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

I do think that SK felt under tremendous pressure to be married and have a great career, etc., due to him having "checked all the right boxes". It's such a shame, though. Some of the very best people in life never marry, never have wonderful jobs, never have many, if any, friends, etc. Those things simply can't be expected. It's such a mystery, and so sad, to me that anyone expects such.

My experience in life, having been graduated from college, coming from a good family, doing charitable work, etc., is that life if FULL OF PAIN. Simply full of it. I always hope to have enough money to live on -hopefully one day more than that- but it's never occurred to me that I should expect to have such. That I should expect to be married and have children or any of the other wonderful advantages the world sometimes has to offer. (Eventually, I did marry, but very late in life, and I'm just incredibly grateful for that.) I look back at all the Catholic Saints who were....SAINTS.... and led absolutely miserable temporal lives. In fact, so many times in life, the very best people are made even better people by horrific circumstances. Of course, I can certainly understand frustration on SK's part, but to have the expectation of steady, good pay; marriage; friends; etc., is simply unrealistic.

I do think he was likely somewhat depressed, but none of the evidence seems to point to suicide, and from everything I've read about him, even if depressed, would be more likely to retreat from the sources of reminder of his situation (family/friends) and to tackle the money problem with more gusto/ingenuity, etc. I really don't think he committed suicide but, rather, met some unsavory character(s).

Koecher's family looked at his cell phone after it was recovered. They were able to match every phone number found to someone they knew. Steven didn't have any gay lovers or a new job as a drug runner.
 
Koecher's family looked at his cell phone after it was recovered. They were able to match every phone number found to someone they knew. Steven didn't have any gay lovers or a new job as a drug runner.
I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that someone he knew either put him in a position to be harmed, or harmed him themselves.

The fact that everyone on his phone bill "checked out" means nothing as Stephen himself obviously can't vouch for them at this point.
 
I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that someone he knew either put him in a position to be harmed, or harmed him themselves.

The fact that everyone on his phone bill "checked out" means nothing as Stephen himself obviously can't vouch for them at this point.
It was actually the Police that were able to account for the phone numbers in his phone:

"It happened when Steven's cell phone records were searched. Every call was easily identified"
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/705356478/Powell-isnt-only-missing-Utahn.html?pg=all
 
The numbers on the cell phone being tracked down and identified is interesting, but I'm not sure it tells us much. Yes, it could be one of those people (or anyone else he knew) who "disappeared" him. Or, it could also have been someone who offered him some "side work"/"for the time being work", etc. and gave him a burner-type phone to use. Or not. I think all evidence points to him having been "disappeared", though. Not suicide.
 
I think all evidence points to him having been "disappeared", though. Not suicide.

Hi fridaybaker,
This is from a Las Sun article marking the one year anniversary of Koecher's disappearance:

"At this point in time, we have found absolutely no evidence of foul play in this matter," Henderson Police spokesman Keith Paul said."

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/news/searching-for-the-missing-people-of-las-vegas/78461038

Has there been new evidence that's come out since that time?
 
I know this is one of those cases with some very serious, invested and knowledgable sleuthers. I am far from that for this case. I tried searching to see if this has been considered but I couldn't find it -could the disappearance of Steven Koecher be connected to the disappearances of Jeramy Burt 2007 https://www.websleuths.com/forums/s...rt-35-Boise-11-Feb-2007&highlight=jeramy+burt and Ahren Barnard 2004 https://www.websleuths.com/forums/s...d-35-Boise-4-Dec-2004&highlight=ahren+barnard from Boise? The main POI in those cases relocated to St. George at some point after Jeramy's disappearance. She allegedly started dating her now ex-husband there before moving to St. George. She now runs a lawn care company that does Christmas decorations: http://honeybeelawncare.com/ The disappearances of Barnard and Burt were both suspicious considering their possible testimony against the POI in various cases. Her ex-husband down in St. George is/was an attorney. Could Koecher have had any involvement in a legal case? Was the Christmas decoration company ever identified?

