Sluti Family Discusses Kidnap Ordeal

April 16, 2001 -- It was a calm and happy Easter weekend for the Sluti family, after their daughter Anne's 1,500-mile, six-day kidnap ordeal ended peacefully Thursday.

Authorities say Sluti helped convince her abductor to release her Thursday morning, ending a standoff with police at a cabin near Rollins, Mont.

Her parents, Elaine and Don Sluti, told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America today that she was in good spirits and enjoying the holiday weekend.

"They dyed Easter eggs," said Anne's mother Elaine. "Her older brother slipped in a few raw eggs, you know, and they were throwing them around, and it was just a lot of laughter and just fun in the house."

Difficult Days of Waiting and Praying

Their mood could not have been more different from a week earlier, as they faced the anguishing prospect of an extended search for their daughter, a 17-year-old high school honors student.

'Despair was always there, wanting to creep in," Elaine Sluti said.

"It was very, very difficult" last Saturday, when it became clear Anne was missing. "I had gone so far as to ask a friend if she would help me find a black [funeral] dress," she admitted.

Don Sluti said the hardest moment was seeing posters of his missing daughter at the local supermarket.

"You see a poster of your own child," he said. "You knew the reality" of the situation.

Both parents said the support and prayers of others had helped tremendously.

"We had so much love and support and prayers," Elaine Sluti said. "I know people across the United States were praying for Anne … and that's what helped me keep it together."

Police arrested 29-year-old Anthony Zappa after Anne negotiated with police.

Teen Did an ‘Outstanding job’

Authorities say Zappa, who was already the subject of a five-state manhunt, abducted the teen from a mall in Kearney, Neb.

"She did an outstanding job," Mike Sargeant of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said Thursday, describing how she helped end the standoff.

Now, aside from a black eye and a few bruises, Anne looks and feels fine, her mother said today.

"It's just so good to have her with us again."