They found the little girl!!

[KristyK]

Not sure if anyone around the country remembers this, but around the PNW there was a huge story and search for these children! The mother, her boyfriend and the older brother at the home were all murdered and the 2 youngest children were missing. Latest story found here from our local channel 4:

Missing Girl Found Weeks After Triple Murder

July 2, 2005

By KOMO Staff & News Services


COEUR D'ALENE, IDAHO - An 8-year-old girl, missing with her 9-year-old brother since the May discovery that their brother, mother and her boyfriend had been beaten to death, was found Saturday at a Denny's restaurant in this lakeside resort town.

Shasta Groene and her brother Dylan have been missing since May 16, when the bodies of their mother, Brenda Groene, 40, her boyfriend, Mark McKenzie, 37, and their brother Slade Groene, 13, were found in an isolated house near Lake Coeur d'Alene.

A dispatcher for the Kootenai County sheriff's department confirmed Saturday morning that the girl had been found.

The dispatcher, who did not want to be named, had no information on the missing 9-year-old boy. Deputies could not be immediately reached for further detail.

Brenda Groene and Mark McKenzie had marijuana and methamphetamine in their bodies at the time of their deaths, according to autopsies. No arrests have been made in the killings. The three victims were bound and then bludgeoned to death.

Law enforcement officials have conducted more than 700 interviews and taken more than 2,000 tips.

Earlier this week, the child's older brother, Jesse Groene, 18, jailed since Feb. 9 on charged of burglary and grand theft after he was caught shoplifting at a Post Falls Wal-Mart and driving a stolen Jeep, cited the deaths as he sought leniency in sentencing.

Jesse Groene said the killings had given him an opportunity to re-evaluate the effects drugs can have on people's lives.

In exchange for a guilty plea on the burglary and injury-to-a-jail charges, he was sentenced Tuesday to two years in the state penitentiary, with four more years possible. The theft charge was dropped.

Groene will attend a six-month program at the state Department of Corrections facility in Cottonwood. If he's able to complete it successfully, he'll be put on probation.

I certainly hope they find her brother alive as well! Those poor children, I don't know what they've been through! I'll have to turn the tv on now!

Kristy

[Rose]

That's wonderful. I really hope they will find the brother alive.

[Kopper]

Wow! That's great they found her.

Some more info from CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/07/02/idaho.children/index.html
(CNN) -- An 8-year-old Idaho girl, missing more than six weeks after three people were found beaten to death in her mother's home, has been found alive, a police official said Saturday.

Shasta Groene was found at about 2 a.m. (4 a.m. ET), a spokesman for the Kootenai County (Idaho) Sheriff's Department said.

Kootenai County Sheriff's Department spokesman Capt. Ben Wolfinger said Shasta was found in the company of a North Dakota man, who was taken into custody.

Shasta's brother, 9-year-old Dylan, has not been located, but her great aunt, Sue Torres, told CNN that "Shasta's probably going to take us to him."

"The only thing I really know is that a waitress at a Denny's restaurant in Coeur d'Alene recognized her."

Shasta is in a hospital, and "she wants her daddy," Torres said.

The children have been missing since May 16, when their mother, a brother and the mother's boyfriend were found beaten to death in the mother's home.

A memorial service was held May 25 for 40-year-old Brenda Groene and 13-year-old Slade Groene.

Authorities said they and 37-year-old Mark McKenzie died from blunt-force trauma to the head. The last time they were seen was May 15, when they had a Sunday get-together with friends at the home.

Police have said they have no suspects in the deaths or the children's disappearance.

"We've always believed that if they were going to kill everybody in the house, they would have killed them and left them there," Wolfinger said in May. "But they didn't."

Authorities are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the return of the children or information that could lead to those responsible for their abduction. In addition, Kootenai County posted a $7,500 reward. (Full story)

An Amber Alert initially was issued for the children but was canceled because of the lack of new information in the case for five days.

Authorities described Dylan as 4 feet tall, 60 pounds, with crew-cut blond hair and blue eyes.

[Mystikal]

Oh my gosh! I'm so glad they found her safe. I hope they have the same luck with her brother!!

[lawyerlee]

That is wonderful! :)


KristyK, I just wanted to let you know that I moved your thread to the News forum. We don't want our News forum to get cold with all the news threads being posted elsewhere. ;) Thanks!

Diana :)

[KristyK]

No problem Diana for the move! I was just so excited when I saw the news, I wasn't sure where to post it!

Still no word on the brother yet, and they are supposed to come back on at 11a with more word from the local authorities in Coeur D'lane (sp?).

[bciob22]

The Denny's they found her at is only like 2 miles from her home. I hope Dylan is still alive.

