in all of this? >> kevin did serve some time in prison, and i don't believe diane would even want him to serve life in prison for her murder. in my i mind, he should still be behind bars. >> but now kevin's got a second chance at life. he says he's dedicating it to his mother. >> she's looking down and sees i'm maturing, and i'm going to be the man she wanted me to be. >> and so in the end, what do we make of this who done it? where no one could say for sure who murdered her? leaving a husband and son still pointing the finger at each other, professing love for diane. but one of them, still defiantly lying about having killed her. >> it's a had

a child who suddenly vanished. >> most important thing in my life was taken from me. just instant horror of where is she? >> what had happened to baby savannah? the answer would come decades later and astonish the world. >> it happened so fast. i couldn't fathom what was going on. >> 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, pit in my stomach that felt like it was my fault. >> a mother's crime, a father's

pain. >> what kind of emotions did it stir up when you saw that crib? >> just make me cry. >> a daughter forced to face the shattering truth. >> i was shocked and i was just terrified. hello and welcome to dateline. a daughter left questioning her very identity. it was a case that started as a custody battle but turned into an international mystery that spanned two decades, and took investigators nearly 10,000 miles around the world. all driven by a determined dad searching for answers and his daughter. here's andrea canning with, finding

savanna. >> in 20 some years, i recall how you tucked and curled against my neck and chest. >> a father's love, harris todd once tried to put it into words. >> in 20 some years, what i recall how i often held you long after you had fallen asleep, listening to you breathe. >> try to express what it meant to cradle his baby daughter savanna. >> what will you remember of these wondrous days as a baby girl along with your father, whose entire life. >> back in 1994, harris could not imagine that these wondrous days would abruptly end. that the next twenty years would turn a father's love into a father's nightmare. >> sometimes i feel like i'm already dead and just haven't

fallen over yet. >> it all began in charleston, south carolina, when harris, a financial adviser, met a beautiful flight attendant named dorothy lee barnett. everyone knew her as lee. >> when she's at her best, she is a very vivacious and attractive and luring person. very lively and interested in a lot of things. >> she was very outgoing. very friendly. she lived life to its fullest. >> patty roth was a fellow flight attendant and one of lee's best friends. they 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. >> harris thought he could build that life with lee. early in their relationship, he noticed problems. she was overly emotional and quick to anger. still, he thought love would conquer all. >> i suffered from the

misconception that i can fix things. that i can make things better. >> they married in december, 1991. within months, harris said, it became apparent that his fixing skills were no match for lee's 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. >> things got so bad, harris told lee he wanted a divorce. he said lee told him she was pregnant. >> everything fell apart when she told him that she was pregnant. >> patty said what made the marriage go sour was harris' refusal to have children. >> he wanted her to terminate the pregnancy. that was not an option for lee. it broke her heart. >> lee says that you didn't want her to have the child. >> not at all true. i never said that. not once.

>> 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, she asked for full custody. >> i felt at the end of the day, lee would have her child, harris would have visitations. >> but to everyone's surprise, harris countersued. >> you decided you wanted full custody? >> from my point of view, i decided before the baby was born, it it was like a responsibility that i suddenly realized, been thrust upon me. >> 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. >> mothers everywhere saying shame on him, how can he try to rip that baby from her arms when she's still nursing, she built this bond. >> i wasn't trying to take her

away from her mother. i just felt i was the more stable parent. >> at the hearing, harris and others testified that lee's behavior was erratic. sometimes violent. one psychiatrist testified that lee had a mood disorder. according to harris' lawyer, lee's 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's clear her level of anxiety and frustration rose until the judge required that a bailiff stand behind her chair to keep her seated. >> some people might say that she felt like her baby was slipping away from her, and that any mother might start to lose their mind a little bit in court. >> i think there's truth in there. also indicative of her inability to control her behavior. >> on lee's behalf, two other psychiatrists said she had no mental or emotional disorders and a perfectly fit parent.

as for her 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. full of energy. i saw no depression. >> after two and a half weeks of testimony, it was up to the judge. harris was with the toddler when was phone rang. >> savanna and i were in the yard and it was a warm day and she was barefoot walking on the grass. >> what do you hear? >> the judge awarding me full custody. >> harris was too emotionally depleted to jump for joy. he was surprised by what he felt. >> the overwelming sense to protect and care for a child. i didn't anticipate the depth. >> were you feeling an intense

bond with savanna? >> tremendous. i never been happier in my entire life. >> but lee was reeling from the verdict, that allowed her to see savanna only every other weekend. the psychological and emotional problems experienced by the mother if left untreated will create conflict and havoc in the child's life. >> she was angry. she thought it was corrupt. >> babs was lee's friend and savannah's babysitter. she went with lee to pick up savanna for a visitation weekend two weeks after the verdict and 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 backseat with the baby and she was crying and we went to the emergency room. >> did you ever harm savanna? did you ever abuse her?

