NV NV - Steven Koecher, 30, Henderson, 13 Dec 2009 - #22

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I'm still thinking there was very much a purpose for Steven being there. It's an unusual set of events but perhaps there was a bit of desperation to earn money and better judgement went out the window.

Despite the feeling of a reason behind a visit to the community, one has to ask: why park at a cul de sac? Why not a driveway? Or even near a vehicle that was planning on picking him up?

You can't help but think there was a combination of bad judgement and a sketchy job prospect here.

I wouldn't be surprised if Steven was already doing work for someone and his final task was to meet someone there, finish one last bit of work and get paid...but none of it was legit, perhaps quite illegal.

The premise of going there could have been a clever set up, I mean, meeting someone in a neighborhood is not strange per say. Parking away from houses would be wise to avoid a tow and maybe it was known that they only had business there - not a person who they know personally and can park in the driveway. Not really a big deal if this was supposedly a quick trip, returning soon to the car.

I wouldn't necessarily insist on a resident being involved, rather the area being a front to seem comfortable, normal and to leave Stevens car.

Quite a baffling case.
 
Caffeine said:
why park at a cul de sac? Why not a driveway? Or even near a vehicle that was planning on picking him up?
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They said he appeared walking at noon six minutes after he parked. I wondered if he was going to some time of job interview at noon. He got there six minutes early and took a few minutes to go over his resume, the job description, and the names of the people he had already met, and to do anything else to prepare. He might not want to prepare right in sight of the people he was going to meet.

The only part of this scenario that doesn't make sense is why this interview, if it were with a legitimate business, would take place in a retirement community. This scenario would have been normal for an office park.
 
There were some sketchy people...as well as casitas being rented and homes that were about to be foreclosed on. Police didn't comb the area right away. Also, there were some "famous" people on the street at the time...Famous because of court cases that is. The "street" wasn't exactly innocent. Heck, the guy on the corner had cameras for a reason!
 
Also, if it was suicide, I am baffled by his phone being moved and his messages being checked. Even if someone just found his phone in the desert that fast and stole it, wouldn't you think that RRSR would have found Stephen? Look up Macin Smith. He went missing from St. George, Utah recently. Macin is younger, but looks a LOT like Steven. It's a little scary how they both were LDS, shy kind of guys and just walked away never to be seen again. I'm curious if anyone has tried to find any similarities other than what I mentioned above.
 
CircuitGuy said:
They said he appeared walking at noon six minutes after he parked. I wondered if he was going to some time of job interview at noon. He got there six minutes early and took a few minutes to go over his resume, the job description, and the names of the people he had already met, and to do anything else to prepare. He might not want to prepare right in sight of the people he was going to meet.

The only part of this scenario that doesn't make sense is why this interview, if it were with a legitimate business, would take place in a retirement community. This scenario would have been normal for an office park.
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The thing that gets me is, he seemed to have a destination in mind but perhaps not an exact one. Certainly the job interview angle seems plausible, but at the same time, what type of potential employer would ask that you park at a dead end and walk, versus simply parking at the driveway of a residence.

With that said, I do strongly consider the idea he was meeting someone there under false pretenses, perhaps to give a feeling of security with a community like that. I don't necessarily think a specific house was a meeting point, rather a car waiting for him.
 
Caffeine said:
Certainly the job interview angle seems plausible, but at the same time, what type of potential employer would ask that you park at a dead end and walk, versus simply parking at the driveway of a residence.
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I was thinking he chose to walk to avoid the person he was meeting watching him prepare.

Caffeine said:
I do strongly consider the idea he was meeting someone there under false pretenses, perhaps to give a feeling of security with a community like that. I don't necessarily think a specific house was a meeting point, rather a car waiting for him.
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I never thought about that, but it makes a lot of sense. Whatever the nature of the meeting, an upscale retirement neighborhood would give a sense of security. Even if he knew they'd be driving to some other location, having the initial meeting there would make it feel safer.
 
CircuitGuy said:
I was thinking he chose to walk to avoid the person he was meeting watching him prepare.


I never thought about that, but it makes a lot of sense. Whatever the nature of the meeting, an upscale retirement neighborhood would give a sense of security. Even if he knew they'd be driving to some other location, having the initial meeting there would make it feel safer.
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I always felt that we are dealing with two scenarios here: 1) He went to a specific house and was ultimately killed there or taken elsewhere and killed or 2) The community was just a nice looking front for a place to be picked up and killed elsewhere.

However #1 is troubling because it would be brazen to invite a victim over. It would be odd to request the victim not to park in the driveway. Also it would be strange to do that with so many potential witnesses, which would be common with communities of older people.

So #2 always made more sense because any potential perp doesn't know the people there, they have no link to it and cars are in and out all day. There's hardly anything suspicious about picking someone up.

Of course there's been lots of other ideas bounced around like suicide, starting a new life etc. All possible, but I think with Steven he either got in over his head with shady fast money opportunities or just started a job that was just a rouse or a set up and that ended tragically for him.

