Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Deborah DeStefano (59) and Adam Zielinski (61), living under the assumed names Gloria and Steve Gylden, abducted Koning on the Fourth of July as she watched fireworks with her father, Christopher Koning. According to news articles from the time, Mr. Koning let go of his daughter’s hand to dig into his backpack for her sweater, and when he turned back to her, she was gone. An official search for the missing girl lasted nine months and spanned several states.
DeStefano and Zielinski reportedly brought Koning to Zielinski’s rural land in Latah County, Idaho, where they raised her as their own child, hidden from society.
As of just over a week ago, Koning, now twenty-three, was attending Corona College as a freshman under the assumed name Ren Gylden. “Ren said it took her a long time to convince her parents to let her go to college,” classmate Jeb Petrolli told the Associated Press. “Knowing what we know now, it’s wild they ever agreed. I guess they must’ve figured everyone forgot about Grace Koning and they’d get away with it.”
According to a campus student profile, Grace Koning had never been to school prior to her arrival in Spokane but was self-taught in subjects such as calculus, physics, Mandarin, and chemistry. And she made quite a positive impression on her peers. “She was absolutely a fish out of water,” a classmate told the Associated Press, asking to remain anonymous. “But once you get to know her, all the hype is real. She’s great. In hindsight this all makes sense, but at the time we just figured she’d had an alternative upbringing and was just sheltered.”
But after barely two months at school, Koning suddenly left campus a few days before spring break with another student, twenty-two-year-old Edward Fitzsimmons. The purpose of their trip remains unknown. Officials at Corona College have not replied to AP’s request for comment.
At some point in the trip, DeStefano and Zielinski intercepted Koning and brought her back to their homestead in Idaho, where authorities surrounded the area and rescued Koning in a shootout that left Zielinski dead. DeStefano remains in custody. A spokesperson for the FBI told AP she would be arraigned within forty-eight hours.
Although it was unclear why Koning left Spokane with Fitzsimmons, the Associated Press has learned that he is the one who alerted the authorities to Grace Koning’s probable location. Fitzsimmons and Koning’s biological father, Christopher (52), were apparently on-site for the rescue.
Neighbors of Christopher Koning report that DeStefano had once lived in the Atlanta neighborhood across the street from the Koning family. “She wasn’t really involved in neighborhood activities,” longtime local resident Annabelle Cleff told the Associated Press. “She mostly kept to herself.”
According to multiple sources, Christopher Koning and his ex-wife, Aria Miller, divorced just before Grace was two. Mr. Koning was awarded custody, but Miss Miller would make frequent attempts to see her child. “She was troubled,” Cleff said. “Addiction issues. Sometimes she would cause a scene. I remember standing at the curb one night when the police were called, and Deborah came out of her house, and all she said was ‘That poor little girl.’ She hadn’t spoken much to any of us up to that point. Didn’t even think about that again until all this happened.”
Multiple residents recall DeStefano’s relationship with Zielinski, who lived with DeStefano in the Atlanta neighborhood for some time. Jimmy Murphy, Mr. Koning’s next-door neighbor, remembers Zielinski as “a quiet man who had no love for city life or city folks.” When the couple moved away, residents figured they’d gone somewhere that suited them better than the suburbs.
“They moved before Gracie went missing,” Murphy said. “They must’ve come back for her. No one even thought about them, not once. And to think, all this time they had that little girl. I’m sure glad she’s alive, but Chris’ll never get those years back.”
Grace Koning is reported to be healthy, with no major injuries. She, Mr. Koning, and Mr. Fitzsimmons have been moved to an undisclosed location for protection.
This is a developing story.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
EDWARD
The authorities put them up in a hotel in Boise, a swanky one, with giant suites and soldiers outside of their rooms. Before she would agree to go, Ren insisted she check the animals and speak to whoever would be caring for them. She gave them a list with each animal’s name, their allergies, and anything important to know about them. Edward imagined it gave her a tiny sense of control; her world had been turned inside out, but this one thing she could manage.
The leaks about the story were already creating a frenzy online. Edward scrolled through some of the trending tags—Grace Koning, Ren Gylden, Georgia abduction—but eventually put his phone away, feeling restless and panicky, wanting to find Ren but not sure where they’d put her in the hotel. They’d been driven in an unmarked van, two agents with shotguns up front and one sitting in the back with them. Beside Edward, Ren almost immediately fell asleep, slumping over onto his shoulder. But the second they pulled up in front of the hotel they whisked her inside, and he hadn’t seen her since.