>> heavens no. she fell when she was with my mother at the house. that's all it was. >> the emergency room report supported what harris had told lee. savanna's injuries were consistent with a minor fall. the er doctor wrote, he found no signs of abuse. >> i mean, i would never have let a hair on that baby's head be harmed. >> 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 24, 1994, a date harris would remember for ever. savanna had been with lee for a weekend visitation and once again, lee failed to bring the bay back. but when harris went to lee's home -- >> nobody was there. all calls were fruitless. nothing turned up. >> was there a moment where you thought, i'm getting really

scared here. i think that maybe my daughter is not coming back. >> no. i didn't even imagine anything that horrible. >> coming up, where had they gone? >> did you worry that savanna could be in danger? >> yes. >> when "dateline" continues. the #1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, that helps heal your skin from within. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. —what's on your mind, deon? —my sensitive skin. and how old spice total body isn't on it. gabby, is there anything you want to share? not this old spice deodorant. with 24/7 freshness, it can go everywhere. every. where. ♪♪ *air wick*

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he went to her house to get the baby back, but the house was not only empty, it was completely cleaned out. >> you had that, just instant horror of where is she? >> harris immediately notified all missing children's agencies and since parental abduction of a child is a federal crime, fbi agent, chris quick, was assigned to the case. >> i wasn't thinking this was well thought out initially and you know, we would have this case resolved in a week, two weeks. >> did you worry savanna could be in danger? >> yes. is she this woman who is really caring for her child and going to take care of her child or is this the woman that does harm to the child? >> if lee had family or friends who had any information about her where abouts, they didn't volunteer it. so agent quick put a trace on their phones. >> any calls from lee? >> no. the thing that trips people up,

not having the discipline to talk to old friends or going back to places they are familiar with. and as this case went on, we realized that dorothy lee had that discipline. >> quick discovered lee inquired about a job in australia or south africa and her mom owned a home in belize. so he put tabs on flights to those countries. >> they turned up nothing. >> did you assume that maybe she had changed her identity? >> yes, like a new license, maybe a new passport. >> 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. >> lee had found out five days or so after the kidnapping, relatives and associates received a letter and a video tape from dorothy lee. it states to whom it may

concern. i recently lost custody to my beautiful nine and a half month old nursing baby. this happen because of a truly evil person. b. harris todd, a corrupt family court system. >> now, agent quick knew this child abduction was not a spur of the moment decision. lee had a well thought out 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. >> that was an attempt to embarrass and destroy me. but it's not surprising. you know, she's building a case for whatever else to justify what she did. >> i just hope you know that i love you. >> he had nowhere to send it, harris made his own home video,

a message to savanna. >> i hope you are safe, clean, and healthy out there. wherever you are. >> it took a lot out of harris to shoot that video in savanna's room. >> every morning i would come in and wake her up, feed and dress her, and we would head her off. i couldn't bear to see the crib empty. >> harris also began to take action. he wrote to john walsh of america's most wanted who recorded a public service announcement for him. >> one-year-old savanna lee barnett is missing from isle of palms, south carolina. >> and he appeared on unsolved mysteries, which dedicated an entire segment to his case. >> i wake up now every morning with a broken heart. >> 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 24, 1996. you're gone two years now, which is unimaginable. i don't know how old you'll be when you see this, if you ever see this. i'll be here for you whenever you do come back. >> then finally, four years into his search, harris thought that moment had arrived. someone had seen a little blond haired girl about five years old walk into a grocery store in mexico. >> the woman who called in was there when the little girl's mother came to the door and said, savanna, come on. need to come home. >> mexico? private detectives are on the case and a father's hope soars. >> coming up. >> the lady said, yes, a little girl comes in by herself because her mother has bad

headaches and doesn't come out sometimes for days. >> that sound like lee to you? >> it did, yes. >> had mother and daughter been found? when "dateline" continues. but this is my story. ( ♪♪ ) and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪

