$100,000 reward for kidnap heroes
Published: September 15, 2005
Kidnap victim Shasta Groene might still be missing, and sexual predator Joseph Edward Duncan III still on the run, if not for the early morning heroism of four people at a Denny’s restaurant here.
Those four will split a $100,000 reward on Thursday for their help in the rescue of 8-year-old Shasta, who was abducted and missing for seven weeks before they spotted her at the restaurant shortly before 2 a.m. on July 2.
Although the initial praise for the rescue focused on waitress Amber Deahn and restaurant manager Linda Olson, the FBI decided that customers Nicholas Chapman and Chris Donlan also should be rewarded for spotting the girl and calling authorities, a source at the FBI who did not want to be identified told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The four were not immediately available for comment, but were expected at a news conference scheduled Thursday in Coeur d’Alene.
Shasta and her 9-year-old brother Dylan were abducted from their home just outside Coeur d’Alene on either May 15 or 16 after an intruder killed their mother, her boyfriend, and their 13-year-old brother.
Despite an Amber Alert and a nationwide search by the FBI, no sign of the children was found until July 2, when Duncan and Shasta walked into the restaurant along Interstate 90.
Police documents and interviews with officers describe what happened:
Chapman, 21, and Donlan, 18, were outside the restaurant, smoking cigarettes. They immediately recognized Shasta from the numerous posters that had been plastered across the region. The two tried to get the attention of their two female companions inside.
At 1:41 a.m., Donlan text-messaged “that little girl looks line (sic) that Shasta girl” to his girlfriend.
Amazon discount!
The Casebook of Forensic Detection: How Science Solved 100 of the World’s Most Baffling CrimesThe pair wrote down the license number of Duncan’s vehicle and went inside. They grabbed a newspaper that had a picture of the missing girl, and showed the photo to an employee. Then they sat at a table with their girlfriends and tried to keep an eye on Duncan without being obvious.
Deahn, 24, six months pregnant, consulted with Olson, and decided that Deahn would try to keep Duncan and Shasta inside while Olson called police. The manager called at 1:51 a.m., while Deahn went to the table to offer the girl crayons and a promotional mask from the film “Madagascar.”
Meanwhile, Chapman became worried when no police cars arrived, and called 911 at 1:55 a.m. He was told that officers were already on the way.
If you enjoyed this good news Subscribe to Good News Blog
Share this
To share this simply copy and paste one of the below URL's: