COEUR D’ALENE, IDAHO — On a sunny July morning in 2023, Marissa Ewing watched her teenage daughter Adrienne set off down the familiar trail behind their suburban home, the family’s golden retriever Buddy trotting at her side. It was a ritual Adrienne loved—a quick walk before a Saturday spent studying for AP Biology.
But when the sun set that evening, neither Adrienne nor Buddy returned. What began as a frantic search soon became one of North Idaho’s most chilling missing persons cases—a mystery that would remain unsolved for a year, until a chance encounter with a hunter’s thermal drone exposed a secret that left an entire community reeling.
The Disappearance
The initial search for Adrienne Ewing was massive. Police, neighbors, and hundreds of volunteers combed the trails and woods surrounding Coeur d’Alene. Buddy’s absence deepened the mystery: was Adrienne a runaway, or had something more sinister happened? As weeks turned into months, the case grew cold.
Rumors swirled—about family troubles after Marissa’s divorce, about the pressures Adrienne faced as an honor student, about the possibility of an abduction. But nothing concrete ever surfaced. The Ewing home became a shrine to hope and heartbreak, Adrienne’s school photo a constant reminder of the daughter Marissa might never see again.
A Break in the Case
Twelve months later, as the first anniversary of Adrienne’s disappearance approached, a hunter named Dale Morrison was tracking elk in the Kurdelene National Forest with a thermal-imaging drone. Reviewing his footage, Morrison spotted an unusual heat signature deep in the woods. At first, he assumed it was a coyote—but as he maneuvered the drone closer, the image resolved into the outline of a dog, tied to a tree. Morrison called authorities immediately.
Buddy, the golden retriever missing for a year, was found alive—malnourished but cared for, with a fresh collar and signs of recent feeding. The discovery sent shockwaves through the Ewing family and the wider community. “After an entire year, your daughter’s dog is still alive,” Detective Marcus Hullbrook told Marissa Ewing as she rushed to the veterinary clinic. “Someone has definitely been caring for him.”
A Community Mobilizes
The discovery of Buddy galvanized the search for Adrienne. Lakeland High School staff and parents organized search parties, mapping the forest in grid sections radiating from where Buddy was found.
Among the volunteers was Tobias Chandler, Adrienne’s AP Biology teacher, who offered to lead a team through the forest’s most difficult terrain. Chandler’s presence was reassuring—at first. He spoke warmly of Adrienne’s academic ambitions, her struggles with perfectionism, and the “special connection” they shared during after-school tutoring sessions.
But as Marissa listened, unease began to grow. Chandler’s recollections of tutoring schedules didn’t match Adrienne’s planner. He described private meetings in the science prep room—off-limits to students—and mentioned gifts and secrets that Marissa had never heard about. A cryptic text on Chandler’s phone—“stick to the plan”—deepened her suspicion.
A Mother’s Instinct
While search teams prepared to enter the woods, Marissa slipped upstairs to Adrienne’s room. There, in her daughter’s planner, she found a troubling pattern: tutoring sessions scattered irregularly, frequent rescheduling, and notes about “special study spots” and secret gifts from “Mr. C.” One entry chilled her: “Mr. C gave me the pink bracelet for being his best student today. He said not to show Mom—it’s our special secret.”
The language suggested grooming—an inappropriate relationship masked as academic mentorship. Marissa’s unease turned to dread. When Chandler steered his search team away from the area Buddy was found, and instead drove in the opposite direction, Marissa followed.
The House on Rimrock Road
Chandler’s route led not to the forest, but to a secluded house on Rimrock Road, inherited from his grandmother and taken off the rental market just weeks before Adrienne vanished. Marissa, hiding in the treeline, found a ventilation window at the basement level. Through it, she glimpsed a makeshift classroom—whiteboard, textbooks, and Adrienne’s distinctive purple backpack. Moments later, she saw Chandler descend the stairs with a lunch tray, heard his voice cooing reassurances to a girl she couldn’t see.
Marissa called 911, whispering the address. But a misstep outside shattered a solar light, and Chandler, discovering her presence, gave chase. Marissa barely escaped, racing to her car as Chandler pursued her through back roads and residential streets. She lost him in traffic and hid in a Walmart parking lot, praying the dispatcher had understood her whispered plea.
Rescue and Revelation
Police arrived at the Rimrock Road house minutes later, intercepting Chandler as he tried to flee. Inside, they found the basement concealed behind a false wall. There, in a converted root cellar, was Adrienne—thin, pale, clutching a notebook filled with assignments. She asked officers if she could finish her homework before leaving.
A year of captivity had left Adrienne physically healthy but psychologically shattered. She spoke of “Mr. C” as her only protector, recited daily routines of study and praise, and expressed terror at the thought of falling behind in her academic work. “He said Mom didn’t want me back,” she told forensic interviewers. “He said I was a runaway, that only he cared about my future.”
The Predator Next Door
In custody, Tobias Chandler confessed to months of grooming and manipulation. He described Adrienne as “a flower blooming under my special attention.” When he learned Marissa planned to move the family, he panicked—kidnapping Adrienne during her morning walk, drugging her, and imprisoning her in the basement classroom. Buddy, he explained, was kept alive and periodically fed as a “misdirection”—to keep hope alive, but focus the search away from his property.
Chandler’s confession revealed a chilling level of premeditation: soundproofing, concealed locks, and a psychological campaign to convince Adrienne she was unwanted by her family and destined for academic greatness only through his guidance.
Aftermath: Trauma and Recovery
Adrienne’s rescue was both a miracle and a tragedy. She was alive, but her sense of reality had been warped by a year of isolation and psychological abuse. Experts diagnosed her with severe Stockholm syndrome. “She genuinely believes her captor was protecting her,” trauma specialist Dr. Helena Morrison explained. “Reintegrating into normal life will be a long and difficult process.”
For Marissa, the ordeal is far from over. She holds her daughter close, promising unconditional love and support. “You’re safe now,” she whispers, even as Adrienne worries aloud about missed assignments and college admissions.
The Ewing case is a chilling reminder that sometimes, the greatest dangers lurk not in the shadows, but in the trusted corners of our daily lives—in the people we believe are there to help our children thrive.