To me, this has always seemed like some sort of sketchy Craigslist gone wrong type scenarios and I think he simply got picked up there by some bad people. Perhaps the initial meeting area was meant to be a safe public area but he was duped with a pick up in this neighborhood.
 
First time poster here (mostly because it took me so long to read through all of the pages) I was first taken in by Steven's case on the episode of Disappeared.

After reading through the pages and pages of posts here. I have a few things that I wanted to toss into the ring:

* The "pause" the car does at the street cross street could be someone motioning to him to park at the end of the cal de sac. Possibly a passenger that was let out prior to appearing on camera. Or a vehicle he was following into the SD?

* Random pauses while talking....... I had a close friend when we were teens and he began doing the same thing, as he got older it got worse. In his mid 20's he started erratically moving from town to town and would remain out of contact for several months (at one point several years) he played guitar, and often would stop doing things he loved (like Music, Film Making, Writing and at times socializing) because it "wasn't what God wanted him to do" he was later diagnosed with Schizophrenia, and unfortunately even though no one would have ever assumed he would have, he committed suicide. Sometimes the characteristics you disregard because "it's just him" could be an underlying issue that he is fighting internally and could cause him to act differently than we would expect.

* Why would someone grab a complete stranger in their own neighborhood? They: *Wouldn't know if anything was in the car directing him there. (Directions) *Wouldn't know there is nothing in Phone records directing him there. *Wouldn't know if someone is expecting him at their home. *Wouldn't know if there is someone waiting at the car. *Wouldn't leave the car parked nearby where they could be Implicated/Caught.

* Could someone have been riding with him? splitting sleep time/drive time. They would have purchased their own meals, paid for gas with their cards/cash. This could be why he was in the area of AN's parents randomly and decided to stop by. Someone else had an appointment and he had some time to kill and remembered that they lived close by.
If the above could be a possibility could cash receipts (fast food/gas) from other places not have been his? But a passenger who emptied their pockets while riding? (I forget if it was mentioned that the car was dusted for prints?)

* Cell phone call to VM after disappearance. If you find a phone you don't call the VM to see if the owner called. You look for "home" in the directory or call the last person that called them. Calling VM is invasive. But it would be what you would do to check to see if anyone cared to notice you were gone, or if you set up a meeting and someone hadn't shown up.

*Buying Christmas Presents ahead of time seems odd for someone who people claim was constantly running behind or late.

*Could the folder he was carrying in the video have simply been a writing book, maybe he stopped to find a peaceful place to write music?

*Why would he tell GW he could head back if needed if he had a scheduled appointment to get paid? (As some have surmised) His purpose for being there was not as important to him as filling in at church if needed, even after driving all that way, he was willing to change plans and head back. His plan was not solid or fully important. And considering there is a time gap from when he talks to GW and arrives in SD....... SD seems like it was not the intended destination.

I know that some of my questions contradict each other, these were justnpassing thoughts that I wanted to toss into the ring for consideration.

And lastly......... I was looking at Namus and came across this person found in Texas...... Which I know that there is no indication of Texas, but I thought I would post and see what you all thought?


https://identifyus.org/en/cases/9745

-PK
 
Hi PK! It has been a long time since there was any activity on this thread....thank you for reading about it and bumping it to the top of the list! You make some really good points and your logic does make sense. I thought I'd make some comments on them:
* The "pause" the car does at the street cross street could be someone motioning to him to park at the end of the cal de sac. Possibly a passenger that was let out prior to appearing on camera. Or a vehicle he was following into the SD? I had always assumed that the pause you talk about had to do with a raised cross walk or a speed bump. I have never really thought much about it.


* Why would someone grab a complete stranger in their own neighborhood? They: *Wouldn't know if anything was in the car directing him there. (Directions) *Wouldn't know there is nothing in Phone records directing him there. *Wouldn't know if someone is expecting him at their home. *Wouldn't know if there is someone waiting at the car. *Wouldn't leave the car parked nearby where they could be Implicated/Caught. I think this makes a lot of logical sense. In 2009, smart phones weren't all the rage as they are now and data was expensive. I can imagine that you would have to print or write directions rather than relying on a phone's GPS **GASP!**. Your logic makes sense that someone who took him from the neighborhood would need to cover some tracks.

* Could someone have been riding with him? splitting sleep time/drive time. They would have purchased their own meals, paid for gas with their cards/cash. This could be why he was in the area of AN's parents randomly and decided to stop by. Someone else had an appointment and he had some time to kill and remembered that they lived close by.
If the above could be a possibility could cash receipts (fast food/gas) from other places not have been his? But a passenger who emptied their pockets while riding? (I forget if it was mentioned that the car was dusted for prints?) Makes sense. There is really know way of knowing, either way.

* Cell phone call to VM after disappearance. If you find a phone you don't call the VM to see if the owner called. You look for "home" in the directory or call the last person that called them. Calling VM is invasive. But it would be what you would do to check to see if anyone cared to notice you were gone, or if you set up a meeting and someone hadn't shown up. Agreed. But if it was a killer, and they had left voicemail messages, they would want to erase them, I assume

*Buying Christmas Presents ahead of time seems odd for someone who people claim was constantly running behind or late. This always puzzled me and made me think that SK planned to leave and didn't wantto do it without buying presents. Planned to leave could be relocate forever or possibly suicide, in my mind.

