TV Show To Interview Ex-Reporter Who Disappeared -- Jody Roberts Also May Tell Her Story In Book

TACOMA - Jody Roberts, a former newspaper reporter who had disappeared for 12 years, is scheduled to appear on a tabloid television show to tell her story next month and may write a book.

Authorities found Roberts in July in Sitka, Alaska, living under the name Jane Dee with her husband, Dan Williams, and two sets of twin daughters.

Roberts, who used to work for The News Tribune of Tacoma, has declined to talk about her disappearance, saying through family and friends that she suffers from profound amnesia that wiped away memories before May 25, 1985.

"She's very protective of her life that exists," said Michael McCarthy, an executive producer with National Picture in Los Angeles.

"She only wants to talk to so many people. She's precise and to the point."

Roberts will be represented by International Creative Management, a major Hollywood management agency, McCarthy said. She also has a book agent in New York City, he said.

He said Roberts decided to sell her story and use the money to help her family establish a more secluded life.

"She wants to go further away in the bush," McCarthy said. "She doesn't want to be around people.

"She's been very upfront about the issue (of money)," added McCarthy, whose agreement with Roberts prohibits him from disclosing how much money she'll receive.

"She has what I think is a laudable goal: a safe home in an environment that she and her husband want to be in."

Roberts is scheduled to appear on "American Journal," a tabloid television show, next month during a "sweeps" period, when ratings are tabulated to determine advertising rates.

A second interview with the show will be aired in February and will include footage of a planned Christmastime reunion at Disneyland, where her husband and children will meet Roberts' extended family, McCarthy said.

Since her reappearance, Roberts has been flooded with offers for interviews and TV-movie deals, reportedly including one for $100,000.

She has already done an exclusive European interview with the German Channel 7 network, McCarthy said.

The producer said he is putting together a book deal for Roberts in which she will tell about her experiences. The book will be written with the help of a collaborator who lives in Homer, Alaska.

McCarthy also is selling a TV-movie deal and a feature-length article for a national publication.

Roberts disappeared from her newspaper job on May 20, 1985. Five days later, an unidentified woman appeared in a shopping mall in Aurora, Colo., saying she had no memory of her name or anything about herself.

After four months in the hospital, the woman named herself Jane Dee, attended college in Colorado and eventually moved to Alaska.

Her story became known by the public after authorities tracked her down with a tip that came from a Seattle woman who saw a photograph of Roberts on a TV report. The woman told police she had worked with Roberts at an Alaska hotel.

Roberts initially was dismayed by the newspaper and TV reporters who camped out in her yard after she was located in Sitka, McCarthy said.

"She really didn't want to be put through the media circus," he said. "She realized, however, that the interest (in her story) could be translated into dollars."