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to letters and copies of everything. >> are there a lot of dead ends here, too? >> there are plenty of dead ends. >> after four years of searching, harris todd thought he found his daughter in a small town in mexico. especially after a source gave a description of the girl's mother. >> the lady said, yes, a little girl comes in by herself all the time to play games or whatever. because her mother has bad headaches and doesn't come out sometimes for days. >> did that sound like lee to you? >> it did, yes. >> harris hired private detectives to check out the lead. >> what was the report you got from the detectives? >> found absolutely nothing. you know, they checked everything out. they went everywhere. they never found the little girl for that matter. >> perhaps lee and savanna had been there and left, or maybe it wasn't them at all. either way, it was another dead end. >> you run through the cycle of excitement and disappointment

enough times and you say, do you want to put yourself through that again? because there's a wealth of pain associated with this and i can only dip into it so often. and survive. >> how much do you think you've spent on your search? >> i spent everything i had and everything i could borrow. graham, my attorney, told me i better stop spending enough money or there wouldn't be anything for her to come back to. >> fbi agent knew the chance savanna to come back was getting smaller and smaller. >> you were grasping for straws. >> to some extent, you're right. >> must have felt cold? >> definitely. after three or four years, it's considered a cold case. >> 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 a lot of time with her, from a very early age. i did homework with her every day. walked her to school, pick her up from school. >> did you think to yourself, i should have been doing this with my daughter. >> i thought about it. you see your child in a thanksgiving play. you see them sing in the christmas pageant. i was watching my niece instead of my daughter, but i was thinking about my daughter at that time. >> time marched on, harris continued working as a financial adviser. he had a few relationships, but he never remarried. after ten years, the fbi assigned a new agent to the case, but nothing new turned up. >> i believe that the chance 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. >> 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 -- >> he would stop filming his messages to savanna awhile ago. he wrote one last poem. >> please do keep an eye out across the fields. watch the end of the long driveway. some day my daughter will be there asking for me. >> had you given up? >> no, but one has to face reality. i mean, you just say, well look, here it is. she is 16, she's 17, she's 18. and you don't know where she is. you know. >> perhaps the only sign that harris had not abandoned all hope was savanna's room. had stood just as she had left it almost 18 years before. >> and you get an e-mail, totally out of the blue.

>> i did. >> 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 there's water in it. >> coming up. >> were you just floored? >> completely floored. >> that mysterious e-mail 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. >> when "dateline" continues. but it can progress to ga, i, an advanced form of the disease. his struggle with vision loss from amd made me want to help you see warning signs of ga, like: hazy or blurred vision, so it's hard to see fine details,

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hi, i'm richie lui with a news update. the white house will allow ukraine to use u.s. made long range weapons for a limited strikes inside russia. president biden is alarmed by north korea sending its own soldiers to help russia.

there are new accusations in the trial of sean diddy combs. accused the music mogul of obstructing justice. comb for now, back to dateline. welcome back to dateline, a surprise e-mail from strangers half way across the globe. could this be the news he had been waiting all these years for? or, was it just another false lead? here again, is andrea canning with finding savanna. >> almost 18 years had gone by since harris had seen his daughter savanna. so it was hard to comprehend the e-mail that arrived in the early morning hours of november 27, 2011. a single line that said, i'd like to speak with you with

regards to your daughter. >> was there that little bit of hope? >> oh sure. there always is. yes. yeah. >> the e-mail was from a couple living in a beach town on the sunshine coast of australia. they claimed to have known lee and savanna for more than 12 years. harris immediately wrote back. >> do you have any pictures? anything that you could send me to corroborate this? it's a horrible thing to have to admit i have no idea what my daughter would look like at this age. >> you would know what your ex- wife would look like. >> i would. >> the photo arrived a couple of days later and there was no doubt that was his ex-wife, dorothy lee barnett. and there on the opposite side, stood a tall girl, nearly a woman, would that be savanna on the left, harris asked? hi, harris, the couple wrote, that beautiful girl on the left is indeed your daughter savanna. >> were you just floored?