[KristyK]

I hope he's alive too! She was with a known pedophile that had an outstanding warrent for a molestation in MN. I feel for the poor girl, not only did she lose her mom and brother, but her other brother is still gone, and it looks like she was this molesters next victim. I hope she didn't witness the deaths!

Also, I'm totally surprised they haven't put the waitress on tv yet? At least not on the NW Cable news I'm watching.


Back to tv, and surfing.

Kristy

[bciob22]

... and it looks like she was this molesters next victim. I hope she didn't witness the deaths!


I not only think she was a victim of the sicko but I fear for Dylan because the guys last arrest was for raping a 14 y.o. boy at gunpoint. What if he tried something with Dylan and he resisted?

Also I am fairly certian she did see the deaths because after they arrested the guy she was in the back of a police cruiser with the waitress and said "I just want to go home and see my dad" I dunno I just think a 8 y.o. girl who was traumitized by being kidnapped(and whatever else) would ask for her mom (who she lives with) unless she already knew her mom was dead.

[bciob22]

They just announced that "peliminary investigations suggest Dylan is deceased"

[KristyK]

Also I am fairly certian she did see the deaths because after they arrested the guy she was in the back of a police cruiser with the waitress and said "I just want to go home and see my dad" I dunno I just think a 8 y.o. girl who was traumitized by being kidnapped(and whatever else) would ask for her mom (who she lives with) unless she already knew her mom was dead.

I have to agree with you, she'd want her mom, I know I would!

They just said on the news that they don't think that Dylan is alive! But, they won't say anything else on why they think this. That poor little girl, my heart breaks for her, and her family. :(

[lawyerlee]

Also I am fairly certain she did see the deaths because after they arrested the guy she was in the back of a police cruiser with the waitress and said "I just want to go home and see my dad" I dunno I just think a 8 y.o. girl who was traumitized by being kidnapped(and whatever else) would ask for her mom (who she lives with) unless she already knew her mom was dead.

Oh my god. That poor sweet little girl. :mad: :(

Cool, Kristy. It is wonderful to hear that she is alive. :)

[suzubeane]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/images/050702found.jpg
Associated Press
Shasta Groene as shown in a family photograph. The 8-year-old girl who disappeared with her brother six weeks ago from a home where their family members were bludgeoned to death has been found.

Missing Idaho girl reunited with her father
Man charged with kidnapping is registered sex offender

Sunday, July 3, 2005; Posted: 2:09 a.m. EDT (06:09 GMT)

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (CNN) -- The father of an 8-year-old girl, missing in the aftermath of a triple homicide at her mother's house six weeks ago, was reunited with his daughter Saturday, hours after she was found alive in a Denny's restaurant with a convicted sex offender.

Steve Groene was out of town when Shasta was found around 2 a.m. (5 a.m. ET) and rushed back to this community. The two were reunited at Kootenai Medical Center Saturday afternoon.

"There's no greater love between a parent and a child, and having a child come back to you has got to be a great experience," Kootenai County Sheriff Capt. Ben Wolfinger told CNN.

But the reunion was mixed with sadness, as investigators told the father they believe his 9-year-old son Dylan, who disappeared with Shasta, may be dead.

Shasta was found at a Denny's restaurant in Coeur d'Alene, just miles from the home where she was last reported seen, said Wolfinger.

In her company was 42-year-old Joseph Edward Duncan III of Fargo, North Dakota, who has outstanding warrants for his arrest and may face further charges, Wolfinger said.

Shasta was taken to the Kootenai Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. Wolfinger said she appeared "to be in generally good health."

Wolfinger said authorities had information that Shasta's 9-year-old brother, Dylan, is dead. Both children had been missing since May 16, when their mother, a brother and their mother's boyfriend were found beaten to death in the mother's Coeur D'Alene home, Wolfinger said.

"Our best information right now is that Dylan is deceased," Wolfinger said. Authorities described the boy as 4 feet tall, 60 pounds, with crew-cut blond hair and blue eyes.

They had all been seen alive at a get-together of family and friends Sunday, May 15.

The coroner's office said 40-year-old Brenda Groene, her 37-year-old boyfriend, Mark McKenzie, and her 13-year-old son, Slade, died of blunt force trauma to the head and that each had been bound.

Wolfinger said while it was "too early to tell" if Duncan had any connection with the slayings, investigators were "working all the angles in this case."

He said he was "very surprised" the girl and Duncan were found so near her home.

Wolfinger said Coeur d'Alene police received a call from the Denny's restaurant about 2 a.m.

Several people in the restaurant said they immediately recognized the girl, whose picture has been widely circulated in the media.

Amber Deahn, the waitress attending the man and girl's table, went to look at the restaurant's "missing" poster of Shasta, but it was gone. A manager said Duncan tore the poster from the wall shortly after he entered.

