction of a eral crime, fbi agent chris quick was assigned to the case. I wasnt thinking this was well thought out initially and that, you know, wed have this case resolved in a week, two weeks. Reporter did you worry that savanna could be in danger . Yes. Is she this woman whos really caring for her child and going to take care of her child . Or is this the woman who does harm to the child . Reporter if lee had family or friends who had any information about her whereabouts, they didnt volunteer it. So agent quick put a trace on their phones. Any calls from lee . No. The thing that trips up most people that are running from the law is not having that discipline to talk to old friends or going back to places that theyre familiar with. And as this case went on we realized that dorothy lee had that discipline. Reporter quick discovered that lee had inquired about a job in australia or south africa and that her mom owned a home in the Central American country of belize. So he put tabs on flights to those countries. They turned up nothing. Reporter did you assume that maybe she had changed her identity . Yes. Like a new license, maybe a new passport. Reporter lee seemed to have vanished without a trace. But out of the blue, a message appeared. Savanna and i belong together. And nobody besides god has the right to destroy that. We had found out five days or so after the kidnapping, relatives the and associates received a letter and a videotape from dorothy lee. And it states, to whom it may concern, i recently lost custody to my beautiful 9 1 2monthold nursing baby. This happened because of a truly evil person, b. Harris todd, and a totally corrupt family court system. Reporter now agent quick knew this child abduction was not a spur of the moment decision. Lee had a well thoughtout plan. I promise and swear on my life that i will continue to take care of my daughter. I will keep her safe. I will never allow anybody to harm her again. I mean, that was an attempt to embarrass and destroy me. But its not surprising. You know, she is building a case for whatever else, to justify what she did. I just hope you know that i love you. Reporter though he had nowhere to send it, harris made his own home video, a message to savanna. I just hope youre safe and clean and healthy out there wherever you are. Reporter it took a lot out of harris to shoot that video in savannas room. Every morning i would come in and wake her up, feed her, dress her, and wed head off. And you know, i couldnt bear to see the crib empty. Reporter what kind of emotions did it stir up when you would see that crib . Mostly tears. And it would just make me cry. So i left the id keep the door closed. When i walked down the hall, id just touch the door. That was about all i could do. Reporter but harris also began to take action. He wrote to john walsh of americas most wanted who recorded a Public Service announcement for him. Im john walsh. 1yearold savanna lee barnett is missing from isle of palms, south carolina. Reporter and he appeared on unsolved mysteries which dedicated an entire segment to his case. I wake up now every morning with a broken heart. Reporter harris tv appearances generated hundreds of leads. Those leads came from everywhere, anywhere from california, georgia, alabama. We would follow those up and try to determine if that was dorothy lee or the child. Nothing. Nothing panned out. April 24th, 1996. Youre gone two years now, which is unimaginable. I dont know how old youll be when you see this, if you ever see this. Ill be here for you whenever you do come back. Reporter then finally, four years into his search, harris thought that moment had arrived. Someone had seen a little blondhaired girl about 5 years old, walk into a Grocery Store in mexico. The woman who called in was there when the little girls mother came to the door and said, savanna, come on. You need to come home. Reporter coming up mexico . Private detectives are on the case. The lady said that, yes, the little girl comes in here by herself because her mother has bad headaches and doesnt come out sometimes for days. Reporter did that sound like lee to you . It did, yes. Had mother and daughter been found . Six is greater than one. So go ahead, inhale life excite your senses, seize the day and the night. Flonase. Six is greater than one. This changes everything. Every Auto Insurance policy has a number. But not every Insurance Company understands the life behind it. Those who have served our nation. Have earned the very best service in return. Usaa. 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Or obsess about security. Shell log in with her smile. Hell have his very own personal assistant. And this guy wont just surf the web. Hell touch it. Scribble on it. And share it. Because these kids will grow up with windows 10. Get started today. Windows 10. A more human way to do. So this is where i keep all the files and notebooks that ive amassed over the years. I have got everything in here from maps and letters and copies of everything. Reporter are there a lot of dead ends here, too . Oh, there are plenty of dead ends. Reporter but after four years of searching, harris todd thought hed found his daughter in a small town in mexico. Especially after a source gave a description of the girls mother. The lady said that, yes, the little girl comes in here by herself all the time to play games or whatever because her mother has bad headaches and doesnt come out sometimes for days. Reporter did that sound like lee to you . It did, yes. Mmhmm. Reporter harris hired private detectives to check out the lead. What was the report you got from the detectives . They found absolutely nothing. You know, they checked everything out. They went everywhere, and they never found the little girl, for that matter. Reporter perhaps lee and savanna had been there and left. Or maybe it wasnt them at all. Either way, it was another dead end. You run through the cycle of excitement and disappointment enough times and you just say, well, look, do you really want to put yourself through that again . Because theres a wealth of pain associated with this, and i can only dip into it so often and survive. Reporter how much do you think youve spent on your search . I spent everything i had and everything i could borrow. Graham sturgiss, my attorney, told me that i better quit spending enough money or there wouldnt be anything for her to come back to. Reporter fbi agent chris quick knew the chance savanna would come back was getting smaller and smaller. You were kind of grasping for straws. To some extent, youre right. Reporter must have felt cold . Oh yeah, definitely. Definitely. After the three or four years, its considered a cold case. Reporter harris tried to move on. Tried to fill that gaping hole in his life. One thing that helped, he said, was his niece, who was just three years younger than savanna. I spent an awful lot of time with her. I mean, from a very early age. I did homework with her every day. Would walk her to school, pick her up from school. Reporter did you think to yourself i should have been doing this with my daughter . Yeah, i thought about it. You know, when you go see your child in the thanksgiving play, you see them singing the christmas pageant. Well, i was watching my niece instead of my daughter. But i was thinking about my daughter at that time. Reporter time marched on. Harris continued working as a Financial Adviser at merrill lynch. He had a few relationships, but he never remarried. After ten years the fbi assigned a new agent, ed klimas, to the case, but nothing new turned up. I believe that the chances of success for this case were probably very slim at that point. That they had disappeared to a foreign country that we would never be able to locate them. Reporter about the only thing that changed were the images on the missing persons posters. From the baby harris had loved to a computer simulated image of a teen he barely recognized. If i die before i wake from this nightmare reporter hed stopped filming his messages to savanna long ago, but he wrote one last poem. And please do keep an eye out across the fields. Watch the end of the long driveway. Someday my daughter will be there asking for me. Reporter had you give up . No, but one has to face reality. I mean you just say, well, look, here it is. Shes 16. Shes 17. Shes 18. And you dont know where she is. So reporter perhaps the only sign that harris had not abandoned all hope was savannas room. It stood just as she had left it almost 18 years before. Then you get an email totally out of the blue. I did. Reporter what did it say . It said essentially, i have information about your daughter. But again i learned to temper my expectations over the years. Because the well had long since gone dry. So all of a sudden the bucket goes down again and this time it comes up and theres water in it. Coming up were you just floored . Completely floored. That mysterious email. Turns out someone else had been doing some detective work, too. They tracked you down. They told me, we feel like you have a right to know your daughter. At outback steak and unlimited shrimp is back for just 15. 99 for a limited time. Try unlimited garlic herb butter. Or crispy shrimp for just 15. 99 and let the bold flavors. 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