Encore: Kidnapped in the Desert | Zero Hour | 3
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The series originally aired in 2021. Eric Landelmom pulls up to a squat building in Nairobi and jumps out of the car. It's January 16th, and the latest proof-of-life call from Jess came with bad news. She told the translator for her NGO that her UTI was turning into a kidney infection. There was blood in her urine, and she couldn't move her lower back. Walking was difficult. She gave the translator a strong message.

I don't know what's happening on your side, but you have two human beings out here that you are responsible for. And if we die, it's on you. When Eric was given the news, he was spurred into action. He knows there are a lot of moving pieces to this operation. It's bigger than he is, and he lacks information. But he needs to talk to Jessica's Nairobi doctor to find out if it's as bad as he thinks.

When he gets through security, the doctor is waiting. They sit side by side on hard wooden chairs. Eric tries to be calm and use precise words when he tells the doctor about Jess's symptoms.

The doctor listens quietly, occasionally nodding his head. When Eric is done, he says, "I know there's a lot going on here, but as a doctor, you need to get her out of there now. The conditions aren't sanitary. She needs an IV. If you don't get her out now, she's going to die."

Eric gets back in his car and speeds through the city, running red lights and veering around cars. While he's driving, he calls Matt Espenshade, the FBI agent who is handling the case. Matt, can you meet me at Jessica's NGO? Matt knows more than he does. He is connected to Washington.

A couple months back, Matt told them a military rescue was a last resort. Only if negotiations stalled for a long period of time without hope of resolution. Maybe he can do something.

When he gets to the office of Jessica's NGO, Matt's already waiting with another agent, who Eric has only met a handful of times. Matt, I just talked to Jess's doctor. He knows her condition better than anyone else. He's treated her thyroid condition, and she's had UTIs in the past. He says we need to get her out now, or she's going to die. Eric is out of breath by the time he's done, and then he waits.

Matt looks at his partner. Neither say a word. Then the two get up and walk out of the room. He's not sure what it means. He's not in the need-to-know circle. There's nothing he can do but wait.

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In our last episode, Jessica Buchanan and her fellow hostage, Paul Thisted, were held captive by a band of Somali land pirates. They demanded millions of dollars in exchange for their release. As months of unsuccessful negotiations went by, Jessica studied her kidnappers and found ways to stay alive. But her health deteriorated quickly. Now, her body's on the verge of collapse.

Her husband, Eric, knows the negotiations aren't going anywhere, and the crisis management team overseeing Jessica's case has run out of options. This is episode three, Zero Hour. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta charges down the hallway of a West Wing of the White House. He has a proposal that needs approval, and time is of the essence.

It's January 23, 2012, 93 days since Jessica Buchanan's kidnapping. Her health is fading and the negotiations have come to a stalemate. American intelligence officials fear that Jessica will die unless a decision is made soon. Panetta walks into the Oval Office. President Obama and his entire advisory team are there already.

The president is just finishing up a phone call with the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. He's preparing for his State of the Union address. In the room are several members of his team, including representatives from the Pentagon and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the FBI head Robert Mueller. Panetta gets right to the point. Mr. President, the Somali hostage situation is getting worse. Panetta has the president's attention now. Where are we with it?

Panetta hands the president a copy of Jessica's file. Our intel shows us that there are about 26 men with what looks like military-grade weapons surrounding our hostage at any one time. The president scans through drone images and satellite views of the camp where Jessica's being held.

And what about the hostage? Her health is failing. It's probable from the reports we are getting that she has a kidney infection. Her thyroid isn't functioning properly, and if her thyroid picks up the infection, her body could shut down. The NGO has tried a dozen times to send in medication to her, but our intelligence shows the kidnappers haven't given it to her. She won't be able to last much longer. The president sits back. He and Panetta both know what's required for a raid on foreign soil.

An American must be in immediate life or death danger. Obama turns to Panetta. We're going to have to act either way. We can't just let her die there in the desert. Yes, sir. I have SEAL Team 6 on standby. It will be a dark moon, so there will be little to no light. It'll give them cover. Send them in. The raid is on.

