NV NV - Steven T. Koecher, 30, Henderson, 13 Dec 2009 - # 9

[pudd]

Is anyone else bothered by this as much as I am?

The mention of GW searching SK's room is definitely new, and a surprise (unless he means he was just there when the Koecher parents were there? Even so, first we've heard of it).

And to address the idea of someone about to commit suicide buying Christmas presents, I remember reading of a woman (an actress?) who thoroughly cleaned her house, down to washing, drying, and putting away the clothes she was last wearing (I guess she was in her nightgown?) and then getting into bed and taking an overdose. Kind of tying off loose ends. Mind you, Steven has managed to leave a LOT of loose ends! So frustrating.

 

[Fairy1]

Ya know, that mention again of the Pete Maravich book got me to thinking back to something Laytonian mentioned when it first came up. This is a snippet from Pete Maravich's bio on Wikipedia:

After the injury forced him to leave basketball in the fall of 1980, Maravich became a recluse for two years. Through it all, Maravich said he was searching "for life." He tried the practices of yoga and Hinduism, read Trappist monk Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain and took an interest in the field of ufology, the study of unidentified flying objects. He also explored vegetarianism and macrobiotics. Eventually, he embraced evangelical Christianity. A few years before his death, Maravich said, "I want to be remembered as a Christian, a person that (sic) serves Him to the utmost, not as a basketball player."

gsmith has told us that Steven was very spiritual and we've discussed the possibility that he was searching for something, spiritually, with all that driving around he had been doing. Maybe there's more to this Maravich angle than has been explored.

 

[hollyblue]

Ya know, that mention again of the Pete Maravich book got me to thinking back to something Laytonian mentioned when it first came up. This is a snippet from Pete Maravich's bio on Wikipedia:

After the injury forced him to leave basketball in the fall of 1980, Maravich became a recluse for two years. Through it all, Maravich said he was searching "for life." He tried the practices of yoga and Hinduism, read Trappist monk Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain and took an interest in the field of ufology, the study of unidentified flying objects. He also explored vegetarianism and macrobiotics. Eventually, he embraced evangelical Christianity. A few years before his death, Maravich said, "I want to be remembered as a Christian, a person that (sic) serves Him to the utmost, not as a basketball player."

gsmith has told us that Steven was very spiritual and we've discussed the possibility that he was searching for something, spiritually, with all that driving around he had been doing. Maybe there's more to this Maravich angle than has been explored.

Could be Fairy, but Maravich had a heck of alot of money to do his spiritual questing. Steven did not. Hope he didn't get involved with some weirdo schpeil. Maybe a hint in that book though. Anything connected to Sacramento?

 

[pudd]

Could be Fairy, but Maravich had a heck of alot of money to do his spiritual questing. Steven did not. Hope he didn't get involved with some weirdo schpeil. Maybe a hint in that book though. Anything connected to Sacramento?

Or Sun City Anthem?

(Confession: when I saw Fairy1's link I thought "Of course! SK read the book and wanted to talk with Maravich in person, and Maravich had since retired and was living in SCA! Perfect!" Except what I know about basketball can be written on a grain of rice, and I had no idea Maravich has been dead for more than 20 years....:crazy: )

 

[webrocket]

GMTA.
I was surprised to see the mention of *advertiser censored* and bomb-making. Is that what you have to "suspect" to get a subpoena for a computer?

I really hope they looked for more than "nefarious activity", because otherwise, they may have totally overlooked clues to his disappearance.

Why not look for maps, locations, contacts (known and unknown), recent emails, and even things that don't involve an internet connection?

this is precisely the problem with the hard drive. LE ONLY cares about criminal activity (perpetrator or victim). It is not the job of the police to comb through a missing person's hard drive to figure out what was on their mind. That is a job for a private investigator. They had one for only a short period of time. I doubt the PI had access to the hard drive, then or now.

 

[Fairy1]

Or Sun City Anthem?

(Confession: when I saw Fairy1's link I thought "Of course! SK read the book and wanted to talk with Maravich in person, and Maravich had since retired and was living in SCA! Perfect!" Except what I know about basketball can be written on a grain of rice, and I had no idea Maravich has been dead for more than 20 years....:crazy: )

Maybe it was SOMEONE who was connected to Maravich? Or a connection to one of the religions or lifestyles Maravich had explored.

