Harris Todd on his search for missing daughter, ex-wife | Forensic Files

Why did you come to Costa Rica? Why here as opposed to some other place? Well, I
mean, Costa Rica is a known haven for people who have abducted their children. Why now? It's been almost 6 years in
large part. It's because it's been 6 years. Uh it's the fact that nothing else has worked. I don't really know
what else to do at this point. So the most logical conclusion I could come to was
to simply go and look myself. Look places that I couldn't expect anyone else to go. At some point in time,
someone actually did find the needle in the haystack. I couldn't necessarily pay
anyone else to go and do what I'm going to do, which is look for my ex-wife and daughter. Um the it's going to be it
would be very difficult for someone uh even the perfect person to recognize Lee if she has changed her her appearance
drastically. Uh I I will recognize her voice. I will recognize her walk. I don't expect to recognize my daughter of
course but that's I I'll I'll recognize her by association with Lee. Been here for two roughly two weeks about two
weeks. You're leaving in a couple days. As you lift off in that plane, if you haven't seen anything more than you've
seen today. Mhm. Is this going to be a failure? Feel like one? The fact that I didn't find anything
um in a sense is just as positive as if I did. I mean, I've only scratched the surface here. Haven't looked everywhere.
There's an element of luck to it, a very large element of luck. And there's no way to accelerate that. If you're a
surfer and you're sitting on your board in the sand, you're never going to catch
any waves. Doesn't mean that a wave is going to come if you're in the water, but it does mean if a wave does come and
you are in the water with the board pointed in the right direction that you have a chance of catching it. I want to
be in the water. It's the best thing that I can think to do at this point. If you were to find her, she's not going to
know who you are probably. Oh, without question. She may not speak English be impossible. I'm not
going to have any trouble getting to know my daughter and she's not going to have any trouble getting to know me. If
it takes months, it takes months. It won't. You could spend a lifetime looking in these places and never see
her. What else am I going to do? You know, I'm going to spend a lifetime doing something. I mean, I have a a very
nice life. The family I have is a good family. Uh and I'm very grateful for that. I like where I live. I like where
I work. I'm very happy with the circumstances. I'm unhappy with not having my daughter. That is the
overriding aspect to all of this. If someone were to say, "I'll wave this wine and give you everything you want
except your daughter." It will be the same. I'm not going to feel any better than I do

In July 1999, six years after his daughter, Savanna, and ex-wife Lee Barnett disappeared after a contentious custody battle, Harris Todd took matters into his own hands and traveled to Costa Rica to look for his child. "48 Hours" producer Josh Yager was there, documenting the Charleston, S.C., father's search.

Brief Summary

A father searches for his abducted daughter in Costa Rica after six years of unsuccessful attempts.

Key points

Searching for a Daughter. A father's desperate journey to find his daughter in Costa Rica after six years.

Episode highlights

Searching for a DaughterA father's desperate journey to find his daughter in Costa Rica after six years.“What else am I going to do?”2:26Nov 13, 2015

Episode quotes

What else am I going to do?

2:24WatchNov 13, 2015

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.