It's January 25th. Jessica Buchanan holds a hand up to her brow, shielding her eyes from the hot sun. It's midday in the Somali desert. She watches an SUV stir up dust as it pulls up to the grounds where she is being held. After three full months in captivity, she knows what's going on. The men driving the car are bringing in cigarettes and a new supply of cot, the stimulant leaves that all her captors chew.

After the men unload the cop from the car, they take something else out. A live goat. A group of kidnappers forms around the SUV and cheers as if a celebrity has just emerged from a limousine. They'll feast this afternoon. Before the kidnapping, Jessica was a vegetarian. At the beginning of her captivity, she refused to eat any meat. But the hunger got to her. Out here in the desert, you have to eat what you can get.

Her kidnappers insisted that her refusal to eat meat was the reason she was sick, but Jessica knows it's because she needs her thyroid medication. She also has a urinary tract infection. On her most recent proof-of-life call a week ago, she told the translator that her UTI was turning into a kidney infection. There's blood in her urine. Her legs ache so badly she can hardly walk.

When she spoke to the translator on her last proof-of-life call a week earlier, she told him about her symptoms. "I have a fever and I can't feel my lower back. I'm in extreme pain. I could die. Paul and I both could. You need to do something." He tried to assure her, but it's all moving so slowly. Jessica watches the men slit the goat's throat and let it bleed out onto the ground.

The cook pokes at the hot coals. He cuts it into pieces and then roasts it over the fire. It's surprisingly quiet. Jessica makes a motion to the cook. Okay, if I sit here? He nods. Her back hurts so much that she has to use her arms to hold herself up. Why don't these men see how much pain she's in? She looks over at the cook. She doesn't expect to say it, but it just comes out. Why are you doing this?

The cook is a big man wearing a white muscle tee and Maui, the traditional Somali skirt. She knows he lives in a mud hut on the edge of town and has several kids. He responds, "'We are doing this because our children are hungry.'" It gives Jessica pause. She doesn't have children, not yet. But what would she do if her children were hungry?

She hopes she would have the moral compass not to kidnap someone. But when you're trying to keep your family alive, how can anyone know what they would do? When the goat is cooked, Jessica eats the whole leg. She's lost so much weight that the meat tastes good to her. After the meal, she and Paul head to opposite sides of the camp to set up their beds. The kidnappers are now keeping them separated. As the sun goes down, the camp settles into silence.

Between the heavy meal and the come down from the cot, the men pass out. As the dark moon rises in the sky, Jessica looks for the stars. Every night, she names the first star she sees after her mother. She looks at the star and imagines talking to her mother's spirit. She tells her about her day, what she got done, what she didn't. But tonight is different. She is curled on her side holding her stomach,

not sure if she'll even make it through the next few days. She whispers, "You've got to tell God to do something to get me out of here. Otherwise, I'm going to die." Then, she closes her eyes. She imagines walking through her apartment in Nairobi. She feels the cold tile under her feet. She smells the scent of local flowers in the breeze. She stops at the sofa and straightens out Indian patchwork pillows.

Then she walks to the bedroom and climbs into bed next to Eric, wrapped in the scent of fresh white sheets. He's holding a baby that he lays in between them, the baby they always hoped to have, a boy with a big round head and little hands like little stars. And then she falls asleep. 24 Navy SEAL special operatives sit inside the belly of a giant gray military transport aircraft.

It's the middle of the night, and they're about to take off from Camp Lumaniye. They've been waiting for their orders at the sprawling military base close to Djibouti's eastern border with Somalia.

The SEALs brace in their seats as the aircraft rises into the East African night sky. They're all dressed in the black uniforms designed to let them free fall from high altitudes and then safely parachute to the ground. Each carries huge pouches filled with long-range sniper rifles and ammunition. Small oxygen tanks and night vision goggles are strapped to their helmets. These men are the SEAL Team 6.

Less than a year before, members of this team killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a raid on his compound in Pakistan. Now they've just gotten the go-ahead to head into the Somali desert to find Jessica Buchanan and bring her home. Senior Chief Justin Sheffield is the leader of the squad and one of the oldest at 31.