The girl seemed especially closed off and the man with her was high-strung, Deahn said. Another witness said she was relaxed, coloring and drinking a soda.

Deahn said she made every effort to keep the girl in the restaurant before police arrived.

"I made sure to make a large shake instead of a child's shake," Deahn said. "We wanted to make sure to take just long enough to where if it turned out to be nothing we could say, 'Hey our shake machine's running a little slow.' "

"We didn't want to cause any suspicion." (Full story)

One of the cooks said he blocked the restaurant's back entrance in case the man tried to make a getaway.

Coeur d'Alene police detained Duncan at the restaurant until Kootenai County deputies arrived to arrest him.

Deahn said she comforted the girl who burst into tears after police took the man away.

"I would really hope that if my children, God forbid, ever went missing, somebody would do the same," Deahn said.

Wolfinger said investigators had obtained a search warrant for the red 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Duncan was driving.

He said the vehicle was reported stolen from St. Paul, Minnesota, in early May, and that the license plates were stolen in Newton County, Missouri, a few days before.

Duncan's arrest record goes back to a 1980 rape conviction in Pierce County, Washington, when he was 16.

His last address was in Fargo, North Dakota, where he was a registered sex offender, but he is listed as "delinquent" on the North Dakota offenders Web page.

"One of his outstanding warrants is failure to register as a sex offender in Washington," Wolfinger said. "The other is an unlawful flight to avoid prosecution out of Minnesota for second-degree sexual offense."

According to the Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Police Department, Duncan was charged in early March with molesting a 7-year-old boy near a middle school in Becker County in July 2004.

The department issued a warrant for his arrest when he violated the terms of release from an April 5 court appearance.

Wolfinger said Duncan runs a Web site that advocates against prosecuting sex offenders. CNN was unable to locate the site.

In his 1980 conviction in Washington, Duncan pleaded guilty to abducting and raping a 14-year-old boy at gunpoint, burning the victim with a cigarette and firing the gun -- on empty chambers -- causing him to believe he would be killed, according to a description from the North Dakota sex offender registry.

Upon turning 17, Duncan was transferred to adult court where he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to the city of Fargo.

He was released on parole in 1994 after serving 14 years, but returned to prison for a parole violation in 1997.

On July 14, 2000, he was released at the end of his prison term, and on July 21 he arrived in Fargo, where he immediately enrolled at North Dakota State University. (Full story)

On his personal Web site at the school, Duncan claimed he was an honor student studying computer science and said he expected to graduate in May.

David Wahlberg, a school spokesman, said Duncan did not graduate. He said the university was aware of the charges in Minnesota.

Duncan will make his first official court appearance in Kootenai County Tuesday at 2 p.m. (5 p.m. ET), Wolfinger said.

[suzubeane]

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/US/07/02/deahn/story.waitress.jpg
Amber Deahn

Waitress: 'I picked her up and held her'
Saturday, July 2, 2005; Posted: 11:50 p.m. EDT (03:50 GMT)

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (CNN) -- A Denny's waitress in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, thought she recognized a girl who had come into the restaurant early Saturday as 8-year-old Shasta Groene, reported missing since her family was found bludgeoned to death in May.

The man in Groene's company, 42-year-old registered sex offender Joseph Edward Duncan III of Fargo, North Dakota, was later apprehended at the restaurant and charged with kidnapping.

Amber Deahn spoke with CNN anchor Carol Lin about how she and restaurant workers tried to buy time before authorities arrived.

LIN: Amber, has it sunk in with you yet what you did for this little girl?

DEAHN: Not really. I'm still running on just a little bit of sleep.

LIN: Tell me what happened.

DEAHN: I came back from my break. And always -- when I come back from a break, I always check my section to see if there's anybody new. She looked familiar. And any child that comes in after 2 [a.m.], especially at Denny's, or any child I see, I automatically think of the Groene children.

And I went to look at our poster that we have up, and it wasn't up, so I didn't have a picture to go off of. And I mentioned it to my manager, Linda, ... that, you know, maybe we should pay more attention to this little girl.

And between Linda and I both, we finally decided that we needed to call the officers and have them come down and have them verify whether or not it was her. But we were pretty sure it was her.

LIN: Were you worried at that point that she might walk out of the restaurant?

DEAHN: A little bit. When Linda went back into the office to call the officers, I needed to go back out and check on my table. Tried to think of anything that would work well, and kids love dessert. So I started suggesting shakes and the different flavors that we have. And she decided on vanilla.

LIN: And how did she seem to you? Did she seem nervous? Was she trying to signal you that she needed help?

DEAHN: Closed off. She seemed very closed off. Most children that we get in, if they do come into Denny's that late, they're passing through town, trying to go home or headed home. And you give them crayons and a mask, and they light up and get all excited and say thank you, and she didn't.

