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

[Ignorant_Bystander]

I have a theory about the phone. I believe his killer found Steven's burner phone and didn't think to look for another phone. I believe a burner phone explains no communication trail for his odd travels before Vegas. So the real phone may have traveled with Steven's body. At some point the killer finds the real phone and pulls up the voicemail to see if anyone is missing Steven. Forgive me as I am pulling info out of my brain from years past, IIRC, the last ping was in a mixed use area if big box stores, homes, shady apartments, and industrial. In other words, an area with lots of dumpsters. Moo. Gosh, it is so nice to see people still discussing this case!

Yes, that does make sense, that his real phone could very well have been in the moving van, along with Steven who was deceased at this time. This is better than my theory of him being taken to Henderson Airport area. The neighbour across the street said that they "moved a lot of boxes in 3 hours" that day, but she does not state at what time she started peeking out her window and watching them... although it could even been 3.5 or 4 hours as she is recalling something from a few weeks back and does not give specific starting and ending times of them moving the boxes so it sounds like a guess to me. In addition there could have been a lot of time taken to get the boxes ready in the house also, before they were taken outside. This would make it between 3pm to 4pm (3 or 4 hours after 12pm when steven arrived) that they finished putting the boxes in the van at the earliest, because if it were earlier, she would have very likely saw Steven arrive at the house and would have told police this. The first phone ping was 4:36pm, at N Arroyo Grande BlVd and American Pacific Drive area tower which according to google maps is about a 20 minute drive with no traffic. So if the van drove directly there, it would have left the house about 4:15pm or so, at the latest.

So many guesses and approximations here that could have happened though that we don't know..like what stops the moving van went to along the way..assuming the phone was in the van, at 6:58pm it pinged on W Sunset Road, then a minute later, further down the street, "It appears that a call was made but the recipient is unknown." Could that call have been made from Stevens phone to a burner phone? At the Russell Road/I-515 area at 6:04am the next morning the phone was used (call to or from the phone), and then someone used the phone at 7:04am supposedly to check his voice mail. Likely thrown out from the highway and it stayed in that one spot until it died.

Somewhere along this timeline, his body was taken somewhere and hidden...I really hope one day more clues will surface

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Just heard/read about this tragic SK case. Haven't done a huge amount of research on this yet, but IMHO there's not a huge mystery about what happened here. Of course there's no way to be definitively certain, but I do agree with post #832 above re: what possibly occurred to SK.

I don't believe that SK:

-Ran off to start a new life & change his identity, etc. - because of his financial issues, etc. Someone that does that would not have parked their car in a retirement community & left to go somewhere on foot?!, given there doesn't seem to be any real public transportation in the area. They would have left with their car.

-Ended it all. Even if you believe he was capable of something like this (definitely possible, unfortunately) it again doesn't make sense that he would do this so far away from home. And, if this did happen - why hasn't the body been found?! If he parked his car in the street & wandered off into the adjoining desert, you would think he would have been located by now.

 

[ScorpioRising]

As Lake Mead is drying up rapidly, more bodies discovered recently. None have been identified as of yet it seems. The lake is fairly close to Henderson so definitely something to keep an eye on with this case. 3rd set of human remains in 3 months found in drought-shrinking Lake Mead

 

[Fairy1]

BB is the key, IMO. I have to hope LE knows that. Having personally dealt with the first PI on Steven's case years ago, I don't have much respect for them, in general. I believe the answers are readily available to anyone who cares to follow the trail. That's all I'm going to say right now.

 

[Ignorant_Bystander]

BB is the key, IMO. I have to hope LE knows that. Having personally dealt with the first PI on Steven's case years ago, I don't have much respect for them, in general. I believe the answers are readily available to anyone who cares to follow the trail. That's all I'm going to say right now.