He breathes in slowly through his oxygen tank and pulls out the pocket Bible he carries with him to read the Psalms. He's been in enough extreme situations to know that any mission could be their last. After a few Psalms, Sheffield reviews intel on the conditions on the ground. Then he checks his watch. It's almost time for his team to get into position.

The plan is for the squad to parachute deep into the desert and then make their way on foot to the makeshift camp where Jessica and Paul are being held. A hard fight in, then a fast out. If nothing goes wrong, it should take a few hours. The only problem is they have no way of predicting what the kidnappers will do. They may shoot the hostages before the SEALs even get to them.

Sheffield speaks into his radio mic using military call signs. "A-2 troop, Fox One here. Three minutes, three minutes. Ground winds 30 to 40 knots."

30 to 40 knot winds are almost 50 miles an hour. This is a problem. It's hard enough to jump out of a plane and land on a target when the wind is normal. Wind gusts mean the team's parachute trip down to Earth will be rough and tumble. Someone could easily be blown miles off target into enemy territory, but this is what they do. The SEALs do final checks on their equipment and stretch their legs.

And then the aircraft's back-loading ramp begins to creak open. Frigid winds fills the airplane. After a few seconds, Sheffield hears a voice in his helmet's headset. This is Draco 9-1. Mission Control. Fox 1, this is Draco 9-1. Radio check, over. Draco 9-1, Fox 1, got you. Lima Charlie. We are one minute to drop, over.

SEAL Team 6 gathers into formation. Two single-file lines facing the back gate. 30 seconds, guys. Sheffield's breathing slows. He shuffles towards the edge of the ramp of the plane. It's almost his turn. Like a kid about to dive off a diving board, he looks down into the pitch black sky and silently prays for the team's protection. Finally, they get the green light from command. They're right over the drop zone.

Let's roll, boys. And one by one, Sheffield and his 23 Navy SEALs hurl themselves into the sky. Sheffield is free-falling, face first toward the Somali desert at 120 miles per hour. He counts the seconds until he can open his parachute and go into a more controlled descent. 1,000, 2,000, 3,000. Look and hold. Sheffield's spring-loaded main pilot parachute bursts open wide.

It's as if someone put the brakes on, hard. The winds are blowing hard and cold. He's squints into the darkness looking for a drop point a few miles away from camp. That way, they can maintain the element of surprise. Sheffield looks towards the dark mass of ground below him, but even with his night vision goggles, he can't see much.

Wherever he is, he is falling dangerously fast. The wind is too strong, and it's blowing him off course. He struggles to maintain control of his chute and the direction of his glide. Then Sheffield realizes if he is having trouble, then all of his men must be having the same issues. So he radios out to them. Everybody turn into the wind at 090. I don't care where you are in the stack, turn into the wind.

They're getting close to the drop zone, but he still can't see the ground. "Okay boys, we're passing through 4,000 feet. Hold station." And then in a flash, Sheffield hits the ground, directly into a thorn bush. He quickly gathers his chute and begins to roll it up. He watches as his men land around him and begins to count the parachutes falling from the sky one by one. 21, 22, 23. Wait, where is number 24?

But then the missing Navy SEAL 24 radios in. Fox 1, I'm about four football fields away. Hiking to you now. Sheffield is relieved. All of his men have made it to the drop zone. Now it's time to get to work.

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Head over to Symbiotica.com and use code ODDS for 20% off and free shipping on your subscription order. It's somewhere around midnight on January 25th, and Jessica Buchanan can't sleep. The biting cold of the night air makes her chills and aching muscles feel even worse. She is thirsty and tired. She needs to go to the bathroom, but she needs to ask for permission. She stands up on her mat. Toilet. This is the drill.

Usually, one of the kidnappers will nod and wave a hand, giving her permission. But tonight, all of the men are passed out. She says "toilet" three or four more times. Still nothing. She has to go. She's going to throw up. She grabs a small penlight and flashes it as she makes her way into the desert. She doesn't want anyone to think she's trying to escape. It's pitch black out. She has trouble finding her way.