I looked at the unidentified remains and I think there is a possibility, however, remote. SK was born in Texas. The recreation shows a very distinct jaw and cheekbones, though, and I don't see that same potential in SK's pictures. But I think the dates definitely fit. Here is his Charley Project page which has several different pictures. http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/koecher_steven.html

Thank you for thinking and reading about Steven. He has always struck a cord with me and my husband even brings him up to me from time to time.
 
I just watched both surveillance videos again, I tend to think he slowed down due to a speed bump or even a posted stop sign.

I am still curious as to what he did in the 6 minutes or so from when he drove past the camera, to when he walked past it. Also to know where he walked in relation to the distance of the cameras would be interesting. I've always assumed fairly close but I'm not entirely sure.

My hunch is still that he was meeting someone there, maybe not specifically an address, maybe a car. He parked at a dead end because he knew none of residents, or else he would have parked in their driveway. To park your car and be walking somewhere pretty much at the stroke of noon just seems to say there was an arrangement of sorts for him to go there.

He got there several minutes before noon yet seemingly didn't rush off to his destination. So he at least spent a few minutes in his car. By about 12:00:30 pm he walks by the camera. Again, he could have rushed over as soon as he parked but didn't - because I think he knew his walk from the car to his destination was short.

My guess he knew to be looking for a specific make/model/color car. Likely waiting for him as soon as the turned off and walked out of view of that camera.
 
Thanks for the welcome, comments and link. I didn't even realize that SK was born in Texas. This case has always drawn me back and its crazy that in todays day and age anyone can be missing, but we see so much proof of it around us. I still hope and pray that SK is found alive and well, but I also understand the reality of this being true after all this time is unlikely. He seems like such a genuine and nice guy, and his similarities and mannerisms that people have stated are so closely tied to my own departed friend (that I spoke about above) that I think my emotions are even more entangled in this case and want to see a happy ending.

I know that this page has been silent for months and I am sure that between dead end leads and the facts of the case having been discussed in every scenario possible that its hard to find new ways to look at it, or new areas to search. I just hope everyone keeps him and his family in their thoughts and prayers and that someday Steven is found.

PS...... I bought his track on Itunes several years ago, if you haven't checked it out....you should. Its awesome!

-PK
 
I agree, the thing with the Christmas presents has always made me think that he intended to leave. How permanently, I don't know, but certainly for longer than a few days. But leaving his car in a place where it would be found, with the presents, is the kind of considerate thing it seems like he would have done.
 
Although, one could argue if he bought Christmas presents, wouldn't he intend to give them in person? The contents of his car could have been easily locked away as evidence, not getting to the intended recipient. It's kind of a gamble with a planned disappearance.

I don't necessarily think because he bought them, and they were in the car means anything more than he in fact just bought them ahead of time for Christmas to give to someone.

Although it would be interesting to know what state they were in? Fully wrapped? Just bought with receipt in the bag? Either way I think he was planning on giving the gifts directly.
 
That's the sad and confusing thing about Steven's case. Every event and piece of evidence has at least two interpretations and nothing is clear. :(
 
Okay it’s been a long time since I’ve been on this thread, not for lack of interest but because there hasn’t been anything new in so long to talk about. Well today I was cleaning out my favorites bar on my computer and found some old links related to this case that I had saved, such as a webpage with the realtor’s name and a page with the names of the owners of the home that some people think Steven went into on Evening Lights Street. Here is some stuff I found, not sure if it’s already been discussed on here:

1. The realtor owned a home extremely close to where Steven parked, in fact, it was literally two houses down from where he parked. He very well could’ve been meeting her there, despite the fact that she denies any associate to him.
2. In the past, the realtor ran a four different businesses out of her home, which would mean if she was hiring someone to do work for her they would most likely have gone to her house to interview, etc.


II still think the realtor has SOMETHING to do with this. I think she somehow connected with Steven and offered him an interview or work at her home, so he drove to there, parked a few houses down and headed to her house. I can’t think of what would’ve happened at her house that would’ve caused his demise (yes, I think he is dead) but my gut just tells me it’s that realtor that has something to do with this.
 
Interesting. ^^^^^^^

That reminded me of a time I was applying for a job, and I had to go to someone's home. A man was going to be interviewing me.
Well, I took my 2 best friends, husband and wife with me. And, you know, he didn't look to happy to see them. We all went inside
and he interviewed me in another room.....and I didn't get the job! Blessing in disguise?

eta: we would of been working out of this home doing some sort of selling vaca pckges over the 'net.
 
That is interesting about the realtor, as most people dismissed her involvement. However one would have to wonder, what is the motive for someone in her position to lure him there? Seems risky but at this point you never know. It would be interesting to delve into her background a little bit, as I'm sure the police did.

I still tend to think he met someone there, a non resident, left in their car and was subsequently killed. Though, the idea he was murdered in this community is always a possibility that I can't fully rule out.
 
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