I agree. theres no possible way the landlords wife would have known the location where his car was found was his "last stop before heading home, according to his last conversation" unless the details of his trip that day had something to with BB. According to his phone calls with members of his church, or any of this other conversations with family members, Steven never told anyone "I'll be stopping at Evening Lights on Sunday around noon, then going back home". Whatever conversation she was referring to was surely with him and BB. LE aren't too bright for not picking this up and pushing for more details. Case could have been easily solved in 2010.

 

[Kristina730]

Hello! I'm entirely new to this community and this is my very first post. I only heard about this case this morning while listening to a true crime YouTube channel, but something stuck with me, so I decided to do a little digging around.

The Occam's razor idea I am running with is that Steven had a reason to park his car exactly where he did. One possible explanation is that he was visiting someone in the neighborhood purposefully (I see a lot of theories hinge on that idea). And if that were true, it is suspicious that all the neighbors said they had no idea who Steven was and hadn't seen him.

I see that a theory was posted twice about a printing company out of a home around the corner where his car was last parked (decided not to post the name of said company here, as no need to smear a business or person who more than likely had nothing to do with a person's disappearance, unless more info makes the connection much more likely), .5 mile/couple blocks away. Google says it is an 8 minute walk, literally in that neighborhood of houses, in the section of streets somewhat isolated from the rest.

Once this company was mentioned and it seemed to be ignored completely; the other time, it was quickly dismissed as "he's not getting flyers printed hours away out of town for a company he only works for."

But hear me out. Here are some facts:

- Some articles state that Steven was trying to start his own business, and also was actively seeking work.
- His college degree and jobs involve public relations, advertising, communications...that sort of thing.
- The company isn't just any advertising/print shop. It does very specialized work, like ventricular printing, along with specialized lenses and software for ventricular printing. For the record, ventricular printing are those images that change when you tilt them, like some postcards.
- I saw somewhere he was wearing a shirt with a collar. For those of you not from the west US suburbs, anything with a collar (or not, sometimes!) is totally business appropriate and possibly interview appropriate, depending on the job.

I see two possibilities:

1) He wanted to get some specialized printing done for the company *he himself* was trying to start. Perhaps the folder he was carrying had some photos he wanted turned into a ventricular postcard/flyer? Like a before/after thing?

2) He was responding to an ad for a job at the print company and had a job interview, and the folder he was carrying had a resume in it.

With either possibility, how to explain the traveling of his phone? Maybe the meeting didn't go as well as planned and he started having dark thoughts and wandered around. Or, maybe he was met with foul play and his phone travelling wasn't actually by him? (I can't remember if he talked to anyone from his phone after he left his car?)

I did a little more digging. Here is what I have found so far:

When I look at the printshop company's website on Wayback Machine for how it looked in 2009, it has a lot of detail about products and stuff, and it doesn't give an address and encourages people to contact by phone as they like to do business personally. The graphics are super old school even for 2009, but other than that, you would have no idea the company was run out of a home from the website alone. However it also has an email, and one of those internet forms. I would assume (?) police would have checked into phone calls and emails but an internet form might have been harder to trace, given that he used the internet at the library. Or Stephen could have set up a separate email address purely for job hunting...a lot of people do. And the printshop's website today says due to the coronavirus, offices are closed to the public and to call for an appointment, which begs the question if they were open to the public before COVID?

I also checked the Nevada State website for business licensure and looked up the business, verifying that the business was opened well before 2009 and hasn't had any address changes.

I have decided not to post the name of the business or its listed owner at this point, as there is nothing directly linking Steven to the printshop, but I am going to keep digging around. I also grabbed the street addresses of all ~170 homes in the section of neighborhood where Steven's car was found and may check into them as well to see who owned each of those homes then and see if anything comes up linking them to possible connections with Steven, or any criminal activity. It is amazing that at least in the state where I live, that who owns a home is absolutely publicly available. Well, that's my plan at the moment, until my brain might get "squirreled" down some other random rabbit hole

Sending out love to Steven's family, and to Steven, wherever he may be.

