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Duncan won't talk without lawyer Posted: Monday, Jul 04, 2005 - 08:26:30 am PDT By DAVE TURNER Staff writer
Still no information on whereabouts of Dylan COEUR d'ALENE -- The man found with missing 8-year-old Shasta Groene has invoked his right to remain silent, a sheriff's spokesman said on Sunday.Joseph Edward Duncan III, 42, of Fargo, N.D., said he won't talk to investigators about the disappearance of Shasta and her brother, Dylan, 9, or the three murders at Wolf Lodge Bay without a lawyer. But in the meantime, investigators are sorting through all the new leads. Duncan is being held on local kidnapping charges as well as fugitive warrants and will make a first court appearance on Tuesday. Wolfinger said again on Sunday investigators believe Dylan is dead, although they won't say why they believe it. Shasta Groene was found alive shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday sitting with a longtime registered sex offender at a booth at the Coeur d'Alene Denny's. Dylan was not with her. FBI Special Agent in Charge Tim Furhman said nobody has yet filed a claim of the $100,000 reward the federal government posted for information leading to the return of the children and the killers. On Saturday night, the husband of waitress Amber Deahn, who recognized Shasta, said his wife didn't even know there was a reward. Shasta's father, Steve Groene, also put up his $25,000 motorcycle as an added incentive. "We're not going to take his motorcycle," her husband said. After a brief moment of joy when the children's grandmother told reporters that Dylan was alive Saturday morning, Wolfinger said they believe the boy is dead. "I'd be more than happy to stand up here and say that it's not true," Wolfinger said. But he said information from interviews with Shasta and other sources "in totality, led us to believe that Dylan is dead." He would not say at what point in the abduction he was apparently killed. Still, "Dylan is the No. 1 priority in this case," Wolfinger said. "Investigators are still trying to locate Dylan and they are optimistic they will find him." Wolfinger said investigators are also working on solving the killings of Brenda Kay Groene, 40, her son, Slade Groene, 13, and live-in boyfriend, Mark Edward McKenzie, 37, who were found May 16 bound with plastic zip ties and beaten to death at their home at 12525 Frontage Road near Wolf Lodge Bay. "I think why this happened is the biggest question a lot of us have," he said. Duncan is a level-3 sex offender from two states who was released from prison in 1994 after serving 14 years for the rape of a 14-year-old Tacoma, Wash., boy in 1980. He most recently failed to appear for court in Becker County, Minn., on charges he molested a 7-year-old boy near a middle school a year ago today. Wolfinger said investigators have traveled to Fargo to meet with police who are probing Duncan's life over the last few months since he was released on bail in April for the Minnesota child molestation charge. Wolfinger said tip calls have started to pick up after pictures of the stolen red Jeep Larado Duncan was driving were published Saturday night and Sunday. On Saturday, authorities asked anyone who had seen Duncan or the jeep, the rear tailgate of which was covered in a white powdery dust when it was impounded, to call them and let them know where they last saw it. He said investigators don't believe the children were taken out of the Pacific Northwest since their abduction. Wolfinger said detectives have searched the vehicle and sent evidence off to the crime lab for processing. Wolfinger said Shasta is listed in good condition at Kootenai medical Center and spent the night there with her father. Wolfinger said investigators are looking into any connection Duncan might have had with the Groene family. On Saturday, Steve Groene said he didn't know the man. Wolfinger said the case is evolving so fast and the investigators are working through a lot of information. "They have to take their time to sort it out," he said. "We don't want to go into this with just one mindset." Dave Turner can be reached at 664-8176, ext. 2009 or at dturner@cdapress.com.
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