I don't think it costs much to be a monk, if one is so inclined. In fact, it would have fit nicely in Steven's budget!

 

[hollyblue]

Or Sun City Anthem?

(Confession: when I saw Fairy1's link I thought "Of course! SK read the book and wanted to talk with Maravich in person, and Maravich had since retired and was living in SCA! Perfect!" Except what I know about basketball can be written on a grain of rice, and I had no idea Maravich has been dead for more than 20 years....:crazy: )

I knew that he had passed, but was not aware he had once lived in SCA...that does make one ponder. Wonder if Maravich has any family there now? Did he belong to a church in that area? Isn't there a Penecostal preacher living in the neighborhood?

 

[pudd]

I knew that he had passed, but was not aware he had once lived in SCA...that does make one ponder. Wonder if Maravich has any family there now? Did he belong to a church in that area? Isn't there a Penecostal preacher living in the neighborhood?

hollyblue, please don't let me lead you astray! I have no idea of Maravich's family whereabouts, but I just put 1 and 1 together and got about 65.... Knowing that SCA was a nice upscale over-50s place it would have been a great answer for Maravich to be there, but I was just assuming (and we all know what that means!). Apologies for taking everyone down the wrong garden path.

ETA: according to Wikipedia, Maravich was born and raised in Pennsylania, but lived most of his career in Louisiana. His two sons are both basketball players too, in California - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Maravich

 

[Fairy1]

this is precisely the problem with the hard drive. LE ONLY cares about criminal activity (perpetrator or victim). It is not the job of the police to comb through a missing person's hard drive to figure out what was on their mind. That is a job for a private investigator. They had one for only a short period of time. I doubt the PI had access to the hard drive, then or now.

True. And it's also not the job of a fellow church member who may or may not be connected to a disappearance to search the rented room of the person who has disappeared.

IMO, if they're looking only for darkness, they will never see the light that will lead them to Steven. Then again, maybe they're not looking at the darkness right in front of them.

 

[hollyblue]

hollyblue, please don't let me lead you astray! I have no idea of Maravich's family whereabouts, but I just put 1 and 1 together and got about 65.... Knowing that SCA was a nice upscale over-50s place it would have been a great answer for Maravich to be there, but I was just assuming (and we all know what that means!). Apologies for taking everyone down the wrong garden path.

Shame on you Pudd, but your forgiven.

 

[laytonian]

Ya know, that mention again of the Pete Maravich book got me to thinking back to something Laytonian mentioned when it first came up. This is a snippet from Pete Maravich's bio on Wikipedia:

After the injury forced him to leave basketball in the fall of 1980, Maravich became a recluse for two years. Through it all, Maravich said he was searching "for life." He tried the practices of yoga and Hinduism, read Trappist monk Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain and took an interest in the field of ufology, the study of unidentified flying objects. He also explored vegetarianism and macrobiotics. Eventually, he embraced evangelical Christianity. A few years before his death, Maravich said, "I want to be remembered as a Christian, a person that (sic) serves Him to the utmost, not as a basketball player."

gsmith has told us that Steven was very spiritual and we've discussed the possibility that he was searching for something, spiritually, with all that driving around he had been doing. Maybe there's more to this Maravich angle than has been explored.

Well....here's my theory: Maravich played his last NBA years with the Utah Jazz (his jersey retired here), and Steven helped with Jazz Camp.

Now...SK may have helped with rec center Jazz Camp in the SLC area, but in St George, it was a two-hour session on one day in July 2009. Not exactly the stuff of "good acts". More like a ticket-taker or kid-herder The link's on the timeline page.

He may have *learned about* Maravich from the Jazz Camp, but I doubt he knew much about Maravich's spiritual quest prior to that -- which is not well-known in Utah.

 

[Fairy1]

Well....here's my theory: Maravich played his last NBA years with the Utah Jazz (his jersey retired here), and Steven helped with Jazz Camp.

Now...SK may have helped with rec center Jazz Camp in the SLC area, but in St George, it was a two-hour session on one day in July 2009. Not exactly the stuff of "good acts". More like a ticket-taker or kid-herder The link's on the timeline page.

He may have *learned about* Maravich from the Jazz Camp, but I doubt he knew much about Maravich's spiritual quest prior to that -- which is not well-known in Utah.