 

[Ignorant_Bystander]

Welcome to the board Kristina! That's an interesting theory about the print shop business, I hope more is found

I did find the location of that print shop, although it would seem quite strange he would park his car quite a ways from it, even though it would only be an 8 minute walk...unless there was something in the driveway that day or the driveway was under construction, it seems odd that he would be told to park where he did from a legitimate business.

This case is so fascinating to me simply because of the circumstances - someone simply disappears walking down a street in broad daylight, in a quiet, secluded 55+ seemingly normal neighbourhood. I really hope I live to see it solved.

Assuming that he was doing something shady that led to him being killed in that neighbourhood (because there is no evidence of him being alive after he's on surveillance camera) like delivering drug money, expired prescription pills (or both) - when Steven was told or asked to make the deliveries, he either had to realize what he was doing was illegal/dangerous/kind of shady, or he was under the impression that it was a legitimate, basic delivery job. In my opinion, I think it was the latter. If it was the former, there's no way he would have risked his life, or risk being arrested, to do it. I think he was duped because he seemed so naive about things. The next thing that I can't wrap my head around...how did the person who told him to make the deliveries ensure that Steven (based on a lack of any evidence) never told anyone about it, and left nothing written down on paper, sent electronically, or left anything on his phone? If Steven was told not to tell anyone, I'm at a complete loss as to how that would happen without Steven getting suspicious or questioning why. If his landlord set this up, he would have a somewhat fair idea of Stevens personality, but according to his roomate, he never saw them communicate except over the phone once I think. The only thing I can come up with is something like "Steven, can you make these deliveries on Sunday? I'm supposed to do it but I'll be busy all day. Don't tell anyone, I don't want my boss to find out, or I might get in trouble, thanks." If there was no conversation, that's a huge risk...getting someone to do a favour and just "hoping" they won't casually mention it to anyone...even if he was tricked into thinking it was a legit job. I've never met Steven and I'm not a Mormon, but my thinking is Mormons seem to be very private people,which might partially explain why he just decided not to say anything (even if he was not instructed to not say anything)..but still, I find this quite odd.

A couple possibilities - he could have had directions on him when he went to the house on Evening Lights, or he could have left them in his car (dropped under the seat, or under the floormat or fell to become unreachable. This would explain why he supposedly went to the second last house on Savannah Springs first, since he remembered being told it was the "second last house on the street".) I really hope his vehicle was THOROUGHLY turned upside down for clues, but I have not much faith in the law enforcement on this case.

I assume that he was only told about this "job" right before his thousand-miles-a-day travelling started, and it was just something that he never gave a second thought about..like tying your shoelaces..just something that happens but it's inconsequential, not worth telling anyone. Just something that you do and expect nothing bad will happen.

 

[LynnRn53]

Welcome to the board Kristina! That's an interesting theory about the print shop business, I hope more is found

I did find the location of that print shop, although it would seem quite strange he would park his car quite a ways from it, even though it would only be an 8 minute walk...unless there was something in the driveway that day or the driveway was under construction, it seems odd that he would be told to park where he did from a legitimate business.

This case is so fascinating to me simply because of the circumstances - someone simply disappears walking down a street in broad daylight, in a quiet, secluded 55+ seemingly normal neighbourhood. I really hope I live to see it solved.

Assuming that he was doing something shady that led to him being killed in that neighbourhood (because there is no evidence of him being alive after he's on surveillance camera) like delivering drug money, expired prescription pills (or both) - when Steven was told or asked to make the deliveries, he either had to realize what he was doing was illegal/dangerous/kind of shady, or he was under the impression that it was a legitimate, basic delivery job. In my opinion, I think it was the latter. If it was the former, there's no way he would have risked his life, or risk being arrested, to do it. I think he was duped because he seemed so naive about things. The next thing that I can't wrap my head around...how did the person who told him to make the deliveries ensure that Steven (based on a lack of any evidence) never told anyone about it, and left nothing written down on paper, sent electronically, or left anything on his phone? If Steven was told not to tell anyone, I'm at a complete loss as to how that would happen without Steven getting suspicious or questioning why. If his landlord set this up, he would have a somewhat fair idea of Stevens personality, but according to his roomate, he never saw them communicate except over the phone once I think. The only thing I can come up with is something like "Steven, can you make these deliveries on Sunday? I'm supposed to do it but I'll be busy all day. Don't tell anyone, I don't want my boss to find out, or I might get in trouble, thanks." If there was no conversation, that's a huge risk...getting someone to do a favour and just "hoping" they won't casually mention it to anyone...even if he was tricked into thinking it was a legit job. I've never met Steven and I'm not a Mormon, but my thinking is Mormons seem to be very private people,which might partially explain why he just decided not to say anything (even if he was not instructed to not say anything)..but still, I find this quite odd.