On a side note, it looks like Keocher and GW were both from Northern Utah, originally (I found where GW got a speeding ticket in Idaho in 2005). Burt was originally from American Falls in Eastern Idaho. I'm really sorry if this possible connection has already been thoroughly exhausted. I did try to see if it had before posting.

Strangely enough, the woman you are talking about only lives a mile from where Steven used to live in Saint George, I don’t believe she lived at that address when he disappeared though. I watched the Disappeared episode about Jeramy but didn’t really pay attention, I will watch it again tonight.
 
Hi fridaybaker,
This is from a Las Sun article marking the one year anniversary of Koecher's disappearance:

"At this point in time, we have found absolutely no evidence of foul play in this matter," Henderson Police spokesman Keith Paul said."

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/news/searching-for-the-missing-people-of-las-vegas/78461038

Has there been new evidence that's come out since that time?
Police are often quick to dismiss foul play for a few reasons; to ease the minds of the general public and give them the perception there is no danger and that the police are thoroughly investigating the matter.

I doubt NV police have the slightest idea what happened to Steven, but for them it's about saving face and appeasing the public sense of well being.

Conversely, there's no indication of suicide either. Past history of depression? Never been brought up. Medical treatment? Never mentioned. Admissions of despair or self harm? Never seen the family once admit to it.
 
Police are often quick to dismiss foul play for a few reasons; to ease the minds of the general public and give them the perception there is no danger and that the police are thoroughly investigating the matter.

I doubt NV police have the slightest idea what happened to Steven, but for them it's about saving face and appeasing the public sense of well being.

Conversely, there's no indication of suicide either. Past history of depression? Never been brought up. Medical treatment? Never mentioned. Admissions of despair or self harm? Never seen the family once admit to it.

I can’t remember where I read it but there was an interview with someone that worked with and was friends with Steven before he moved to Saint George and he said that he thought Steven possibly had ADHD or something because he was often spacey or it would take him a long time to comprehend and understand a question when he was asked. He also said Steven was very naïve for his age. His family has never commented on this. None of this is major news but I’m wondering if he has some undiagnosed cognitive issues that led to his disappearance? In the few possible sightings I’ve read about people who thought they encountered him said he seemed disoriented and confused.
 
Conversely, there's no indication of suicide either. Past history of depression? Never been brought up. Medical treatment? Never mentioned. Admissions of despair or self harm? Never seen the family once admit to it.

In the Disappeared episode, his mother said that she thought that life got too tough for him and he walked out into the desert. That was the first thought that crossed her mind when she saw the area where the car was abandoned. Later in the broadcast, she settled on a second theory that he was there for a job opportunity and something bad happened.
 
I can't think of any indication of suicide, except that he was having a difficult time financially, and that he was a little "behind" his compatriots in the marriage/family/career department. Yes, his situation could be a reason, but nothing indicates that this is so: In fact, after he parked his car, he did not walk out into the dessert, but AWAY from the dessert, purposely, with file/notebook in hand. So, he obviously had some other business before walking out into the dessert to take his own life. What indication is there? I can't find any. Also, "walking out into the dessert" is about as odd a method of suicide as I've ever heard of: He was a healthy adult -was he going to starve himself? I've never heard of him ever owning of using a gun. It's really, really odd. I can't see how it fits with anything we've seen or read about this case.

Yes, there's very little indication as to a homicide possibility, but what else is there? He was, obviously, behind financially, and so perhaps a little desperate -more liable than he would be otherwise to accept "just any" work. To go hand out flyers or meet someone he didn't know in an apartment complex, etc. Also, he was behind in his rent to a landlord with a criminal past, who had called him very early in the morning on the day he was last seen. After they had "worked out" a payment plan. Odd, that.

It's likely we'll never know what happened to SK; however, my bet is on foul play. I can't see it any other way at this point.
 