Jessica imagines for a moment what it would be like to escape tonight. She could run for help, find a place to hide, but she knows nobody here would help her, and Paul would most likely be killed if she tried to escape. When she hits the brush, she drops to her knees and throws up, holding her hair with her left hand and flashing her light with the right. When she's done, she goes back to her mat and lays down, hugging her body into a ball, trying to stay warm.

Her starved body has trouble conserving heat, and she shivers through her fever chills. She wants to sleep, but she can't. She keeps hearing scraping noises. It must be the giant beetles that emerge from their nests at night and skitter across the desert. They crawl into her blanket sometimes. She struggles to her feet and gives the blanket a shake, and then lays back down. Then she hears it again.

She gives her blanket another shake, but then she hears the soft breathing of Dahir, the one she calls the helper, the only one in the camp who is nice to her. At night, he sleeps near her to protect her from the other kidnappers who might rape her. She counts her breaths in, out. She looks for her mother's star, then her eyes close. Everything is silent until...

Dahir is on his feet, yelling at the other kidnappers. Up, up, now. He has a gun. He never has a gun. What is happening? And then the night erupts in gunfire. It's 1 a.m. Navy SEAL Justin Sheffield signals to his men to form a wedge and move in slowly. They roll the balls of their feet on the ground so they don't make any noise. They are headed to the outside edge of the kidnappers' camp.

Their plan to proceed downwind from the camp seems to be working. He and his team landed a few clicks south of the target, on course and on time. They abandoned their heavy bags at the drop zone. Now they're light and nimble. They are essentially invisible to the naked eye. But in the pitch dark of the new moon, it's still hard to see anything.

Sheffield looks up into the sky, scanning for the surveillance predator drones he knows are up there. They're sending back a live feed of their operation to the Situation Room in the White House. Sheffield assumes that the president is watching his every move. After a few more minutes of stealth maneuvering, Sheffield can just make out a small patch of trees ahead. It's the target area, the kidnappers' makeshift camp. Sheffield whispers into his radio,

They push in closer. Sheffield raises his rifle. He whispers into his radio again. Suddenly, he detects movement. A man stands up. He's armed. Adrenaline shoots through his body. Sheffield and his team start to move in, lining up their laser on the target's heads.

Jessica hurls beneath her blanket, shivering as bullets fall around her. It feels like the world is on fire. She has no idea what's happening. She assumes it's a rival clan. Another group is coming to get them. Maybe al-Shabaab. The kidnappers scream to each other and then drop as bullets rip through their bodies. One of the bodies falls to the dirt beside her. Dahir! She can just make out his voice in the gunfire.

He's dead. Dahir was her only friend other than Paul. Paul! Where's Paul? She tries to make herself small. Stay down. Oh God, oh God, oh God. She doesn't know if it's a prayer or a scream. She knows she doesn't have the energy to survive another group. She's too sick. She worked so hard to get this far. Could this really be how it ends?

She feels her blanket being ripped away. She fights to hold on. She can't see anything. She flails her arms, ready to fight. But then she hears a voice. English. Jessica, Jessica, we are Americans. You're safe now. We've come to take you home. Jason Sheffield steadies his breathing. He radios in. Jackpot hotel? We got her.

He looks at the woman in front of him through the emerald green tint of his night vision goggles. She's covering her face, trying to protect herself. He can tell she's disoriented and confused. Jessica, can you walk? She looks around, patting the ground. I don't know where my shoes are. It's okay, I got you. We have to go.

He lifts Jessica up and throws her over his shoulder. Then he takes off running, away from the gunfire, holding her head beneath his hand to protect it. Other SEALs form a shield around the two of them as they go. When Jason reaches the rest of his team, he sets Jessica down. Two of the SEALs come over and check her vital signs. He can tell she's in shock. More might come. We have to go.

Jason tries to reassure her. Jessica, we are SEAL Team 6. We aren't going to let anyone get to you. You're safe. What about Paul? Did you get Paul? Jason takes Jessica's hand and leads it to Paul's shoulder beside her. It's so dark that she couldn't see that he was right next to her. What about my husband and my family? Jason tells her he hasn't talked to them, but they are waiting for her.

