Groene Seeking Motorcycle Raffle

Steve Groene is looking for a nonprofit group that can raffle off his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Some proceeds from the bike’s raffle will go to the individuals who helped rescue his daughter, Shasta Groene, after the Wolf Lodge girl had been kidnapped and assaulted following the murder of her mother and brother in 2005.

Portions of the proceeds will also go to a trust fund to build a home for the family and to the Groene Family Memorial Fund, which was established at Inland Northwest Bank to help with the family’s medical bills, Groene said Friday.

He said he began planning the raffle in February 2006. He offered his motorcycle as a reward for the safe return of his children, Shasta and Dylan, in May 2005.

Both children were kidnapped from the home where they lived with their mother, mother’s fiancé and Groene’s 13-year-old son, Slade, who were murdered by Joseph Duncan.

Duncan has yet to be charged with kidnapping the children and for Dylan’s slaying at a remote Montana camp site.

Groene said local businesses refurbished his motorcycle and provided a paint job in anticipation of the raffle. He said he has struggled finding a nonprofit organization that can hold such a raffle in accordance with state and federal laws.

Though Groene is raffling his motorcycle, the avid rider won’t be without a bike. He received a custom-built chopper in December in memory of his sons, Dylan and Slade.