Shasta Groene, known as survivor of 2005 kidnapping, loses Nampa home in fire

Shasta Groene, the woman best known for being the sole survivor of a kidnapping by an Idaho serial killer in 2005, is asking for assistance after her Nampa home burned down last week.

A friend of Groene’s, Robbin Lassen, set up a GoFundMe on Wednesday after Groene's home burned down earlier in the day. The fundraiser’s goal is $100,000, and by midday Monday, it had raised more than $31,000.

“The funds will help Shasta and her children with much-needed relief and support as they navigate this traumatic time,” the GoFundMe description reads. “Contributions will secure temporary housing, clothing, daily necessities, and eventually, the rebuilding of their home.”

According to CBS affiliate KBOI, the cause of the fire is under investigation and the Red Cross and the Nampa Fire Fighter Charity Fund are assisting Groene and her family.

Lassen told the Idaho Statesman that one of Groene’s five children alerted her to a fire in one of the bedrooms. Groene, all five children, and the family dog safely escaped the house but couldn’t prevent the fire from spreading.

Firefighters told Groene that, although it can’t be confirmed yet, the fire likely started from the furnace, according to Lassen.

“She had stuff in that house that is irreplaceable,” Lassen told the Statesman. “Things from her parents, her brothers that were murdered. It’s just so heart-wrenching.”

Groene’s parents and older brother were murdered by a man named Joseph Edward Duncan in 2005 at their home about 8 miles outside Coeur d’Alene. Groene, who was 8 years old at the time, and her brother, Dylan, were kidnapped by Duncan, but the burned remains of Dylan were later found by the side of a Forest Service road.

Groene was saved 48 days after the killings and kidnapping when a Denny’s waitress recognized Groene with Duncan at a table in Denny’s and called the police.

Groene’s GoFundMe page can be found at bit.ly/49Nvotm.