An Ordinary Day at Denny’s
On a typical day, you’d expect your local Denny’s to be the backdrop of an unhealthy but tasty breakfast, not a scene ripped right from a heart-wrenching thriller. But back in 2005, a Denny’s diner in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, became the center stage for a case that would forever leave a scar on the city’s history.
Picture this: you’re enjoying your Grand Slam breakfast, when suddenly a child walks in with an older man. Innocuous enough, until you realize that this particular little girl has been featured in the local paper, the Nickel Nik, as missing. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You can’t believe your eyes. It’s the same girl, right there, in front of you, in broad daylight. So what do you do? You call the authorities. This is exactly what happened, and as the police arrived, they began to untangle a horrifying tale of abduction and depravity.
An Unsettling Discovery
A short time before the Denny’s incident, on a rainy May 16, a 911 call was made regarding an unfamiliar white pickup truck. The truck was parked on a property in Kootenai County, and a resident called it in due to its suspicious presence. This seemingly innocuous call set the stage for an investigation that would dive deep into a dark corner of Idaho’s underbelly.
What makes a parked vehicle suspicious, you ask? The answer lies in the truck’s contents—an axe and a toolbox. When the same man called 911 again later that day, the unfolding situation took a sinister turn. He was unable to explain over the phone, but the call had something to do with a house nearby, a house connected to the owner of the truck, a house that had blood all over the door.
The Blood-Soaked Home
The property in question was rented by a couple, Brenda Groene and Mark McKenzie, with Brenda’s three children—13-year-old Slade, nine-year-old Dylan, and eight-year-old Shasta—also living there. The house itself was located in a rural area known as Wolf Lodge.
Officers arrived to find a scene straight from a horror movie: a hunting rifle in the family’s vehicle, bullet holes in the windows, and bloodstains around the house. Inside, they made a gruesome discovery—three bodies, all face down, bound, and deceased. Brenda and Mark were identified among the victims, but the youngest members of the family, Dylan and Shasta, were nowhere to be found.
A Tale of Terror Unfolds
As the investigation progressed, it was found that the welfare checks at the Wolf Lodge home were not uncommon. The family often had friends over, with members coming and going at different times. Yet, nobody could foresee the horror that was about to unfold.
The hunt for the missing children, the puzzle of the white pickup truck, and the shocking discovery at Denny’s would soon intertwine in a twisted narrative of fear, loss, and survival. This was just the start of one of the most disturbing abduction cases to ever hit Idaho’s history.
So, buckle up, ScannerSquad, as we plunge into the labyrinth of this harrowing tale. In our upcoming articles, we will dive deeper into the details of the investigation, the chilling evidence, and the extraordinary survival story of one brave little girl. Let’s keep seeking truth together, as we navigate through this real-life nightmare that turned an ordinary day into a scene from a thriller movie.
Tags: Idaho, Abduction, Crime, Investigation, True Crime, Denny’s, Brenda Groene, Mark McKenzie, Survival Story, ScannerSquad