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

[kharismatic1]

I looked at a google map of the area around Evening Lights Street in Henderson. There's only entrance/exit to that subdivision. Entrance/exit are at Laurel Heights Lane and Anthem Parkway. Of course the chance of any video footage now is hopeless, assuming there was some to begin with. Assuming Steven was still alive when he left the area, whatever car he was in would have been caught on camera (assuming there was a camera at the entrance/exit)..that should have been looked into, I assume the police would have done so by now though

imgur.com

^I did a screen of the entrance/exit. Anyone know what the white barrel shaped thing is on the left? has a small hole which could be a camera

My husband works in construction and says it's for natural gas. So not a camera.

 

[kharismatic1]

I looked at a google map of the area around Evening Lights Street in Henderson. There's only entrance/exit to that subdivision. Entrance/exit are at Laurel Heights Lane and Anthem Parkway. Of course the chance of any video footage now is hopeless, assuming there was some to begin with. Assuming Steven was still alive when he left the area, whatever car he was in would have been caught on camera (assuming there was a camera at the entrance/exit)..that should have been looked into, I assume the police would have done so by now though

imgur.com

^I did a screen of the entrance/exit. Anyone know what the white barrel shaped thing is on the left? has a small hole which could be a camera

My husband works in construction and says it's for natural gas. So not a camera.

 

[Ignorant_Bystander]

Someone on reddit noticed this and it could very well be Steven's remains found in 2016 in a denention basin. They are not very far from his last cell phone ping. I made a map on imgur.
Information is here The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), I contacted Dustin Driscoll through email on the contacts link. Here's hoping it's tested for DNA against one of Steven's relatives. Hard to believe, if it is Steven, that no one noticed the body was there for 7 years though...however they were skeletal remains, so it had to have been there for quite a while

https://i.imgur.com/C685PmQ.jpg

I know the location on the map (where his body was found) is definitely not on a denention basin, but thats the coordinate from the NamUs link. There's a few small bodies of water in the general area though

If ANYONE reading this is in law enforcement, knows someone in law enforcement in the Henderson NV area or can get this investigated ASAP please get on it, the family's been waiting for much too long for this to be unresolved

 

[fridaybaker]

Someone on reddit noticed this and it could very well be Steven's remains found in 2016 in a denention basin. They are not very far from his last cell phone ping. I made a map on imgur.
Information is here The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), I contacted Dustin Driscoll through email on the contacts link. Here's hoping it's tested for DNA against one of Steven's relatives. Hard to believe, if it is Steven, that no one noticed the body was there for 7 years though...however they were skeletal remains, so it had to have been there for quite a while

https://i.imgur.com/C685PmQ.jpg

I know the location on the map (where his body was found) is definitely not on a denention basin, but thats the coordinate from the NamUs link. There's a few small bodies of water in the general area though

If ANYONE reading this is in law enforcement, knows someone in law enforcement in the Henderson NV area or can get this investigated ASAP please get on it, the family's been waiting for much too long for this to be unresolved

If found in 2016 wouldn’t DNA already have been run against missing persons?

 

[Zion]

If found in 2016 wouldn’t DNA already have been run against missing persons?

I don't believe any DNA testing was ever done in this case. Not on Steven and not on any of the family members, so they wouldn't have anything to compare to.

I think there's a high possibility that the body belongs to Steven. The age range, sex, height range, and some of the clothing matches up. And it was discovered so close to the last phone ping. I really hope that they can run a DNA test and see if it matches to Steven's family. This case has had no closure for 11 years, and perhaps the answer is finally here...

 

[fridaybaker]

When I first read about the body I thought "no, couldn't be". However, the "black Casio watch" seems vaguely familiar. Does anyone remember if/what kind of watch Steven would have been wearing.

One item that leans toward it not being him, though, are the "two" pair of trousers. That sounds more like a homeless person, or perhaps a hiker.

As far as DNA testing, I just have a hard time believing that they wouldn't have done it on the body and then looked for missing persons. Steven would certainly come up as being close to the (very scant!) description and I'd think they'd ask the family for DNA samples. Who knows, though.

 

[Zion]

Just adding more credence to the idea that this body is Steven's--

In none of the photos I've seen is Steven ever wearing a watch. However, I discovered this photo collection online, presumably set up by someone in the Koecher family. I just stumbled upon it randomly while looking for info on Steven and his case. There are lots of photos of Steven and his family. His mom and dad are almost always wearing a watch, and two of his brothers also frequently appear to wear a watch. Because of this, it's likely that Steven could have been wearing a watch on that day.