A couple possibilities - he could have had directions on him when he went to the house on Evening Lights, or he could have left them in his car (dropped under the seat, or under the floormat or fell to become unreachable. This would explain why he supposedly went to the second last house on Savannah Springs first, since he remembered being told it was the "second last house on the street".) I really hope his vehicle was THOROUGHLY turned upside down for clues, but I have not much faith in the law enforcement on this case.

I assume that he was only told about this "job" right before his thousand-miles-a-day travelling started, and it was just something that he never gave a second thought about..like tying your shoelaces..just something that happens but it's inconsequential, not worth telling anyone. Just something that you do and expect nothing bad will happen.

I agree with you that he was probably very trusting, maybe more than the average person, due to his upbringing in his spiritual / religious beliefs. I also agree that I don't think you would have known my participated in anything illegal / dangerous, I think he was very innocent participant in something gone awry.

 

[LynnRn53]

I have been on websleuths for quite a while they're not active until just a little while ago, for a few years now. I'm brand new to this forum. I discovered this fascinating and sad case when I came across a video <modsnip: Discussing an unapproved source>

 

[Baddux]

The whole story makes little sense. Here are 2 initial observations I have. Maybe someone can shed light on them:

1. Guy has a communication degree and is handing out flyers? Yeah the job market was bad back then, but doing that kind of work is a weak side hustle at best unless you are a drug addict or something and can't get an actual job. Plus, he was heavily involved in the church scene. I can't believe someone didn't know someone who could get him a bs job somewhere.

2. The whole "I'm having financial problems" doesn't jive with what this guy was doing. So you have no money and decide to blow money on gas driving >1000 miles around the desert? Say the car gets 30 mpg you are talking about 30-40 gallons of gas? That alone in 2009 was probably $100. Then he is out shopping? The items didn't sound high value but still. Plus being on the road he had to eat/drink. Not cheap to buy prepared stuff.

 

[Laughing]

The whole story makes little sense. Here are 2 initial observations I have. Maybe someone can shed light on them:

1. Guy has a communication degree and is handing out flyers? Yeah the job market was bad back then, but doing that kind of work is a weak side hustle at best unless you are a drug addict or something and can't get an actual job. Plus, he was heavily involved in the church scene. I can't believe someone didn't know someone who could get him a bs job somewhere.

2. The whole "I'm having financial problems" doesn't jive with what this guy was doing. So you have no money and decide to blow money on gas driving >1000 miles around the desert? Say the car gets 30 mpg you are talking about 30-40 gallons of gas? That alone in 2009 was probably $100. Then he is out shopping? The items didn't sound high value but still. Plus being on the road he had to eat/drink. Not cheap to buy prepared stuff.

That's why it is suggested upthread, hypothetically, that Steven was talked into delivering pharmaceuticals for his landlord. Said landlord has had at least one major brush with law enforcement, per media.

The early threads include much solid sleuthing.

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[Ignorant_Bystander]

The whole story makes little sense. Here are 2 initial observations I have. Maybe someone can shed light on them:

1. Guy has a communication degree and is handing out flyers? Yeah the job market was bad back then, but doing that kind of work is a weak side hustle at best unless you are a drug addict or something and can't get an actual job. Plus, he was heavily involved in the church scene. I can't believe someone didn't know someone who could get him a bs job somewhere.

