Shasta was spotted by a waitress early Saturday just miles from the home where her mother, older brother and mother's boyfriend were discovered bound and bludgeoned to death on May 16.
Amber Deahn, 24, said she thought she recognized the girl eating onion rings, cheese sticks and chicken strips with an older man. Shasta's picture has been posted around town and shown in the media.
"It clicked in my brain that she looks familiar," she said.
Deahn tried to keep the pair at the restaurant longer by giving the girl crayons, coloring paper and a mask from the movie "Madagascar," and offering the girl dessert.
"I was trying to figure out a way to keep them there so the officers would have time to get there," she said.
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Thank goodness for people like Amber Deahn.........She needs to be thanked for her efforts and quick thinking.
Deahn told the Coeur d'Alene Press she was not thinking of a reward -- more than $100,000 was offered by the FBI and community groups -- when she called police.
"I just did what any red-blooded American would have done," said Deahn, who earns minimum wage -- $3.35 an hour in Idaho -- plus tips. "I hope that if it was my child who was missing, somebody would have stepped forward and helped me."
Never underestimate the observation skills and civic-mindedness of the wait staff at your local cafe. Kudos to this young lady.
I'm interested to see how the whole thing unfolds. If this guy was the killer, etc.
That waitress deserves a nice BIG reward.