I can't think of any indication of suicide, except that he was having a difficult time financially, and that he was a little "behind" his compatriots in the marriage/family/career department. Yes, his situation could be a reason, but nothing indicates that this is so: In fact, after he parked his car, he did not walk out into the dessert, but AWAY from the dessert, purposely, with file/notebook in hand. So, he obviously had some other business before walking out into the dessert to take his own life. What indication is there? I can't find any. Also, "walking out into the dessert" is about as odd a method of suicide as I've ever heard of: He was a healthy adult -was he going to starve himself? I've never heard of him ever owning of using a gun. It's really, really odd. I can't see how it fits with anything we've seen or read about this case.

Yes, there's very little indication as to a homicide possibility, but what else is there? He was, obviously, behind financially, and so perhaps a little desperate -more liable than he would be otherwise to accept "just any" work. To go hand out flyers or meet someone he didn't know in an apartment complex, etc. Also, he was behind in his rent to a landlord with a criminal past, who had called him very early in the morning on the day he was last seen. After they had "worked out" a payment plan. Odd, that.

It's likely we'll never know what happened to SK; however, my bet is on foul play. I can't see it any other way at this point.


My hope is that some evidence is found as to what happened to him, but I too believe that there is a chance that we will never know. Still, I am hopeful. My personal belief is that he got into somebody's vehicle for an interview and whatever happened to him didn't happen in that neighborhood. That's just my gut feeling and I could be mistaken. As for the suicide theory, I really don't know because I never met the man or his family. So, I don't know about his mental health. The only two times that I heard about it were from his mother in the Disappeared episode when she first thought that he had walked into the desert because of what he was going through financially and emotionally (she later changed her opinion to a possible homicide) and from Red Rock Rescue in the 2015 search (https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/a...is-renewed-almost-6-years-later/#.WqkndOjwbIU). How he would have ended his life is a mystery to me as well. I don't know how cold it gets at night there that time of year (exposure) or if he carried a knife. I looked at a map of the place and the desert is in a direction away from where he was walking, like you mentioned. It would have been a long walk to the desert even where he parked. If he really wanted to end his life, he could have done that in St. George. His father mentioned that in the Disappeared episode, or something to that effect. Sadly, his remains could be in a desert, but probably a different one if he had gotten into another vehicle and transported elsewhere.
 
In the Disappeared episode, his mother said that she thought that life got too tough for him and he walked out into the desert. That was the first thought that crossed her mind when she saw the area where the car was abandoned. Later in the broadcast, she settled on a second theory that he was there for a job opportunity and something bad happened.
Thanks timsmith, I hadn't heard that. That does seem to be the most likely scenario by far.

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk
 
In the Disappeared episode, his mother said that she thought that life got too tough for him and he walked out into the desert. That was the first thought that crossed her mind when she saw the area where the car was abandoned. Later in the broadcast, she settled on a second theory that he was there for a job opportunity and something bad happened.

The problem with this theory is that the direction Steven walked after leaving his car is toward the city, not the desert. And there are miles upon miles of desert between St. George and Las Vegas/Henderson. If Steven's plan was to commit suicide in the desert, he could have accomplished that much closer to home.
 
The problem with this theory is that the direction Steven walked after leaving his car is toward the city, not the desert. And there are miles upon miles of desert between St. George and Las Vegas/Henderson. If Steven's plan was to commit suicide in the desert, he could have accomplished that much closer to home.
Not only that, the entire scenario seems unusual for a suicide. All the random driving he did culminating in some neighborhood he has no ties to, where he parks his car and walks away with what looks like a folder, notebook...maybe a clipboard.

I can understand the concept of people wanting to essentially "hide" their suicide and spare their family grief by them simply not knowing what happened - but this could have been accomplished much easier and closer to home.

Not to mention, had this been a suicide mission, by what means did he plan on doing it? There's no mention of him owning a gun. Nothing in his car suggested he had a gun (ie: ammo, boxes, holster, magazines, receipts etc). Would he have walked somewhere and hung himself? If so where's the rope and body? Would he have intentionally overdosed on pills? If so where did he get pills? He's a Mormon guy, not some junkie. Again, where's the body if he took some pills and drifted away?

It just seems like an incredibly strange series of events that would have led to a suicide with no indication left behind of self harm.