I can't recall, do we know how long before he went missing he had checked out the book from the library? I thought it had been just prior, but I could be wrong about that...

Have you read this book?

 

[hollyblue]

I think the article was formulated to quietly and subtly let the story go of his disappearance. We will never find out what may have been involved. No news of foul play....so he just wanted to go and do something else with his life. I hope whereever Steven may be, he is OK and finding his way to whatever he may need in being content.

 

[RubyRed]

True. And it's also not the job of a fellow church member who may or may not be connected to a disappearance to search the rented room of the person who has disappeared.

IMO, if they're looking only for darkness, they will never see the light that will lead them to Steven. Then again, maybe they're not looking at the darkness right in front of them.

bbm

That surprised me when I read that GW helped.

 

[carbuff]

Ya know, that mention again of the Pete Maravich book got me to thinking back to something Laytonian mentioned when it first came up. This is a snippet from Pete Maravich's bio on Wikipedia:

After the injury forced him to leave basketball in the fall of 1980, Maravich became a recluse for two years. Through it all, Maravich said he was searching "for life." He tried the practices of yoga and Hinduism, read Trappist monk Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain and took an interest in the field of ufology, the study of unidentified flying objects. He also explored vegetarianism and macrobiotics. Eventually, he embraced evangelical Christianity. A few years before his death, Maravich said, "I want to be remembered as a Christian, a person that (sic) serves Him to the utmost, not as a basketball player."

gsmith has told us that Steven was very spiritual and we've discussed the possibility that he was searching for something, spiritually, with all that driving around he had been doing. Maybe there's more to this Maravich angle than has been explored.

That was why I was asking earlier whether the LDS church had retreat centers or other organized places where someone who was questioning and searching could go.

There's a Catholic monastery outside of Las Vegas (a friend of mine used to be a lay brother there) but I don't remember what it's called. I imagine there are other cult centers around, too. Isn't southern Utah where some of the polygamous sects are centered? Or am I remembering something else?

 

[laytonian]

I think the article was formulated to quietly and subtly let the story go of his disappearance. We will never find out what may have been involved. No news of foul play....so he just wanted to go and do something else with his life. I hope whereever Steven may be, he is OK and finding his way to whatever he may need in being content.

If his case disappears from NAMUS, that's a signal he's been located.
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/4889/0/

 

[Fairy1]

That was why I was asking earlier whether the LDS church had retreat centers or other organized places where someone who was questioning and searching could go.

There's a Catholic monastery outside of Las Vegas (a friend of mine used to be a lay brother there) but I don't remember what it's called. I imagine there are other cult centers around, too. Isn't southern Utah where some of the polygamous sects are centered? Or am I remembering something else?

It could be anything! IIRC, there are more churches, per capita, in Las Vegas than in any other US city. Go figure.

I floated the FLDS theory here long ago and got shut down pretty quick. But honestly, they're throwing young men out of there regularly, so I can't see them recruiting Steven. I was thinking more along the lines of putting him to work as a cover for their various business interests.

 

[hollyblue]

That was why I was asking earlier whether the LDS church had retreat centers or other organized places where someone who was questioning and searching could go.

There's a Catholic monastery outside of Las Vegas (a friend of mine used to be a lay brother there) but I don't remember what it's called. I imagine there are other cult centers around, too. Isn't southern Utah where some of the polygamous sects are centered? Or am I remembering something else?

I'm going along the lines of Maravich. Church of the Nazarene. There is one LV....has men's group meeting at Warm Springs Rd and Mark St (Denny's) in Henderson every Wed morning. Just putting this out there...pretty far fetched. The website is pretty closed for any real info--like the minister's name, etc.

 

[RubyRed]

What about a communal setting. Could he have went to something like this. Just throwing out suggestions.

“

We welcomed Robbie and Candace and Haylee. They told us they were from Ohio, but we don't watch television. We didn't know CNN was doing a nightly thing on them.”

The three were given a room on the second floor of the main house.
Carlin said Watson helped out in the kitchen and Potter worked in the avocado groves.

We don't do background checks,”

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/jun/24/bn24found112551/?metro&zIndex=121933

 

[hollyblue]

What about a communal setting. Could he have went to something like this. Just throwing out suggestions.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/jun/24/bn24found112551/?metro&zIndex=121933

If he did, this is something totally off the radar. These kind of communals don't have any links to the outside....normally.