Post by Tulameen on Jul 2, 2005 14:21:58 GMT -5
This is such a tragic story, and much too close to home for me... makes me very uncomfortable. While our attention is on extremist terrorists and Osama Bin Laden, we have these creeps in our own backyard - sometimes literally...
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Idaho Girl Found; Brother Feared Dead
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 10 minutes ago
An 8-year-old girl who disappeared with her brother six weeks ago from a home where family members were bludgeoned to death was found early Saturday at a Denny's restaurant with a registered sex offender, officials said.
The girl's 9-year-old brother, Dylan Groene, remained missing and was feared dead, Kootenai County Sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger said.
"Our initial information is that he may be deceased," Wolfinger said, adding that officials were continuing the search for him. He would not elaborate on what kind of information investigators had.
Joseph Edward Duncan III, of Fargo, N.D., was charged with kidnapping and was being held without bond, Wolfinger said. He said more charges could be added.
Shasta Groene was spotted in her hometown by a waitress who apparently recognized her from photographs in the media.
Shasta seemed well, and was being interviewed by investigators at a medical center. Her father was on his way to Coeur d'Alene to be reunited with her, a relative said.
"She was sitting in a restaurant eating a meal. She's obviously well enough to do that," Wolfinger said.
Duncan had an outstanding warrant for failing to register as a high-risk sex offender and had a history of rape, Wolfinger said. He was facing charges of molesting a 6-year-old boy in Minnesota last year but was released on bail in April.
It was not known whether Duncan had a connection with the victims.
"We don't have any idea who Duncan is, other than a very, very sick individual. Sick and stupid to go to a Denny's at 2 a.m. with a child," Bob Price, Shasta Groene's paternal uncle, said by telephone from Tacoma, Wash.
Price said the children's father, Steve Groene, had just arrived at Price's home early Saturday for the Fourth of July weekend when he received a call saying Shasta had been found.
Wolfinger said he had no information on where Shasta had been held or where her brother may be.
"All we know is that he was not with Shasta and Duncan" at the restaurant, he said.
Dylan and Shasta Groene had been missing since at least May 16, when sheriff's deputies responded to their rural home after a neighbor reported that dogs were barking and the door of one vehicle was open but no one was in sight.
The deputies found the bound bodies of Brenda Groene, 40, Slade Groene, 13, and Mark McKenzie, 37. The victims were bound and then bludgeoned to death.
FBI agents and local officers interviewed hundreds of people, searched through 800 tons of animal carcasses and other trash and devoted thousands of hours to the search.
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Idaho Girl Found; Brother Feared Dead
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 10 minutes ago
An 8-year-old girl who disappeared with her brother six weeks ago from a home where family members were bludgeoned to death was found early Saturday at a Denny's restaurant with a registered sex offender, officials said.
The girl's 9-year-old brother, Dylan Groene, remained missing and was feared dead, Kootenai County Sheriff's Capt. Ben Wolfinger said.
"Our initial information is that he may be deceased," Wolfinger said, adding that officials were continuing the search for him. He would not elaborate on what kind of information investigators had.
Joseph Edward Duncan III, of Fargo, N.D., was charged with kidnapping and was being held without bond, Wolfinger said. He said more charges could be added.
Shasta Groene was spotted in her hometown by a waitress who apparently recognized her from photographs in the media.
Shasta seemed well, and was being interviewed by investigators at a medical center. Her father was on his way to Coeur d'Alene to be reunited with her, a relative said.
"She was sitting in a restaurant eating a meal. She's obviously well enough to do that," Wolfinger said.
Duncan had an outstanding warrant for failing to register as a high-risk sex offender and had a history of rape, Wolfinger said. He was facing charges of molesting a 6-year-old boy in Minnesota last year but was released on bail in April.
It was not known whether Duncan had a connection with the victims.
"We don't have any idea who Duncan is, other than a very, very sick individual. Sick and stupid to go to a Denny's at 2 a.m. with a child," Bob Price, Shasta Groene's paternal uncle, said by telephone from Tacoma, Wash.
Price said the children's father, Steve Groene, had just arrived at Price's home early Saturday for the Fourth of July weekend when he received a call saying Shasta had been found.
Wolfinger said he had no information on where Shasta had been held or where her brother may be.
"All we know is that he was not with Shasta and Duncan" at the restaurant, he said.
Dylan and Shasta Groene had been missing since at least May 16, when sheriff's deputies responded to their rural home after a neighbor reported that dogs were barking and the door of one vehicle was open but no one was in sight.
The deputies found the bound bodies of Brenda Groene, 40, Slade Groene, 13, and Mark McKenzie, 37. The victims were bound and then bludgeoned to death.
FBI agents and local officers interviewed hundreds of people, searched through 800 tons of animal carcasses and other trash and devoted thousands of hours to the search.