>> completely floored. how wonderful is it to have a picture of your grown daughter, to just see, you know, how pretty she is, and she had a big smile. i recognize my smile in her smile. >> i would be staring at that photo constantly. >> i was at a loss for awhile. i had to refrain from looking at it very much, because it was too much after all these years. >> the couple told harris they met his ex-wife and daughter in 1999. they knew them as alex and samantha. lee was married to a south african, with whom she had a son. lee never spoke about her past, the couple long suspected that savanna was not his biological daughter. >> what did the couple tell you about how they discovered this secret? >> i think it was a gradual process on their part. >> the couple told harris, lee and her husband divorced in

2008 and that recently, they themselves had a falling out with her. they had always wanted to know more about their friend's mysterious past, so they decided to do some investigating of their own. lee had once mentioned she had a home in belize, armed with that, savanna's birth date and tidbits of information they picked up over the years. they serged the internet and discovered lee's internet. >> they are real detectives. >> i think so. >> they figured it out, they tracked you down. >> and the wrath they would face if my ex-wife ever found out, they went ahead anyway. they told me, we feel like you have a right to know your daughter. >> harris gave the couple's information to fbi agent, and now that they knew lee's alias, the fbi was finally able to figure out how she had left the u.s. without being detected. she had set her abduction plan in motion by getting a fake birth certificate about two

months before taking savanna. >> dorothy lee barnett goes to become fictitious person named alexandria maria canton. she went to texas to obtain a texas driver's license, and used the information to obtain the united states passport. what we learned was, she had left the united states, went to malaysia, and from malaysia, with event to south africa, from there in 1999, she moved. in 2003, she moved up to new zealand. after a couple of years, she moved to australia. >> an 18-year-old mystery solved. >> in the movies, on tv, they find the person and they rush out to make the arrest. story is over. did that happen in this case? >> no. we had to get the state department involved. the department of justice involved. and we had to get a provisional

arrest warrant that the australians would accept, because we have to abide by their lawyers. >> harris wanted to fly to australia right away. the fbi asked him to let bureaucracy take its course. he figured he could wait a bit more. ingly think some people may say a real father would have gotten on that plane the moment he found out about where his daughter was. >> if i had showed up in australia without any backup and run into my ex-wife or daughter, i would have no legal backing at that point. >> could have caused an altercation. alexandria and samantha could have fled and back to square one. >> a year passed, then almost two. that was too much, even for a patient man like harris. he bought his plane tickets and told the fbi he was going no matter what. >> you aren't going to wait

anymore. >> it just so happened that suddenly, the paperwork went from the bottom of the stack to the top. >> harris' determination may have force odd law enforcement's hand. on november 4, 2013, two days before he landed in australia. lee was finally arrested. >> she didn't appear surprised. she was very cordial and seemed to be very calm. she expressed a willingness to talk to us. >> lee also asked if she could make a phone call to savanna. coming up. >> i couldn't fathom what was going on. >> an astonishing moment of truth for savanna. >> the first thing that popped into my head, does that mean dad isn't my dad? >> i kept thinking, okay, i'll get to see her. >> when "dateline" continues. of moderate-to-severe asthma

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when the fbi showed up, she didn't seem surprised. her 20-year-old daughter was about to receive the shock of her life. >> i couldn't fathom what was going on. it happened so fast, but you know, it keeps replaying in my mind. >> savanna, or samantha, was away at college when her boyfriend, brad, handed her the

phone and said her mom was on the line. she talked about that moment of truth with australia's 7 network. >> brad said, she's crying. and it's not like mom to cry. she's a very strong woman. she said look, i'm being arrested. of course, i went oh my goodness. i never expect my mom would have done anything. it was a brief conversation how she was married previously in america and she conceived me with him. she took me and ran. so the first thing that popped into my head, does that mean dad isn't my dad? >> as far back as savanna could remember, she believed he was her biological dad. something lee kept reenforcing. >> mom would relay things like, you look like your dad. i grown up with that. >> tragedy struck in 2011, when he fell sick with cancer. the man savanna thought was her

dad, died a week before lee was arrested. >> he fought very long and very hard, but it was inevitable. but i'm happy because the last words i said to him was, i love you, and same with him. >> savanna barely begun to mourn her father's death when the news came that she was someone else's daughter. >> i never heard savanna. i found out i was biologically related to him and he was helping the authorities to find my mom and i. >> imagine finding out your mom was an international fugitive wanted by the fbi. imagine realizing that you were living a life you were not meant to live. and savanna said it was a good life. >> i grew up in mainly south africa. that was just great. we used to go down to a beach in capetown and just spend family. mom was very into going into the beach and having fun there.