As the Blackhawks touch down, Jason tells her he probably won't see her or Paul again, but he and his team will pray for her recovery. Jessica reaches out her hands and squeezes his. "'Thank you. Jessica, can you walk?' Jessica nods, and then the two start to run. He holds onto her arm, guiding her around sharp twigs and bushes, and then she and Paul are leaping into Blackhawk, caught by more SEALs on board."

Jason steps back and gives the pilot a thumbs up. Then he watches the helicopter rise into the night sky. U.S. President Barack Obama is surrounded by aides and his speechwriting team. In a little more than two hours, he'll give his State of the Union address in front of a joint session of Congress, and they're busy making last-minute changes.

His counterterrorism advisor, John Bennon, approaches. Bennon has spent all day giving the president updates on the progress of the mission to rescue Jessica Buchanan. He gives Obama the news. Jessica Buchanan and Paul Thisted are safe. But the SEAL team isn't safely on the ground yet, so the mission isn't officially over. Obama delivers his address without hinting at the big victory. As long as we are joined in common purpose...

As long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward and our future is hopeful and the state of our union will always be strong. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. President Obama walks through the sea of applauding congressmen and cabinet members. On his way through the crowd, he turns and sees Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Good job tonight.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton nods her head. The president walks through the crowd and makes his way to a back room in the Capitol building. But his night is not done. He has one more thing to do. President Obama sits down next to a small table with a phone on it. His wife stands behind him, her hand on his shoulder. His aide puts the call through. Jessica's father, John Buchanan, is in Washington, D.C., when he gets the call.

He's been back in the States for the month. He spent the day at the FBI headquarters in meetings that did not go well. The FBI had no new information. No talk about a plan to get his daughter out. Nothing. It feels like they're back at square one. He's angry now, an emotion not entirely familiar to him. When he spoke to his daughter's NGO, he yelled so much he could hear the man sniffle on the other side.

He still prays, tries to trust, but it's hard to know if his prayers are being heard. When the phone rings, it's a number he doesn't know. John looks at the clock in the kitchen. It's 10:32 p.m. John Buchanan? Yes? John, this is Barack Obama. Sir, we got your daughter. I have two daughters myself. I wanted you to know, one father to another, Jessica's coming home.

The president continues on with a few more reassuring words, but John can barely make out what he's saying. All that matters is that his oldest daughter is safe. This season, Instacart has your back to school. As in, they've got your back to school lunch favorites, like snack packs and fresh fruit. And they've got your back to school supplies, like backpacks, binders, and pencils. And they've got your back when your kid casually tells you they have a huge school project due tomorrow.

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As the Black Hawk helicopter rises into the air, Jessica Buchanan feels two things clearly. One, intense gratitude for the Navy SEALs sitting with her. And two, an overwhelming desire to speak to Eric. She turns to one of the SEALs. Can we call my husband? I have to call my husband. He smiles and tells her she can call him when they arrive on the base in Djibouti.

As the medic on board takes her vitals, Jessica looks down at her body and wonders what she must look like to the doctor. She's lost so much weight and hasn't bathed in over three months. She thinks it's about 3:00 a.m. when the helicopter lands on a helipad in Galcayo. She steps off the chopper, and the Navy SEALs guide her towards a large C-130 plane waiting nearby to take her to Djibouti. The cabin of the plane is empty, but there are seats along the walls.

She finds a seat in the middle, straps in and closes her eyes. The feeling on the plane is one of celebration. It was a successful mission and the men are laughing and trying to engage her, telling her about the Super Bowl and current events, but she's not sure what to say. She's so grateful to these men who risked their lives to save her, but she doesn't trust herself to speak.

She spent three months repressing her voice and her emotions in order to stay alive. Next to her sits one of the seals. He's quiet too. He doesn't ask her questions or push her to talk. She's grateful to him. And then she senses a movement at her feet. Another seal. He kneels in front of her at eye level. He's young, with rosy cheeks and buzz cut hair. He reminds her of her brother.

He hands her an American flag. It's folded into a perfect triangle. Welcome home, Jessica, he says. Dawn rises over the desert, waking Jessica from her seat on the airplane. She can feel the sun on her cheeks, and for the first time, it doesn't feel painful. She hopes it's the beginning of her new life.