She looked at the gentleman -- I haven't even caught his name yet -- looked at him and waited for his approval to say thank you. And she just bent over the coloring thing and proceeded to color. She wasn't very enthusiastic, I guess would be the word.

LIN: Right. What about the man she was with, Duncan? Did he seem nervous that you were paying extra attention to Shasta?

DEAHN: In all honesty, I was trying to get a better look at Shasta more than I was paying attention to him. That time of night, people who kind of look at you funny are pretty normal. It's late at night. You get people who've been driving for hours. So he was normal but high-strung for that time of the night and only drinking water. Most people who are that high-strung got a big old cup of coffee in front of them.

LIN: What do you mean, high-strung? What did he say or do?

DEAHN: Just a little tense. And his answers to any questions I had were very short and to the point -- non-conversational -- whereas most people ... if they had been any other father or daughter ... traveling through town, they would have been like, "Oh, we just came from wherever," or "We're headed to wherever," and he wasn't. ... He was very short and to the point.

LIN: What was his interaction like with her?

DEAHN: You know, I really -- I can't even comment on that. I really didn't pay much attention to that. My sole subject in the whole thing was to find out -- you know, get a better look at her and see if she was who I thought she was.

LIN: Goodness, you must have been nervous. So what happened next? Here she is. She's eating her dessert.

DEAHN: We took a little longer than usual to make the shake and made sure to make a large shake instead of a child's shake. We wanted to make sure to take just long enough to where, you know, if it turned out to be nothing, we could just say, "You know, hey, our shake machine's running a little slow. It's an old machine."

We didn't want to cause any suspicion, so we made sure to time it just about perfect, so that he didn't think anything of it. And it gave the officer time to arrive.

LIN: And when the officers arrived, what happened then?

DEAHN: I went outside to speak to the officer. My manager told me to go out and let him know where they were in the restaurant. And he told me he was going to give me a minute to give them their ticket. And I went back inside, and they were headed to the bathroom, and he said, "We need our check," and pointed his thumb towards the table very quickly and abruptly. I said, "OK, I'll get that for you."

And next thing I know, he was making a beeline for that table, like he just wanted to throw the money down and get out of there. And the officers -- more officers had arrived on the scene and followed him right to the table.

LIN: Right. Wow. And did you ever get a chance to talk with Shasta Groene one on one?

DEAHN: When they asked the gentleman if they could talk to him for a minute, they took him away. And the first officer on the scene sat down with Shasta. I proceeded to continue working. I brought another table their food. And about the time I got the last plate off of the tray, he grabbed my arm and said, "Stay with her."

And I went and kneeled down by her side of the booth, and said, "Hi, sweetie. How are you?" And she didn't say anything. I said, "Honey, what's your name?" She said, "Shasta Groene," and started crying. And I couldn't help myself. I picked her straight up and just held her.

LIN: Oh, Amber, you know, you're a mother of a 15-month-old little girl. You had to have known what that would have meant to Shasta's father, who's on his way to see his little girl.

DEAHN: I would really hope that if -- I would really hope if my children, God forbid, ever went missing, somebody would do the same and take the time to really look at the child.

[Natasha]

Great, now i'm crying (damn pregnancy hormones). That poor little girl. This whole thing just stinks. I hope they find her brother.

[jarm]

I am so glad that they found Shasta. I just hope that they find the little boy! Anybody hear anything new on this?

[KristyK]

Still nothing new from what I've heard and read. They do think the boy is dead, but they won't say why. My thought is that she told them? But, we won't know.

The newest thing is the sex offender she was with. They questioned the judge in MN to find out why the heck a level 3 sex offender was let go on only $15,000 bail, and he said he didn't even remember the case, and in bail hearings you don't have all the evidence, etc. I don't know about that, but the article said that the prosecutors had only asked for $25,000 bail, so no matter what, he was getting out. Seems like they really dropped the ball there.

Shasta is still in the hospital, her dad has been staying with her.

[bciob22]

They found human remains in Western Montana. They haven't said that they are his but the gist of the article alludes to that is what they are thinking :(

[bciob22]

I just saw that the identified the remains found in Montana as being Dylan. So sad :(

[harness2be]

that is soooo sad. how on earth can people do that to such a precious child... i'll never know

[jbenny75]

I know. It's just heartwrenching. That poor little girl...the things she's seen.

[KristyK]

I was just coming here to post this too. How sad for her family and for her to have gone through all this. I don't know what else to say.

[lawyerlee]

Even though I know someone has to be really, really sick to do something like this, it still makes me want to make him suffer. :mad: :(

[oceaneast]

Even though I know someone has to be really, really sick to do something like this, it still makes me want to make him suffer. :mad: :(


I agree!