The other thing that gets me is the description of the "underpants". Usually you would expect a brand or further description. As a good ol' Mormon, Steven would have been wearing his garments, which do not have a brand or anything else to identify them, and would qualify as "underpants". That would be a good reason for why so little description is given.

Edit: As for the multiple pairs of pants, I think it's more suspicious that they would have multiple pairs of pants at all. Especially ones as seemingly mismatched as dress pants and jeans. He definitely appears to be wearing dress pants on the video, though. Perhaps the jeans were worn underneath to keep him warm? Alternatively, someone could have put them on him afterwards?

Edit 2: To add more possibility to the two pairs of pants, there's a large possibility that after Steven left at 10:30 PM the previous night, he didn't go back home. This means he slept in his car, and definitely wasn't keeping it on--thus perhaps the multiple pants were to keep him warm in his car? Furthermore, we know he liked to bulk up, considering that multiple coats were found in his car.

 

[j_in_c]

Just adding more credence to the idea that this body is Steven's--

In none of the photos I've seen is Steven ever wearing a watch. However, I discovered this photo collection online, presumably set up by someone in the Koecher family. I just stumbled upon it randomly while looking for info on Steven and his case. There are lots of photos of Steven and his family. His mom and dad are almost always wearing a watch, and two of his brothers also frequently appear to wear a watch. Because of this, it's likely that Steven could have been wearing a watch on that day.

The other thing that gets me is the description of the "underpants". Usually you would expect a brand or further description. As a good ol' Mormon, Steven would have been wearing his garments, which do not have a brand or anything else to identify them, and would qualify as "underpants". That would be a good reason for why so little description is given.

Edit: As for the multiple pairs of pants, I think it's more suspicious that they would have multiple pairs of pants at all. Especially ones as seemingly mismatched as dress pants and jeans. He definitely appears to be wearing dress pants on the video, though. Perhaps the jeans were worn underneath to keep him warm? Alternatively, someone could have put them on him afterwards?

Edit 2: To add more possibility to the two pairs of pants, there's a large possibility that after Steven left at 10:30 PM the previous night, he didn't go back home. This means he slept in his car, and definitely wasn't keeping it on--thus perhaps the multiple pants were to keep him warm in his car? Furthermore, we know he liked to bulk up, considering that multiple coats were found in his car.

I think it is a great idea to reach out to the NAMUS contact and find out why this UID is not on the compared list. I checked today and there are two Clark county UIDs that *have* been ruled out, but I do not see this one on the list. Good work and I hope it is match!

 

[Moonbeam456]

Someone on reddit noticed this and it could very well be Steven's remains found in 2016 in a denention basin. They are not very far from his last cell phone ping. I made a map on imgur.
Information is here The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), I contacted Dustin Driscoll through email on the contacts link. Here's hoping it's tested for DNA against one of Steven's relatives. Hard to believe, if it is Steven, that no one noticed the body was there for 7 years though...however they were skeletal remains, so it had to have been there for quite a while

https://i.imgur.com/C685PmQ.jpg

I know the location on the map (where his body was found) is definitely not on a denention basin, but thats the coordinate from the NamUs link. There's a few small bodies of water in the general area though

If ANYONE reading this is in law enforcement, knows someone in law enforcement in the Henderson NV area or can get this investigated ASAP please get on it, the family's been waiting for much too long for this to be unresolved

Wow, very interesting, I think this could be a good lead. If you Google Las Vegas Water Detention Basins, a map will come up with all of them or at the least the bigger ones. It looks like the closest one to the location Namus gave is the Tropicana Detention Basin which is about 15-20 minutes away. It sits very close to Russell Road, Steven’s phone was found near the intersection of Russell Road and I-515. I don’t recall Steven’s family providing DNA and looking at his Namus profile I wonder if they even have his dental records. Usually the profile will say if they have dental records on file for the missing person.

 

[Zion]

I definitely think the body should be checked. It's so close to the last phone ping, and so many things match up that there's a large possibility it really is Steven. I just wonder how we can get LE to take time to examine the connection. I know that things like this probably aren't their priority, but I hope they can check.

