How intended victim of 1999 Yosemite killer views the tragedy today

my name is Lana and I grew up in small towns right outside you 70 National Park I had not been back to the Cedar Lodge until last year and it sent chills up and down my spine my sister and I met Kari in 1998 my mom was a waitress at the Cedar Lodge where Harry was a maintenance man and lived above the restaurant we were excited when Cary would come over he taught us how to dive at the Cedar Lodge he would buy us a new beanie baby almost every time we saw him because that was pretty big in the 90s I just remember he would show us how to dive perfectly my sister and I'm both wanting to be the best at it it feels like it was so long ago that you forget that it even happened like a dream or a movie that you watched and it almost doesn't even feel like it was you I see that carries arrested on TV and I remember being very very upset thinking there's no way there's no way I was I remember crying shortly after the FBI came to our house and spoke with my mom privately they were there to let her know that carries Danner had can best to initially wanting to kill my mom and rape and kill my sister and I and he didn't it didn't happen it's hard to think about that there were three separate times that he had planned to kill us I don't I still don't believe it part of me doesn't believe it I think that he was going to keep trying I think that he wasn't gonna stop killing and we were his initial victims and I don't think he was gonna stop we spent a lot of our time and summer outside here a lot of time inside in the restaurant my mom worked at the bar and we spent a lot of our time out by the pool a lot most some time out by the pool so we would be swimming out there all day long there's a little window on the side over here that we would order our drinks from and wait for my mom to get off the park that's getting different the display case that's in there with all the bears on it that's the same and that's where all the beanie babies were and so that's like a wave every motion I guess after he had been arrested and learning that he was responsible for the death of Julie and Sylvia and Carol we had our beanie babies and we actually sent one down the Merced River around a little wicker float to kind of give our peace to everything it was the peace beanie baby of the peace bear we sent down the river I think it helped my mom it was her ID and her way of kind of giving peace I don't think I understood I didn't believe what was going on I didn't believe still then that he actually could be capable of doing something like that it's hard for me to think about him being behind bars and I wonder what it's like for him being there because he loved to be outside and I know that he loved Yosemite I know that he loved being at the river I know that he loved nature so that's all taken away from him and in some way it's sad but I also don't forgive him I can't but at the same time it's hard to think that he even did it I still have a hard time looking at him as a monster I just remember him being the fun every time Carrie came it was - it was fun or you know where we got new beanie babies it was a good time when he was around I was excited when he was around now I don't even know how I'd be able to look at him hi everyone George Stephanopoulos here thanks for checking out the ABC News youtube channel if you'd like to get more videos show highlights and watch live event coverage click on the right over here to subscribe to our channel and don't forget to download the ABC News app for breaking news alerts thanks for watching

Channel: ABC News

Views: 58,180

Keywords: yosemite, killer, intended, victim, lenna, cary, stayner, confession, 2020, abc, news

Id: g2oC7DiCXPA

Length: 4min 31sec (271 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 25 2019