Transcript for Steven Stayner escapes captor, returns home after seven years: Part 3
In 1979, Ken parnell pulled up stakes again, and he moved with Steven to a small cabin in Manchester, California, which is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by almost nothing. This is, for Ken and for Steven, a turning point. It was a one-room shack. Very old and cold. At some point, parnell and Steven together realized that Steven was growing up and that he was no longer gonna be able to be controlled by parnell. Parnell wanted another kid. So, in February of 1980, Ken parnell goes back to the exact same M.O. That he used to get Steven Stayner. He paid a local kid to ride with him to the little town of ukiah, California, puts this high school kid out on the street to go find him a boy, and he finds 5-year-old Timothy white walking home from school. Steven watched Timmy suffer through this separation from his family for two weeks and decided finally that he had to do something about it. He literally said, “I was not gonna let that child go through what I had already been through. And if I didn’t take care of it now, it would just get worse.” Eventually, Steven got the courage to take Timmy white out pof that house and when Kenneth parnell went to work, the two hitchhiked to the town of ukiah. It’s dark, and Timmy can’t remember where he lives. So, Steven figures the best thing to do is to take him to the police station. Keep in mind, Steve Stayner was known as Dennis for seven long years. But when he arrives at that police station, he says something that will be embedded in the public consciousness forever. I know my first name is Steven. And that became the title of a book. It became a television movie, and it made Steven famous. Seven long years ago, a youngster in California vanished. Everyone thought he was dead at this point. He had rescued another boy. This is Steven today. He is holding 5-year-old Timothy white. Who could make this up? Every television network, every magazine cover, every movie executive. There wasn’t anyone not interested. There he is. There he is. Steven was a national hero. He returns to Merced triumphant. Steven’s return has been a joyous event. Within days, he’s on “Good morning America.” Good morning, Steven, and Mr. And Mrs. Stayner. Steven, how’s it feel to be home? Feels great. Did you remember your parents well? They didn’t change that much. I recognized them when I got out of the car. What about your brothers and sisters? They changed a lot. I never recognized either one of them. Mr. And Mrs. Stayner, how did this affect your other four children? When Steve disappeared, the older two were very upset and I think kind of became very quiet children from the experience. There was a press conference outside the Stayner house on Bette street. And everyone was smiling. There was a lot of jubilation. This is really some sort of a miracle that Steven’s come home. The greatest thing that ever happened. It’s a blessing. But if you look in the background, there’s something worth noting, and it’s Cary in his baseball cap. And he’s not smiling at all. Cary, as the older brother, had a very strange relationship now with his younger brother, Steven, who was getting all of this attention and who was a different person. In the television movie, there’s a scene where he’s finally reunited with his brother, Cary. Cary? And Cary comes in, looking almost like a shaggy-haired surfer. And he’s jubilant. He’s so thrilled to see his brother. There’s nothing to suggest that Cary was all that thrilled to see his brother. They shared a room. They didn’t get along. Steven didn’t understand the rules that he was now expected to live by. Steven, what have these years been like for you adjusting, getting over the seven years you were away from home? For seven years I had been supposedly an only child. Now I had to compete with a brother and three sisters. You were away for seven years, and a lot of people still wonder why you didn’t try to escape before you finally did escape three years ago. When you look back on that, why do you think that is, do you think? Well, there’s several reasons. I was told I was adopted. You believed it? Yes, I believed it. Kay, what about for you? How do you think it’s been for Steven? I think he’s done fantastic. I’m very proud of the way he’s kind of joined right in with the rest of us, and he doesn’t give us any problems. I tried to explain to her that they might consider, you know, some professional counseling. And she told me that she didn’t believe that that was gonna be necessary. The adults all thought Steven was a hero, but none of the adults had to go to high school with Steven. It is generally known there was homosexual activity involved in Steven’s abduction. Steven was constantly being made fun of when he came back, which is really sad because this poor guy has just been through seven years of, you know, being molested and everything else. His sexuality was constantly under attack. There’s a scene in the movie in a locker room. Was it kind of exciting for you, being around all those naked guys? Where Steven, at least, is strong enough to fight back. But the bullying was just unending. While Steven already has these two sides buffeting him, the adults who say he’s a hero and the kids who are just picking on him mercilessly, he’s gotta deal with parnell as well. There he is sitting in the courtroom, and he’s gotta point to Ken parnell. Ultimately, Kenneth parnell did face charges of kidnapping and false imprisonment. But he was never tried for sexual assault in this case. In the end, there was not sufficient evidence to prove those charges. It was outrageous. There was out and out fury over the sentence. I’m angry that he will be back out on the street. I thought laws were to protect the innocent children, and it’s not. Because he will be out, and he’ll possibly do it again. Quite probably. Ken parnell went back to what he had been doing for years. He found someone else to help him find another boy, only this time he was caught and he was sent to prison again, where he died in 2008. While Steven was kind of struggling through his own life after his return, Cary was out of high school and having his own troubles. I think Cary after high school seemed a little lost, like he didn’t know where he was going. When his life was starting to spin out of control, he took refuge in yosemite. He had this international scout, pale blue. And he would just drive out highway 140 into yosemite and disappear up into the woods and get high. Whatever demons were clamoring around in his head, by being naked, by smoking pot, he could find the peace that he so desperately needed. One of the things that made a huge impact on him was that he was convinced that he saw bigfoot. Any opportunity that Cary got he couldn’t wait to tell people about driving through an area known as Foresta and bigfoot leaping out of the woods in the dark of night. It turns out that this incredibly deep obsession with bigfoot is ultimately going to have incredibly tragic consequences. This sanctuary would turn out to be the very setting where Cary Stayner’s murderous demons would be unleashed. (Kevin) I can deduct this, right?
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