Yes, the family has briefly mentioned offhand that he was depressed in a news article or two, but that's hardly a clinical diagnosis and their own opinion. Steven may have been a little down about his situation, and perhaps with Christmas around the corner (as many people are during the Holidays) but nothing solid to support serious depression. Maybe disappointed with his life, but that's entirely different from a level of depression that could cause you to end your own life.

Had the family mentioned an actual diagnosis and treatment from doctors, years of struggle, trying different medications and such...sure, I'd give the idea of suicide a bit more credence, but again, being sad and wanting to kill yourself are two different things.

Without anymore details, I still think one way or the other Steven fell victim to foul play...whether it was totally random or related to his travels.
 
Not only that, the entire scenario seems unusual for a suicide. All the random driving he did culminating in some neighborhood he has no ties to, where he parks his car and walks away with what looks like a folder, notebook...maybe a clipboard.

I can understand the concept of people wanting to essentially "hide" their suicide and spare their family grief by them simply not knowing what happened - but this could have been accomplished much easier and closer to home.

Not to mention, had this been a suicide mission, by what means did he plan on doing it? There's no mention of him owning a gun. Nothing in his car suggested he had a gun (ie: ammo, boxes, holster, magazines, receipts etc). Would he have walked somewhere and hung himself? If so where's the rope and body? Would he have intentionally overdosed on pills? If so where did he get pills? He's a Mormon guy, not some junkie. Again, where's the body if he took some pills and drifted away?

It just seems like an incredibly strange series of events that would have led to a suicide with no indication left behind of self harm.

Yes, the family has briefly mentioned offhand that he was depressed in a news article or two, but that's hardly a clinical diagnosis and their own opinion. Steven may have been a little down about his situation, and perhaps with Christmas around the corner (as many people are during the Holidays) but nothing solid to support serious depression. Maybe disappointed with his life, but that's entirely different from a level of depression that could cause you to end your own life.

Had the family mentioned an actual diagnosis and treatment from doctors, years of struggle, trying different medications and such...sure, I'd give the idea of suicide a bit more credence, but again, being sad and wanting to kill yourself are two different things.

Without anymore details, I still think one way or the other Steven fell victim to foul play...whether it was totally random or related to his travels.

I don't believe it was random and someone knows exactly what happened. Someone known to Steven.
 
Hey everyone! I'm a lurker and I very rarely post, but I do follow some cases, one of them being Steven Koecher's disappearance. He just seemed like such a nice normal guy. I was reading a bit on Reddit and I saw a super interesting post with an idea that I don't think I had seen before. I'm going to copy and paste the whole post here since I don't think I'm allowed to link. Sorry in advance for the long post. If I'm breaking any rules feel free to delete....

"I think he got a job delivering foreclosure notices through Craiglist or other website. I could be wrong, but I believe when people are hired to deliver foreclosure notices in person, it's not as full employees, but as independent contractors. It's all kinda sketchy. He didn't tell anyone because he may have been ashamed of the job, and also didn't want to tell everyone he was working only to get humiliated again with another layoff. Income from this employment would also explain why he wasn't using the money given to him by his parents and grandmother to help with his recent financial issues. This was the height of the recession, and LV was hit very hard by it. This would also explain why he went on that rather bizarre, long drive in the days before his disappearance. He was delivering notices of foreclosure to people. He was there in Las Vegas to hand-deliver a foreclosure notice, and came across a particularly violent home owner. And when you deliver them, it's always better to park down the street, and walk up to the residence. The sound of the car driving up, and the door shutting, and the diver walking right up to the house....all of that puts the already on-edge homeowner on a state of alert. People are much more likely to come to the door when they are surprised by a knock or bell without any noise from a parking car. Steven was killed by some angry hothead who reached their last straw. I would investigate the foreclosue history of every house in that area, as well as the police records of all owners for a violent past."

What do you guys think about this idea? Is it possible that he wasn't delivering drugs but foreclosure notices? Has anyone ever looked in to foreclosures in that neighborhood? Or is it way off base? Anyways just thought I'd share.
 

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