<P> The novel is set in the American Northwest . The main character is Mackenzie Allen Phillips , a father of five , called `` Mack '' by his family and friends . Four years prior to the main events of the story , Mack takes three of his children on a camping trip to Wallowa Lake near Joseph , Oregon , stopping at Multnomah Falls on the way . Two of his children are playing in a canoe when it flips and almost drowns Mack 's son . Mack is able to save his son by rushing to the water and freeing him from the canoe 's webbing , but unintentionally leaves his youngest daughter Missy alone at their campsite . After Mack returns , he sees that Missy is missing . The police are called , and the family discovers that Missy has been abducted and murdered by a serial killer known as the `` Little Ladykiller '' . The police find an abandoned shack in the woods where Missy was taken . Her bloodied clothing is found , but her body is not located . Mack 's life sinks into what he calls `` The Great Sadness '' . </P>
<P> The novel is set in the American Northwest . The main character is Mackenzie Allen Phillips , a father of five , called `` Mack '' by his family and friends . Four years prior to the main events of the story , Mack takes three of his children on a camping trip to Wallowa Lake near Joseph , Oregon , stopping at Multnomah Falls on the way . Two of his children are playing in a canoe when it flips and almost drowns Mack 's son . Mack is able to save his son by rushing to the water and freeing him from the canoe 's webbing , but unintentionally leaves his youngest daughter Missy alone at their campsite . After Mack returns , he sees that Missy is missing . The police are called , and the family discovers that Missy has been abducted and murdered by a serial killer known as the `` Little Ladykiller '' . The police find an abandoned shack in the woods where Missy was taken . Her bloodied clothing is found , but her body is not located . Mack 's life sinks into what he calls `` The Great Sadness '' . </P>
what happened to mackenzie 's daughter in the shack
what happened to mackenzie 's daughter in the shack
abducted murdered
abducted murdered