Shasta Groene finds inspiration through kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart

NAMPA, Idaho -- Shasta Groene and Elizabeth Smart have very different stories. Both, however, survived kidnapping and torture.

Smart was just 14 when she was snatched from her Utah bedroom and held captive in 2002, enduring nine months of torture. More than a decade later, Smart has become an activist against sex trafficking and crimes against children.

In a recent sit-down interview, Shasta Groene talked about finding inspiration through Elizabeth Smart, who she met briefly at a conference in 2012.

Groene says she too wants to be a beacon of hope for other child sex abuse survivors.

"I really liked her - you could tell that nothing could tear her down, that she was so goal-oriented and wanted to help others," Groene said of Smart. "Just being able to know that someone else felt the same way during their capture. She's definitely a part of my life in a way that she doesn't know about."

When Groene was just 8, she was the sole survivor of a brutal attack on her family. Shasta's mother Brenda Groene, her mother's boyfriend Mark McKenzie and her brother Slade were murdered in their rural North Idaho home. Shasta and her 9-year-old brother Dylan were kidnapped by their family's killer, a convicted sex offender, Joseph Duncan.

Duncan kept the children at a remote campsite in the Lolo National Forest in Montana for weeks before killing Dylan and returning with Shasta to Couer D' Alene, where she was rescued after being spotted at a Denny's restaurant.

Groene says like Smart she wants to write a book about her story of survival.

"Her book really helped me," she said. "Me and her are very different situations, but kind of maybe the similar feelings that we had went through."

Now ten years later, Groene is 19 and expecting a baby boy in March. The child she describes as a "miracle" is giving her the motivation to stay strong.

"Whenever I feel like giving up, especially now, I feel like if I give up I have my son there and he can't see me give up and I can't let that happen," she said."If there's anyone out there in the world who is being abused and they hear that I'm giving up, what would that do for them?"

EXTENDED INTERVIEW: Shasta Groene shares her journey as a survivor

Groene has an interest in becoming a counselor to help others like her.

"I've had a lot of counselors that don't have a lot of experience with either a troubled kid or kids who have gone through trauma," she said. "They are very inexperienced with that. So, I want to be one of those experienced counselors who have been through a lot. I just feel like I could really help a lot of people."

Groene is still waiting for justice for her family's murders as Joseph Duncan sits on death row. An execution date has not yet been set.

"He's asked for appeals, I know that," she said. "I know he was sentenced to the death penalty and I don't know where that stands. I don't know if that's ever going to be carried out."

In October of 2015, Duncan's lawyers filed a petition with the Supreme Court to further appeal. A decision is expected by June of 2016.

"I agree with the death penalty," Groene said. "I know that two wrongs don't make a right, but I feel he should be able to feel what he put others through."

"Shasta Groene: Survivor" airs Saturday December 19 at 6:30 p.m. on KTVB Idaho's Newschannel 7.