couric: good evening, everyone. for three american families there was joy mixed with heart break today. iran finally released sarah shourd, a native of los angeles, who had been held for more than a year on spy charges. she was freed for medical reasons after $500,000 in bail money was deposited in an iranian bank. it s not clear who paid. but iran continues to hold two of her friends, including her fiance. in a moment we ll hear from a family member. but first, elizabeth palmer on the latest turn in this long- running drama. reporter: free at last. after 410 days of imprisonment, sarah shourd arrived in the gulf state of oman, safely back in the arms of her mother. in iran just hours before, shourd had left prison with a police escort to face one last hurdle before her flight out. staying on message with the local media. i especially and particularly want to address president ahmadinejad and all of the iranian officials, the religious leaders and thank them for this hu
leaders and thank them for this humanitarian gesture. reporter: then a bittersweet good-bye since shourd leaves behind in jail her two fellow americans. my first priority is to help my fiance shane bauer and my friend josh fattal to gain their freedom because they don t deserve to be in prison anymore. reporter: all three were last seen together in may when they were allowed a short visit with their mothers who had traveled to iran from the united states. during that visit, shourd announced she would marry bauer who, while in jail, had made an engagement ring with threads from his shirt. it was in july, 2009, when the three americans on a tour of the middle east went hiking near a waterfall on the iran/iraq border. they were arrested for crossing into iran illegally and sent to jail accused of spying. a year later, sarah shourd s mother made a special appeal for her daughter s release. she has a precancerous condition and i m actually worried this young woman is going