Father: “Remember the Good Times With Us”

Two Tennessee parents are in San Jose to see their children who were kidnapped two decades ago in Tennessee.

Its not clear if the now adult children want to talk to their parents.   Then young  Christi and Bobby Baskin, are now known as Jennifer and Jonathan Bunting.  

"I'm a little bit fearful of what they think about us, because they have been brainwashed for 20 years," said father, Mark Baskin.

"It's a blessing to know that they were alive and well," said his wife, a tearful Debbie Baskin.

According to investigators, Debbie's parents, Marvin and Sandra Maple, kidnapped the Baskins' children in 1978.

As the couple arrived picked up their luggage in San Jose, Mark Baskin asked his children to remember the good times they had living with them as children, adding he didn't want to pressure them to see him.  He said he wanted his children to know that he and his wife still love them and want a relationship with them.

They had not spoken to their children as of Thursday afternoon.  Mark said he felt blessed when he saw the adult pictures earlier this week.  He said he's happy they were able to make lives for themselves.

His daughter is in the nursing field and lives in the South Bay.  His son is married and has two children..

On Monday, authorities got a tip that Marvin Maple, 73, was living in San Jose. Investigators said the tip came in after someone heard Maple talking about the abduction at a San Jose restaurant.

"He was angry about a news report about the kidnapping and how it portrayed him," said Tennessee police Lt. Bill Sharp.

Maple was quickly arrested by San Jose police after they knocked on his door .  On Thursday he waived extradition in Santa Clara County Superior Court and will be headed back to Tennessee.

Police from San Jose and sheriff's deputies from Rutherford County Tennessee will hold a news conference on Friday in San Jose to discuss the case.  The parents of the missing siblings will take part in that event.

"I'm concerned about him," Debbie said of her dad. "I know he's not a nice person, but he's still my father, and my heart is breaking."

"I think he is demented for what he did," she said.   She said if she could find the courage she would try to see her father face to face.

Investigators said Sandra Maple, the victim's grandmother died in March 2006. 

Patrons at the South Side Cafe on Bernal Road, a San Jose bar where Maple had many friends, said they were shocked.

"The whole story is totally unlike the person I know," said Carl Avery. "He's very nice, went to dinner, breakfast with him very often."

Avery said he thought John Bunting was Maple's son, not his grandson.

One of the officers investigating the case said he thanks the anonymous women who reported their suspicions about Maple to authorities.

From his jail cell, Maple declined an interview from NBC Bay Area.Follow NBCBayArea Stories and Videos on Twitter

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