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Lost Girls, by veteran journalist and true-crime writer
Caitlin Rother, is a deeply reported, dispassionately written attempt to determine what created that monster and predator. It is a cautionary tale and a horror story, done superbly by a writer who knows how to burrow into a complex case without becoming captive to her sources.
-- Los Angeles Times   
 
“Tightly written, meticulously researched.
-- Steve Jackson, NY Times bestselling author 
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LOST GIRLS 

The desperate search for two lost innocents, Chelsea King and Amber Dubois, led authorities to a brutal predator hiding in plain sight: John Albert Gardner, a convicted sex offender who could have been returned to prison several times over. This heartbreaking true-life thriller describes a case that galvanized the Greater San Diego community, first by grief and goodwill, then by anger and injustice, as it came to grips with a flawed system that failed ... and adopted a law that will forever change how we keep our children safe. (Kensington/Pinnacle, 2012). 

“I was out of control ... I was aware of what I was doing and I could not stop myself. I was in a major rage ... at my whole life and everyone who's hurt me and I hurt the wrong people. ”

-- John Gardner 

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PHOTO GALLERY
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John Albert Gardner was born into a troubled, dysfunctional family with a history of mental illness, incest and molestation. Gardner, who has bipolar disorder, tried to commit suicide several times both as a boy and as an adult, and self-medicated with alcohol and meth. His family saw him as a sweet nurturing young man, who wasn't capable of harming anyone, including the 13-year-old neighbor he was convicted of assaulting.

After he was released from prison, he trapped, raped and killed 14-year-old Amber Dubois, then a year later, did the same to 16-year-old Chelsea King. The community of San Diego County galvanized in its hopeful search for both missing girls.    

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But soon, emotions turned to anger and hatred for Gardner after he was captured and arrested at Hernandez Hideaway in Escondido. Chelsea's family and friends held a candlelight vigil after her body was found two days later, on the shores of Lake Hodges, where she had gone jogging.

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By forging an agreement to have Gardner lead authorities to Amber's body in a remote area near Pala, his attorneys were able to get him a plea deal, to which both victims' families agreed, because authorities found no other evidence connecting Gardner to Amber's death. 

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Shrines were set up near both sites where the girls were killed.  

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Gardner pleaded guilty to murdering both girls and will spend the rest of his life in prison, where he knows he belongs. 

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“A star in the field of true crime.
-- The San Diego Union-Tribune
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