Here's the video of Fox News correspondent Steve Centanni describing his capture and release to a visibly moved yet 100% consummately professional Shepard Smith at 6:12 this morning. H/t to ICN, who, on Pacific time, was still awake from the night before when the story broke, and watched it unfold in real time. (As did some posters on ICN, one of whom noted that MSNBC chose to go with a biography of Elizabeth Taylor, and also gave deserved credit to CNN International, which was on the ball and airing Shep's interview with Steve.)
It is jaw-dropping to hear Steve's account. You have never heard anything like this, at least I haven't. Man, I am not ashamed to admit it, I have been teary all morning.
Here is the full transcript of Shep's interview with Steve:
SHEP: I’ve just been told that on the line with us now is our national correspondent Steve Centanni. Steve, thank God you are with us. How are you?
STEVE: Well Shepard, what a pleasure to hear your voice. I’m fine. I’m a little emotional because this is overwhelming. I’m really fine, healthy and in good shape. I’m so happy to be free.
And to have this remarkable team to have monitored the situation and helped in every way they could. Somebody did the right thing somewhere, because here I am.
I must first-off thank everybody for their support and for all the work this team here has done. And I’m sure everything as well that you’ve done on the air. My family and friends I understand have been very helpful. And for all of the Fox viewers – thank you for that.
SHEP: And Steve, we couldn’t be happier to hear from you. Forgive the journalist in me, but what has happened?
STEVE: We were driving down a narrow side street in Gaza city dropping off our picture and our sort of security guy. When there was a car stopped in front of us. And before we realized what kind of car had stopped in front of us, masked gunman – four of them – had just swarmed over, run over to our car, yanked open the doors and grabbed us by the wrists and pistols to our head and stuffed us in the back of a tiny little Toyota Helix twin cab.
Slipped a black hood over our heads. Jammed us together in the middle and they piled in on either side four of us… In the back of this tiny truck could hardly breathe. We were scrunched down toward the floor and they sped away and took us to a camp… Where they took us out of that vehicle and took all our cell phones, my blackberry… Everything we had on us including the backpack that I grabbed with me with my passport and everything in it. Searched our pockets and took everything away… And turned us over to a guy that I could see through my blindfold slightly who it was.
He put us into…sat us down and tied our hands behind our backs really tightly with these plastic ties. I still have some sore wrists… It was digging into my wrists really badly. But that was just the beginning of our torment that night.
We were put in the backseat of a little Volkswagen van totally blindfolded and our heads stuffed down between our knees so we couldn’t see where we were going. And drove about…Is my cell phone dying?
SHEP: No. You are fine. Go ahead.
STEVE: Put us…We drove for about ten minutes until we got to the next stop. Heard a big garage door rattling open and we pulled inside. And everything was pitch-black for us anyway. It must have been even blacker in there… I don’t know.
Roughly taken out of the car with our hands handcuffed behind us with these sharp plastic ties. Herded into these big workshop or warehouse or something. We later found out it was a garage.
Heard generator rumbling. Loud… Motor going constantly, steady sound. I was thinking… Oh god. Ok, so a remote warehouse with a big, noisy generator. I’m toast. They could simply shoot me in the head and no one would hear it. But also thinking… My better nature let me think that I’m no good to them dead. So I kept my hopes up. But we were pushed down onto the dirt floor… This dirt-covered concrete floor of this warehouse or garage. Forced to lie face down with our hands cuffed behind us laying down on the dirt face down.
And Olaf was in the same room with me because we were talking slightly. I said, “Olaf are you there?” And he says, “Yeah, yeah. I’m here. I hurt like hell, but I’m here” And said, “Yeah, that’s an understatement.”
So our shoulders were wrenched back so they were painful and our hands were very painful. If we tried to get up and sit up – which I did do a few times – they would eventually just force us back down with something stuck to my head. I don’t know if a stick, a flashlight or a gun or what… We couldn’t see. We were forced to lay face down again in the dirt with blindfold on.
Seemed like that went on for hours, Shep. Probably no more than two hours. They would occasionally say water. I didn’t know the Arabic word for it. Which I do now.
But they didn’t (inaudible) They would say… “Shhh, shhh. Be quiet. Don’t talk, don’t talk.”
And every time we tried to communicate with each another to reassure each other that the other was there, they would just do that shhh.
Olaf stopped responding at one point, and I thought Oh my God, they’ve moved him already. We’re separated him and we’re going to be really lonely.
SHEP: Steve?
STEVE: Yes?
SHEP: I was going to say...Over the days, did they request anything of you? Were you fed and clothed? Were there demands made?
STEVE: Over the days they requested many things of us. They requested written statements of what I had done in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and Kashmir and where I had never been. Why we were there. What we were doing there.
At one time they said, “Write the story of your life… Your whole thing. All of the accidents.” He meant incidents I think. The guy that spoke English didn’t speak English very well. We had to write, and write and write.
And then we were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint. And don’t get me wrong here, I have the highest respect for Islam and learned a lot of very good things about it. It wasn’t… It was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns and we didn’t know what the hell was going on.
They requested video tapes. And I’m sure you’ve seen one or more. And we didn’t want to do those. Particularly, except the one where we...except the one that we told our friends and family that we’re alive and well and please do everything you can to help us. For that I was happy to do and I’m glad they did release it.
SHEP: Well Steve, I feel like I should let you go so you can collect yourself. We’re just so glad to see you alive and well.
STEVE: I’m emotional, because I’m so happy to be out. There were times I thought… I’m dead, but now I’m not. Thank God. But I’m ok. Thank you. Again for all of your help. I’m going to be fine. I’m just very happy.
SHEP: And you’ll be back on the air soon I know.
STEVE: I hope so. I really hope so.
SHEP: Much love Steve Centanni. Please pass the same to Olaf Wiig.
STEVE: I will Shep. Take care.
SHEP: Thank you very much. Steve Centanni – our national correspondent. Released from captivity after being kidnapped on the 14th of August. Very painful to hear what it was they were going through. I know that many of our views – just as we have – thought about what the last two weeks were like for these men.
