When Two Little Girls Were Kidnapped in 2013, Only One Escaped — What Happened to Kathlynn Shepard?

It's strange how a story can change not just the people involved, but the place where they live. This is especially true when tragedy strikes a small town, because as trite as it sounds, everyone knows each other. It's inevitable that people in a tight-knit community are in each other's business. That also means that when someone needs help, they always rally.

In May 2013, the town of Dayton, Iowa, was met with devastation so strong that they still haven't recovered. With a population that has never reached 800, it's easy to see why the kidnapping of two little girls would shake everyone to their core. Fortunately one of the children escaped, but the other wasn't as lucky. What happened to Kathlynn Shepard? Here's what we know.

Kathlynn Shepard and Dezi Hughes grew up across the street from each other. Despite the fact that Shepard was three years older — 15 to Hughes's 12 — they were best friends. They often walked to and from their school bus stop together, which is what they were doing on May 20, 2013, per the Des Moines Register. The bus had just dropped the girls off when they noticed a red pickup truck following them.

A man pulled up and asked Shepard and Hughes if they would mow his lawn if he paid them. They initially said they had to ask their parents' permission, so the man said he would give them a ride home first. The detailed account of their kidnapping was provided by Hughes, who was able to escape. According to her, she and Shepard were taken to a hog confinement on an isolated farm.

The girls were both zip-tied and were forced to lie facedown in the dirt. The man promised he would let them go if they cooperated, but he quickly grabbed Shepard and dragged her away. Her final words to Hughes were, "We didn't deserve this." While listening to the terrified screams of her best friend, Hughes was able to make a run for it, ending up at a farm nearby. She called her parents, but by the time police were able to get back to the hog farm, the man was gone and Shepard was nowhere to be found.

Michael Klunder is the man responsible for the abduction of both girls, and Shepard's death. It's unclear how police narrowed down on him as a suspect, but his body was found the same day of the abductions, a few miles from where he kept the girls. He had taken his own life, which was an unsatisfying conclusion for the Shepard and the Hughes families. Despite this turn of events, they held out hope that Shepard was still alive.

Per the Ottumwa Courier, Klunder "kidnapped a 21-year-old woman in 1991, who escaped, and later two 3-year-old girls, who were found alive in a garbage bin." Bremer County Sheriff Dan Pickett told the outlet, "It's unfortunate, looking at this guy's history, that he was able to walk the streets." Klunder was also a registered sex offender who had been released early from prison in 2011 due to good behavior, reported The San Diego Union-Tribune.

On June 7, 2013, Shepard's body was found in the Des Moines River west of Boone. In the aftermath, her favorite color began popping up all over Dayton. Purple ribbons were tied around trees, purple memorials sprang up on lawns, and purple lights dotted the town. Eventually, the Shepards helped sign a bill into law that allowed "those convicted of a violent sexual offense as a juvenile to be sent to a civil containment unit for sexually violent predators upon release from prison."

Since then, they have largely stayed out of the limelight. Hopefully they have found comfort in the community that was there for them when they needed it most.