On her way out of the plane on the tarmac in Djibouti, she thanks every one of the soldiers on board, one by one. As she walks down the metal steps, she's immediately hit with a rush of hot air. The heat reminds her that she's still in northeastern Africa. One of the soldiers gently points Jessica in the direction of uniformed men waiting near a white van alongside the plane. She's met by a psychiatrist from the Department of Defense,

He introduces himself as Dr. Ray. He tells her he will be there to support her as she goes through the FBI process. They have a lot of questions. He leads her into the van, which is blasting air conditioning. Jessica runs her hands over the vents. It feels so good. Dr. Ray is kind, reassuring. "My job is to make sure that your mental health is cared for," he says. "To make sure you're okay."

But Jessica has just one thing on her mind. When can I see my husband? Soon, he tells her. This is a process, Jessica. You need to be patient. We've worked with hostages who have been in your situation before. It can be overwhelming for you and Eric after all you've been through. We have developed a protocol for reuniting people with their loved ones. It's totally voluntary, but I highly suggest it. Jessica considers...

They are the experts. Okay, she says. But can I talk to him? We find it's best to start with a phone call and keep it short. Five minutes. But first, I bet you could use a shower. A nurse leads Jessica to a shower room in the back of the building. She tells her she'll be outside if she needs anything. It's the first time she's been alone since the rescue. Her feet are dirty. Her skin is coarse from the sun.

She steps into the shower and turns on the hot stream of water. She washes away the layers of grime that have covered her skin for months. There's so much dirt, it takes four or five scrubs to feel clean. When she's finished, she looks in the mirror. It's the first time she's seen herself in three months. She's shocked at how thin she is. 119 pounds on her 5'11 frame.

She looks skeletal. Her body looks almost childlike, except for the color of her skin. It's gray. She quickly looks away and grabs the clean clothes that the aide left for her. They're baggy and hang off her frame, but they're real clothes meant for her, and they're clean. In the hallway, she meets up with Paul. He's clean, too. They hug each other tightly, and then the aides lead each of them to the phone so they can call their families.

Inside the small office, Jessica dials Eric's number, but the call doesn't go through. She tries again. Still, nothing. The agent tells her the network might be down. It's been happening all day. We can try again later. Is there anyone else you'd like to call? The agent doesn't need to ask twice. Jessica's father, John, picks up on the first ring. Daddy? John can barely get out his words.

It's so good to hear your voice. Jessica hears the phone being passed to her sister, then her brother. The love pours in through the line. And then the five minutes is up. It's over. She sits alone in silence, trying to take it all in. Another agent pokes in his head. Jessica, I have your husband on the line. He hands Jessica the phone. She takes a breath. Eric? Jess? Are you okay? Yes.

At the sound of his voice, every emotion Jessica felt since the day she was kidnapped comes rising to the top. Emotions she wasn't allowed to feel. Fear, frustration, anger, but mostly love. She starts to cry. She can hear Eric crying too. The agent points at his watch. Eric, I love you. I love you too, Jess. Hey, listen, when I see you, let's talk, like really talk.

He's reassuring, kind, says everything right, but it's too much. Less than 24 hours ago, she was sitting in the desert in a hail of gunfire, her body falling apart. Dr. Ray was right. Listen, Eric, I have to go. And then she hangs up the phone.

For the next eight hours, she and Paul will sit with a group of agents as they grill them about every detail they can remember. Clan names, descriptions of people, license plate numbers, what happened day by day. The kinds of details Paul told her to memorize for a day like this. Details she remembered to help her stay alive. She shares it all. A week later, Jessica sits in a quiet hospital room in Italy.

She can't stop running her hands over the bedsheets. There's a bed and a chair and not much else, but it feels like the most luxurious place in the world. She gets up and goes to the window. It's snowing. After weeks in the hot desert sun, it feels magical. It's exactly what she needs. At the sound of the door opening, she turns around. It's Eric. Their first in-person meeting.

He's wearing a thick gray sweater and holding a care basket filled with magazines and flowers. As soon as he sees her, he starts to cry. And then the two of them are in each other's arms crying together. They're allowed a full hour with each other today. They sit side by side on the bed. Eric is cautious, careful when he speaks.

