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

Out of the Woods: A Girl, a Killer, and a Lifelong Struggle to Find the Way Home (2025) by American writer Gregg Olsen is a true crime novel that details the trauma and survival of Shasta Groene McClain, 28, who was kidnapped in 2005 with her nine-year-old brother, Dylan Groene, when she was eight years old. For 47 days, serial killer and convicted child molester Joseph Edward “Jet” Duncan, 42, abused the children at a remote campsite in the Montana woods, ultimately murdering Dylan. The case was heavily publicized, in part because Duncan had murdered Shasta’s mother, her mother’s boyfriend, and Shasta’s older brother before the abduction.

Out of the Woods is Shasta’s first personal account of her childhood experiences and healing journey. The book deals with themes of Coming to Terms with Surviving, Resilience and Forgiveness Following Trauma, and Speaking Out and Sharing One’s Truth. A writer of crime novels and true crime nonfiction, Olsen has authored over 20 books, many of which became New York Times bestsellers.

This guide uses the 2025 Thomas & Mercer edition of the book.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of rape, mental illness, child abuse, child sexual abuse, child death, self-harm, substance use, addiction, graphic violence, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

Summary

Shasta Groene was eight years old in 2005 when she was abducted by Joseph Edward “Jet” Duncan III, 42, on the night he her murdered her mother, her mother’s boyfriend, and Shasta’s older brother, Slade, 13. Jet drove Shasta and her brother, Dylan, nine, to a remote site in the Montana woods, where he held them for 47 days, abusing them physically and sexually. Jet was a convicted sex offender on the run from the authorities, and the abduction attracted widespread attention. Jet and Shasta were recognized at a Denny’s in Idaho, and the restaurant’s staff alerted the police. Jet had already murdered Dylan, but the police rescued Shasta and arrested Jet.  

Shasta lived with her father, Steve, and his girlfriend after her rescue, beginning a volatile period of in-patient therapy, media celebrity, and ongoing investigations. Doctors told her she’d never have children due to the abuse she endured, but she later went on to have a family of five. Despite helping to get Jet sentenced to death for the murders and abductions of numerous victims, by Shasta’s mid-twenties, her life had not gotten easier; her husband was in prison, she was raising her children alone, and in 2024, her mobile home burned down. The fire prompted a deep period of reflection and a desire to start over, which Shasta knew meant she would need to tell her story.

As a teenager, Shasta was rebellious and traumatized by the abuse and loss she experienced, leading to her placement at the Vista treatment center in Utah. There, she was heavily monitored and held to strict routines, and her therapist did little to support her healing. Shasta was and continues to be frustrated with being defined by her trauma and the public’s limited perception of her.

After Shasta was rescued, she had to describe her experiences in detail to police and therapists; how Jet tortured and murdered Dylan by shooting him point blank in the head, how Jet invaded her home, zip-tied her family members, and bludgeoned them to death, and how he forced Shasta and Dylan to perform sexual acts on him and on each other. Shasta was tasked with guiding police to the campsite in the mountains where she and Dylan had been held. She posed for photos and told the police what happened there. When they found Dylan’s remains, the confirmation of Dylan’s death shattered Steve, who struggled to support Shasta after the murder of his youngest sons, Slade and Dylan. Prior to Shasta’s return, Steve lived with his girlfriend and two eldest sons, Jesse and Vance.

Shasta’s life was shaped by trauma and instability during her youth. Her relationship with her father became increasingly volatile, and Steve remained unequipped to help his daughter. Rather than healing, he fell deeper into substance abuse and stole Shasta’s charity funds, causing Shasta to lash out emotionally and physically. During treatment at Vista, Shasta’s trauma was frequently dismissed. She was accused of lying about having had a miscarriage and told to reframe her memories of the campsite as positive. She got the sense that people couldn’t handle the truth of her experiences, and in group therapy, she was frequently shamed or accused of lying.

At the campsite, Jet often filmed his abuse, and he was particularly punitive toward Dylan. Jet, who was later diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and narcissism, manipulated the children by reading from the Bible and rambling about society’s hypocrisy; he believed he was doing God’s work. He made himself out to be a victim of society and the criminal justice system, and blamed everyone but himself for his actions. Shasta adapted to Jet by appeasing him in order to protect Dylan.

After her rescue, Shasta continued to grapple with the trauma of her captivity, the dysfunction in her family, and the failures of the mental health system. At Vista, Shasta was placed in trauma therapy, where she was told she needed to forgive Jet and revisit the house where the murders occurred to create more “positive” memories. Shasta felt increasingly unseen and misunderstood. She transitioned into a teen group home and attended high school, still struggling to get her father to believe that, before her abduction, her older brother Slade had sexually abused her.

Later, Shasta ran away with a boy from Vista and was introduced to meth and heroin. After returning to Vista, she was forced to take the Plan B contraceptive pill and was then discharged, whereupon she learned that most of her charity funds had been siphoned off by her father and spent on the treatment programs that failed her. Her mental and emotional health declined as she faced continued public scrutiny; she also began to wonder if Steve was involved in the murders as rumors started to circulate.

In her mid-teens, Shasta had several run-ins with the police and fell deeper into drug use. She was sent to the Idaho Juvenile Corrections Center, where she finally experienced validation and began a genuine path toward healing. The support she found there helped her open up about Dylan’s death and begin to heal herself from the guilt she carried. She came to realize that forgiving Jet was not about excusing him, but about giving herself permission to move forward and stop blaming herself.

As an adult, Shasta built a new life with her husband and five sons, but still deals with her trauma every day. She continues to struggle with the long-lasting effects of trauma and survivor’s guilt. Her relationship with her father remained unresolved until his death in 2019, but she took comfort knowing that Jet died from a brain tumor on death row in 2021. Shasta remains committed to honoring the victims and survivors of Jet’s crimes and ensuring their stories are never forgotten.