Out of the Woods: A Girl, a Killer, and a Lifelong Struggle to Find the Way Home

Shasta was 13 years old in August of 2010 when several adults gathered around to determine the best course of action to help her. At this point in her life, Shasta was sexually active, rebelling, involved in theft, and more. She had a volatile relationship with her biological father, Steve Groene, who felt burdened by the events that unfolded in his family—and by Shasta’s survival. Steve was not equipped to be a father and was ashamed and angered by the fact that he was considered a suspect in the crimes that destroyed his family. He insisted that Shasta never watch or read any news related to the kidnapping or murders, and when he caught her doing so, he would viciously spank her.

Shasta’s court-appointed therapist, Laura Taylor, believed that Shasta should be sent to a residential care facility, where she could start a new life. She was taken to Vista in Utah, without any of her belongings, and felt as though she was being attacked.

Shasta arrived at Vista and immediately noticed the size and stature of the residence. She also noticed that most of the other girls were much older than her, and it made her feel young and small. Each girl at the residence had a different reason for being there, though they were not allowed to talk to one another outside of therapy. Everyone was on a strict regime with daily therapy and no free time, and Shasta was “diagnosed” with an incredibly long list of issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder. When Shasta first met her therapist, Marty Zimmerman, she thought she might have some hope of improving, but she notes now that her sense of hope faded quickly. Shasta often felt that the people who treated her could not handle the details of the weeks she spent in the woods, and often focused instead on her family’s murders and her rescue.

The book then jumps back in time to the day of Shasta’s rescue. In the lead-up to her rescue, Shasta believed that Joseph Edward Duncan (who went by “Jet”) intended to turn himself in and let her go. He told Shasta that she had changed him and taught him about love, and set out with her on a road trip to see his mother. On the way, they passed through Idaho, Shasta’s home state, and stopped at a gas station. Shasta noticed her and her brother Dylan’s pictures on the wall, and people seemed to recognize her, but nobody said anything.

When they stopped for lunch in Coeur D’Alene, Jet insisted that Shasta come into the restaurant, even though she knew she would be seen. His behavior was confusing and contradictory as they ordered lunch, and one of the men at the restaurant recognized Shasta. He talked to the waitress, who stalled while the police were called. When a police officer arrived, he arrested Jet almost immediately, and Shasta called her father, Steve. He was sobbing when he heard from her, but as soon as she told him that Dylan was dead, he hung up, leaving Shasta feeling totally alone.

Shasta’s parents, Brenda and Steve Groene, had five children: Jesse, Vance, Slade, Dylan, and Shasta. Brenda and Steve had substance use disorder throughout their lives, which led to financial difficulties, conflict, and instability. When they finally split, Steve lost touch with his youngest children while his oldest, Jesse, later moved in with him. Brenda found a new partner named Mark, who also used drugs but had a stable income. He was arrested once for hurting Vance while attempting to “discipline” him. Shasta was the baby of the family, which she enjoyed, but she and Dylan were often teased at school for their lower socioeconomic status.

Even at age eight, Shasta was well equipped to discuss her experiences during therapy, but nobody seemed equipped to deal with them. Before her abduction, Shasta lived with Slade, Dylan, Mark, and Brenda in a run-down house in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. Her bedroom window was missing, and many of the lightbulbs in the house had been turned into makeshift methamphetamine pipes. Shasta’s memories of her family remain clouded by their deaths though she wishes she could remember them at their best.

The first person Shasta saw at the hospital after being rescued was Kathy, Steve’s partner. Shasta found deep comfort in their reuniting, and they cried together for a long time. Steve refused to believe that Dylan was dead, even after Shasta described how Jet had burned Dylan’s body in the woods. Shasta also had a piece of Dylan’s skull in her hair from when he was shot, but never knew if her father was told.

Police interviews required her to talk about the sexual abuse she and her brother had endured. She also provided the police with Jet’s flash drive with all of its pictures and videos. Shasta described how Jet would abuse her and then buy her things or praise her, and this cyclical pattern led her to feel a sort of sympathy for him. She believed that she really did change him or at least hoped she did. Shasta moved in with Steve and Kathy, where she was usually forbidden from talking about what happened to Dylan. They all attended a funeral service for him, and Shasta thought about how honored her brother would have been to see the large crowd paying their respects.

Four days after arriving at the Vista treatment center in Utah, Shasta had a therapy session with Dr. Zimmerman. He boldly assured her that his therapy would “fix” her problems, and pushed her to discuss her feelings of guilt over Dylan’s death. Dr. Zimmerman tried to tell Shasta it wasn’t her fault, but the exercise only made her feel more guilty and more responsible, as she promised Dylan they would leave together. All the while, Shasta’s relationship with her father was increasingly difficult, as he reacted strongly to her dating (largely because she had already been pregnant once). Shasta was tired of being treated like “that girl” who survived, and between her notoriety and her father’s abandonment, everything became worse. She just wanted to be treated like everyone else. When people started accusing her of using her long hair as an emotional shield, she cut it off to prove that she wasn’t hiding from the possibility of feeling better.

Life at Vista was full of strict rules, and girls were expected to advance through a series of levels that came with various privileges until their eventual release. Group therapy usually involved a circle of judgment, as girls attempted to impress the staff and level up quicker, often berating one another’s past choices to do so. Many of them wondered why Shasta was able to recall her experiences without crying or even altering her affect, and Shasta wondered this too, though she did cry when she talked about Dylan.

On the night that Shasta and her brother were taken, she awoke to her mother frantically taking her and Dylan out of the bedroom and saying there was a man in the house. The man turned out to be Jet. Shasta recalls seeing Mark and Slade tied up on the floor, where they were soon joined by their mother, who was also tied up. Jet proceeded to bludgeon them with a hammer and then took Dylan and Shasta outside. Shasta recalls watching Slade come out of the house covered in blood, soon after falling over and dying. Jet refused to acknowledge he killed Shasta’s mother in front of her, claiming a different series of events occurred. It was likely that Jet chose not to confront the truth in front of her since hurting Shasta would bruise his ego or challenge his self-image. Jet also told himself that killing Slade was just because he convinced himself that Slade was a bully who needed to be stopped.

Shasta was the only person who knew where the campsite was and what happened there, so she was tasked with being the guide as the police investigated the scene. Shasta was willing to help, as she believed it was the right thing to do for Dylan. She guided the police up the mountain and right to the campsite, using familiar signs like the feel of the road and the types of trees around her. Shasta showed the police where she lived for seven weeks with Jet and Dylan, though little remained of it. She posed in specific ways to indicate how she was held as she was forced to watch her brother being tortured, and she showed them the path she walked as she and Jet pulled Dylan’s body to the spot it was burned. The police collected thousands of fragments of Dylan’s remains, and the whole experience made the reality of Dylan’s death too certain for Steve to deny. He took some of the remains for himself and remained in shock for most of the day. A few days later, Steve was told he had six months to live as a result of throat cancer.