>> she remembered going to game reserves and competing in swim races in new zealand. >> i had a lot of friends. i had animals. i was educated. i had dancing. did piano. i had a mom, i had a dad, i had a brother. i had a house, and i was given everything they possibly could afford. it was normal. it was so normal. >> so normal, and as savanna now discovered, so different from the chaos of her first year as a baby back in charleston. she scoured the internet for articles written in the u.s. about the life she never knew. read about the custody battle, about how harris and others described her mother as mentally ill and violent. >> i have never, ever seen anything like that in my entire life. she does not have a mental illness. she's not violent. unless she has done this whole 180 and changed her entire attitude, that's not who she

was. >> who is the mother that savanna knew? >> the most important thing is her compassion and the ability to encourage anyone and everyone. everything i am is because of the support and love and nurturing i have had. >> she was afraid, she said, that with the revelation her mother was a fugitive, lee's australian friends would abandon her, but they did not. >> everyone stepped up and they said, what can we do? i had 20 people trying to help me with everything. so it really, really shows that everything she has given to them, they are giving back to her. >> word of lee's capture reached charleston. savannah was flooded with supportive e-mails and phone calls from friends and family. she often wondered about her relatives in the united states, like her grandmother and her uncle. now suddenly, she was meeting them nor what seemed like the very first time. >> beautiful house, and beautiful granddaughter.

oh my goodness, looks like her mommy did. >> now, the biggest reunion of all seemed like it was about to happen, too. lee was in an australian jail fighting extradition back to the u.s. the man she wanted to keep away from savanna all those years was just a few miles away asking to meet his long lost daughter. >> the fbi interviewed my daughter, and they informed her of me. i was told that she was looking forward to meeting me. >> but savanna's priority was get her mom out of jail. not meet the man who helped put her behind bars. >> i slept on it for a couple of nights and created an e-mail and i just said, i appreciate everything, but right now, i can't even sit down to eat, you know, so i appreciate him coming over, but i'm sorry, you know, that's pretty much what it was. >> there would be no emotional

meeting between father and daughter, not in australia. if harris was disappointed, he didn't show it. he learned long ago to keep his emotions at bay. >> was it heartbreaking for you that you went all the way over there and she wasn't ready to see you? >> no. >> we're talking about your daughter. seeing your daughter. and hugging her, and telling her, i'm your dad. >> yeah, well, i didn't give up on that. i was there for about a month. and it wasn't until the third week that i finally realized that just wasn't going to happen. >> so harris flew home wondering if he'd ever see his daughter. after nine months in an australian jail, lee was extradited and flown back to charleston to face three federal counts of international parental kidnapping and passport fraud. and hot on her heels, savanna. returning to the city of her birth, going home to defend the

mother who raised her. and perhaps to meet the father she never knew. >> emotionally, i think that it is a decision i want to make when i'm ready. >> coming up. at last. >> i need to see for my own eyes what kind of person he is. >> a moment twenty years in the making. when "dateline" continues. without an audience. ♪♪ [silence] the freestyle libre 3 plus sensor tracks your glucose in real time so everyone else doesn't have to, and over time it can help lower your a1c confident choices for more control of your life. this is progress. learn more and try for free at freestylelibre.us ♪♪

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in december 2014, savanna with her boyfriend along for support, returned to charleston for the first time in twenty years. she came for her mother, who was behind bars facing kidnapping charges and a prison sentence. >> for twenty years, all of america has been like, she's crazy or stolen a kid and no one knew if i was safe or not. first off, coming back happy, healthy, and grounded, would have to raise some questions, you know? >> samantha has gone on record saying she never saw anything wrong with her mom. she had a loving childhood, great relationship. it flies in the face of everything that we heard early on. >> well, there's a saying, we don't know who discovered water, but we're certain it wasn't a fish. and a lot of times, you can be raised in an environment and not necessarily know what it was until you happen to get

outside of that environment. and look back in. >> savanna returned home to a big welcome, as lee's old friends gathered around to see her baby daughter all grown up now. to patty roth, lee's close friend, who had held savanna the minute she was born. and patty's daughters, who would have been her friends. and to charleston, the beautiful city that could have been savannah's home. if life hadn't taken such a turn that ultimately led here. the charleston jail, where her mom was awaiting trial. >> i don't know what's going to happen. i'm looking forward to going to trial, to be honest. >> we'll give it all we got and that's all we can say, right?

and she said to me, i've done this all for you and i've succeeded. she doesn't care what happens to her. >> lee's defense for what she did had not changed from the allegations she made twenty years before. namely, that harris had abused savanna. that time when she picked her up with the bloody nose. lead prosecutor, nathan williams, reinvestigated the incident, but like the original inquiry, found no evidence to support lee's charge. >> the first doctor said there was no problem with it. they didn't think a second opinion was needed. the defendant in this case got a second opinion from their pediatrician, who said the same thing. so there was this indication that she was looking for an answer that wasn't there. >> not only that, williams investigation revealed that lee had started to plan her escape, even before she accused harris of harming baby savanna. >> so we know contemporaneously, with this

allegation of abuse that was unfounded, she got false documents, false driver's licenses, false passports, and setting the table to flee the country with her child. to rationalize it and claim it was based on something isn't true to me is a true indication of guilt. >> dateline asked lee for an interview, but she declined. in the end, she pleaded guilty to all the charges against her. savanna spoke at the sentencing. she began by giving her name. >> i didn't know which one to give, i gave all of them. i said a samantha, savanna. i spoke from the heart. i remember saying that she gave me every opportunity and she has given me the most incredible life. >> the judge sentenced lee to 21 months in prison. >> what did you think should be the punishment for lee? >> over a third of my life was

essentially taken from me, you know, most important thing in my life. even if my daughter disagrees with it, i think her mother deserved to spend more time in jail for what she did. if for nothing else than a warning to any other abductive parent. >> there's been a lot of claims of revenge. that you put on this facade of trying to find your daughter when it was really about finding lee and making sure she paid. >> no, i'm not seeking revenge, not seeking revenge. all i wanted was my daughter, that's all. i love my daughter, and unfortunately, my ex-wife took her. and it's not revenge to want my daughter back. >> the daughter harris lost years ago had been in charleston for several weeks. seemingly meeting everyone who played a role in her past except him. but then, a little after christmas, 2014, he got the e- mail he had been longing for. savanna wanted to meet. >> how are you feeling?

>> just one rule, she said, no talk about her mother or the case and no photos. >> i'm not going to be ditching my mom by any means, but won't expect them to see each other ever again. i need to have a mature adult relationship and see in my own eyes, engage what kind of person he is. >> harris happily agreed. and a few days later, here they were, father and daughter, face to face on the doorstep of the house that once was savanna's home. >> when she came to the door, i didn't know whether she wanted to shake my hand or not, so i held my hand out and she said no, i want a hug. >> that must have felt so good when she said that. >> felt great. >> harris led savanna to what was once her bedroom, with the wooden crib and baby toys. a place where time had stood

still until now. >> to be honest, i was trying to make sure that i didn't fall apart. i didn't want to just stand there and cry or anything like that. here's a daughter who remembers nothing about her father. here's a father who remembers everything about his daughter. and has longed for her for years and years. well, it's very hard to put those two things together. >> it's like two different worlds coming together. >> you know, life is not like a hallmark movie. >> that was natural. there was no uncomfortable. there was no awkwardness. i'm a natural born speaker, it seemed that he is, too. i learned a lot about him and my family on his side and yeah, it was very pleasant. >> lee was released from prison in may of 2015. and was ordered to spend two years of probation in the charleston area. she'll have to build a new life in the u.s. as a convicted

felon, she may never be allowed back into australia. but savanna returned there to the place she calls home. to continue her college studies. after her visit, savanna and her father didn't keep up communication, but if there's anything that harris has learned in the last twenty years, it is that there is always hope. >> you know, my daughter is her own person now. she can make her own decisions. whether my daughter wants to contact me or not, she knows where i am and she knows i want to hear from her, whatever happens. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. ♪♪ank you for watching. this sunday, confirmation battles, president-elect donald trump's controversial cabinet picks