He tells her he will do anything he can to help her get back to her life before. He'll be there, whatever she needs. Even if she wants time away from him, just tell him. He'll give her space. But mostly, he tells her how much he loves her, and he tells her again. Jessica listens quietly. It's still hard for her to find the words. Finally, she says, Eric, we'll have lots of time to talk.

After Eric leaves, Jessica spends another week in the hospital where she gets antibiotics that she needs badly.

It will heal her immediate symptoms, but it will take some time until her body recovers. But her conditions are manageable. It will take longer for her to get back to a place of mental and emotional health. She calls it surviving survival. There are nightmares, panic attacks. She's diagnosed with PTSD. She and Eric go home to Kenya and then back to the United States to start again.

She and Eric know their lives will never be the same as it was before the kidnapping, but they have a strong base of love and support, and together they plan to build a new life. They have a baby boy, just like the child Jessica dreamed about in the desert, and then they have another. One of Jessica's hardest challenges is to find her voice again. She was drawn to Africa to try and help children and families.

That purpose hasn't gone away. There are still 300 hostages being held in the region. Some have come back, but many are still out there. Some of their families have no idea where they are or if they'll ever come home. Jessica knows she was one of the lucky ones. Maybe if she shares her journey of survival, she can help someone.

In 2013, she co-writes a book called Impossible Odds, The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team 6, and goes on a phenomenal tour where she speaks about her journey of survival and love and her gratitude for the team that saved her.

Two years later, on November 15th, she steps onto a stage in front of 1,000 people to speak at the Navy SEAL Foundation. Her blonde hair has grown out, and she wears a black dress. Her face is earnest as she shares what's in her heart. If I've learned one thing about the U.S. Navy SEALs and what it means to be an American, it's that having this elite team swoop in and rescue you is not a given. It's a gift.

And not only did the team that saved me give me my life back, but they gave me a second chance. One of the biggest questions Jessica struggled with in the years after her kidnapping was, why did this experience have to change everything? It changed her life, her career, the way she saw the world, her belief that bad things couldn't happen to her.

What she comes to realize, she shares at a TEDx talk in 2020. Change is part of everyone's story, but you can choose how you view it. It took me 93 days in the desert to trust that change is the author of my story, leading me to my life's purpose, because I get to have the final say, and change was me.

and always will be proof that I am very much still alive. In our next series, we'll take you inside the Tunnel Creek Avalanche in northwest Washington, following a group of elite backcountry skiers and snowboarders. They're chasing fresh powder when they're caught in a massive, deadly avalanche. The rescuers know time is of the essence.

This is the final episode of our three-part series, Kidnapped in the Desert. If you'd like to learn more about Jessica Buchanan, we recommend Impossible Odds, written by Jessica Buchanan, Eric Landelbaum, and Anthony Flacco.

I'm your host, Cassie DePeckel. Tamaya Payne wrote this episode. Jessica Buchanan is our consultant. Our producers are Davy Gardner and Emily Frost. Our editor is Maura Waltz. Brian White is our associate producer. Our audio engineer is Sergio Enriquez. Sound design is by Aaron May. Our senior producer is Andy Herman. Our executive producers are Stephanie Jens and Marshall Louis. For Wondery. Wondery.

My name is Georgia King, and I am thrilled to be the host of And Away We Go, a brand new travel podcast on Wondery Plus, where we'll be whisked away on immersive adventures all around the world. Where we go, what we do, what we eat, drink, and listen to will all be up to my very special guest.

We've got Ben Schwartz taking us on a whirlwind trip around Disneyland. We'll eat a bowl of life-changing pasta with Jimmy O. Yang in Tuscany, Italy. And how do you feel about a spot of sugaring off with Emily Hampshire in Montreal? And away we go. We'll immerse you

in some of the wonders of the world. We're going to be seeing some yellows and vibrant oranges. And the shoes clicking against the cobblestone. If you're looking to get somebody in the mood, have them look at the Chicago skyline. You can listen to And Away We Go exclusively with Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Georgia, do you know what joy sounds like? I think I'm hearing it right now.