2. The whole "I'm having financial problems" doesn't jive with what this guy was doing. So you have no money and decide to blow money on gas driving >1000 miles around the desert? Say the car gets 30 mpg you are talking about 30-40 gallons of gas? That alone in 2009 was probably $100. Then he is out shopping? The items didn't sound high value but still. Plus being on the road he had to eat/drink. Not cheap to buy prepared stuff.

1. His bishop (or someone from church) supposedly promised him a job which would have started in January 2010. Not easy to get a job anytime even for those with university degree. maybe his interview skills were terrible. There could be several reasons he was having difficulty. Plus there was a recession at the time.

2. Stevens car was a hybrid, took less gas than normal. In addition he could have been given money from his landlord to pay for the gas. Whatever he was doing on those trips seems to be urgent though.. if he was promised the job in January, he would have been able to pay back his landlord in increments. my guess is that he was either forced to do it or be evicted, or told if he does it, he wouldn't have to pay the last 3 months rent. Also one receipt found showed he bought something cheap at Taco Time, so he probably was just eating junk food

 

[Baddux]

1. His bishop (or someone from church) supposedly promised him a job which would have started in January 2010. Not easy to get a job anytime even for those with university degree. maybe his interview skills were terrible. There could be several reasons he was having difficulty. Plus there was a recession at the time.

2. Stevens car was a hybrid, took less gas than normal. In addition he could have been given money from his landlord to pay for the gas. Whatever he was doing on those trips seems to be urgent though.. if he was promised the job in January, he would have been able to pay back his landlord in increments. my guess is that he was either forced to do it or be evicted, or told if he does it, he wouldn't have to pay the last 3 months rent. Also one receipt found showed he bought something cheap at Taco Time, so he probably was just eating junk food

Agreed that it was a tough time to get a job. I think he killed himself and has not been found. Travelling around was an attempt at producing a reason to live or a farewell tour.

 

[Valiant]

1. His bishop (or someone from church) supposedly promised him a job which would have started in January 2010. Not easy to get a job anytime even for those with university degree. maybe his interview skills were terrible. There could be several reasons he was having difficulty. Plus there was a recession at the time.

2. Stevens car was a hybrid, took less gas than normal. In addition he could have been given money from his landlord to pay for the gas. Whatever he was doing on those trips seems to be urgent though.. if he was promised the job in January, he would have been able to pay back his landlord in increments. my guess is that he was either forced to do it or be evicted, or told if he does it, he wouldn't have to pay the last 3 months rent. Also one receipt found showed he bought something cheap at Taco Time, so he probably was just eating junk food

Steven's car was a Chevrolet Cavalier. it was not a hybrid, but was a smaller, more fuel efficient car than many others.

 

[Baddux]

Steven's car was a Chevrolet Cavalier. it was not a hybrid, but was a smaller, more fuel efficient car than many others.

I had a cavalier of that vintage and it was good on gas. but still sub 40mpg which would have made all the driving quite expensive

 

[Glovey]

As I investigated this case initially, I saw the trip to Wendover as a conduit to let off some steam after the LL called SK's father to let him know SK was behind in rent. It's claimed the LL got the father's number from the rental application. Upon reflection and further analysis, two behaviors during that trip pop up to me. One, SK tells the folks in Ruby Valley he is going to Sacramento Ca. after they inquire as to why he is there. He lied to them. This is a clue. Two, on his way back to St. George, SK has a conversation with his mother at which time he leaves out, or doesn't at all say where he's been. This is another clue.

IMHO, he was covering up, what to him, may be immoral behavior for an LDS counselor, not to mention possibly criminal. To me, this trip to Wendover is either a drop off or pickup of some kind. You see, its reported a plan to repay the LL was in the works. Another clue I see is, SK takes an early trip through, or to Overton NV. as his cell pings off an Overton tower on the 12th I believe. He returned the same day in the evening. I believe this trip through, or to Overton is to get instructions, and retrieve that which is to be delivered on the 13th in Henderson. He is then seen by a neighbor leaving St. George late on the 12th. He is last seen on video walking on Savannah Springs Dr. then turning on to Evening lights with what appears to be some kind of satchel under his arm.

 

[Baddux]

As I investigated this case initially, I saw the trip to Wendover as a conduit to let off some steam after the LL called SK's father to let him know SK was behind in rent. It's claimed the LL got the father's number from the rental application. Upon reflection and further analysis, two behaviors during that trip pop up to me. One, SK tells the folks in Ruby Valley he is going to Sacramento Ca. after they inquire as to why he is there. He lied to them. This is a clue. Two, on his way back to St. George, SK has a conversation with his mother at which time he leaves out, or doesn't at all say where he's been. This is another clue.

IMHO, he was covering up, what to him, may be immoral behavior for an LDS counselor, not to mention possibly criminal. To me, this trip to Wendover is either a drop off or pickup of some kind. You see, its reported a plan to repay the LL was in the works. Another clue I see is, SK takes an early trip through, or to Overton NV. as his cell pings off an Overton tower on the 12th I believe. He returned the same day in the evening. I believe this trip through, or to Overton is to get instructions, and retrieve that which is to be delivered on the 13th in Henderson. He is then seen by a neighbor leaving St. George late on the 12th. He is last seen on video walking on Savannah Springs Dr. then turning on to Evening lights with what appears to be some kind of satchel under his arm.

I hear you on this. I just have this hang up about this guy essentially "Breaking Bad," here. Either that or he was involved in something more nefarious than even being a drug mule for back rent.

 

[Fairy1]

I was hoping for some movement on Steven's case but it seems to be crickets once again. Hopefully, there's something going on in the background.

 

[Moonbeam456]

After years of following and thinking about this case this is what I think happened: Steven was somehow connected with a mortgage broker (people have referred to her as a real estate agent in the past) for some type of work. She told him to meet her at place of business, which at the time was a house on Savannah Springs Ave. literally three houses down from where Steven parked. The camera that captured Steven walking down the street also captured her SUV arriving right after Steven did, however she was not thoroughly questioned or looked into because she is a well known and well established business person in the Las Vegas area. Look at the documents the Unfound podcast released a few years ago, barely a mention of this woman despite the fact she lived on the street (and merely feet) from where he was last seen walking, arrived shortly after Steven did and appeared to be the only person running a business on that street. Steven was looking for a job, he was walking with something that looked like a folder, maybe of his resume or past examples of his writing. Where would he be headed?? The house that was also a business to go on an interview or do some work. I have no idea what took place in that house or why but I do believe this is where Steven went the day he was last seen…

 

[george14]

After years of following and thinking about this case this is what I think happened: Steven was somehow connected with a mortgage broker (people have referred to her as a real estate agent in the past) for some type of work. She told him to meet her at place of business, which at the time was a house on Savannah Springs Ave. literally three houses down from where Steven parked. The camera that captured Steven walking down the street also captured her SUV arriving right after Steven did, however she was not thoroughly questioned or looked into because she is a well known and well established business person in the Las Vegas area. Look at the documents the Unfound podcast released a few years ago, barely a mention of this woman despite the fact she lived on the street (and merely feet) from where he was last seen walking, arrived shortly after Steven did and appeared to be the only person running a business on that street. Steven was looking for a job, he was walking with something that looked like a folder, maybe of his resume or past examples of his writing. Where would he be headed?? The house that was also a business to go on an interview or do some work. I have no idea what took place in that house or why but I do believe this is where Steven went the day he was last seen…

Wouldn’t the more likely explanation be that Steven met his fate at the hands of either his landlord or the gentleman at the address considering they both have criminal pasts? And the realtor just so happened to be driving in that area?

From what I have read, it seems like a no-brainer that Steven was probably delivering pills for his landlord and LE needs to find the connection between his landlord and the son of the couple that lived at the house. Neither have cooperated and both have very deep crimina records.