 

[SnowAngels]

New to this discussion...but I wonder why this connection has not yet been made within the past 4 years?

 

[Zion]

New to this discussion...but I wonder why this connection has not yet been made within the past 4 years?

I think it's largely because search efforts for Steven have sort of stopped. The last search they did was in 2015, and I don't think that was organized by the family. I think Steven's family have sort of come to terms with the disappearance and moved on.

His biggest advocate was his dad, Rolf, who died in 2011. Looking at the photos of their family, Rolf and Steven seem like they were incredibly close. There are many photos with the two beside each other. Not only that, but Steven went into journalism, just like Rolf did. So I think his death hampered the search efforts for Steven.

I think the family has also often operated under the assumption that he is still alive, so they might not have considered giving DNA samples/handing over dental records. So there might simply be nothing in the system that lets them compare to Steven.

Also, I'm betting that investigating things like this is very low priority compared to the bigger bevy of current crimes, criminals on the lose, etc...this is a man who disappeared eleven years ago with no evidence of foul play and a random skeleton discovered four years ago. (Though the limb(s) being missing suggests to me that whether the skeleton is Steven's or not, they were probably killed and disposed of there).

 

[kharismatic1]

Wow, very interesting, I think this could be a good lead. If you Google Las Vegas Water Detention Basins, a map will come up with all of them or at the least the bigger ones. It looks like the closest one to the location Namus gave is the Tropicana Detention Basin which is about 15-20 minutes away. It sits very close to Russell Road, Steven’s phone was found near the intersection of Russell Road and I-515. I don’t recall Steven’s family providing DNA and looking at his Namus profile I wonder if they even have his dental records. Usually the profile will say if they have dental records on file for the missing person.

Looks like the remains were found in the Tropicana Detention Basin
Clark County coroner identifies body Las Vegas police discovered in Tropicana Detention Basin

 

[Zion]

Looks like the remains were found in the Tropicana Detention Basin

Based on that article, I don't think they're the same. That body was discovered on July 3rd, 10 days before the one we're talking about (unless the NamUs date was mistyped?)

Also, it looks like that one's already been identified, just judging off the tiny amount I can read without having a subscription. Is anyone subscribed and can retrieve the text of the full article? It says 'Charles Edward Dollarhide'. If the body was already identified, the entry wouldn't be in NamUs anymore.

Though two bodies being discovered in detention basins 10 days apart is pretty interesting...I'd be curious to know more of the circumstances in which they discovered this one. Was it also a skeleton, limbs missing, who was the person...very interesting.

 

[Evilxelvis138]

Also, it looks like that one's already been identified, just judging off the tiny amount I can read without having a subscription. Is anyone subscribed and can retrieve the text of the full article? It says 'Charles Edward Dollarhide'. If the body was already identified, the entry wouldn't be in NamUs anymore.

RSBM

When the banner to subscribe popped up I was able to click the “X” and read the whole article. It’s only 3 sentences though, and the original article reporting the body is 1 sentence.

It only took 8 days to identify that body. I’d think it would take longer if it was in as rough condition as the unidentified body.

But they were presumably found in a detention basin 10 days apart. I wonder if the first body was found in the Tropican basin as well... the GPS coordinate on Nameus and the basin are 18 min from each other with The Airport in between.

I also know, from an interesting doc on Vice, that there is a vast homeless network underground beneath Las Vegas, people living in the storm drains. Maybe these drainage basins are the entrances? That could be the case in the guy they identified, but I would think if a body could decompose to a skeleton it wouldn’t be around an area that has much foot traffic.

 

[kharismatic1]

The GPS coordinate is no where near a basin in general. It seems odd that there were two bodies found in that same location but it's possible that it's not the same location?

 

[kharismatic1]

I just searched "skeletal remains found las vegas detention basin" and that was the only one found in that entire year.

I don't trust that NAMUS would take that post down either. I've gone on their site for missing people and just looked up a few missing people from my area and found them not missing, alive and well on Facebook. AKA they returned and whoever uploaded to NAMUS didn't reach out to have the person removed.

 

[Laughing]

The GPS coordinate is no where near a basin in general. It seems odd that there were two bodies found in that same location but it's possible that it's not the same location?

NAMUS is an amazing resource and I am so very glad that we have access to the information!

However, the GPS map pin feature is sometimes problematic. In several cases, the GPS coordinates on NAMUS do not match addresses provided by LE.

I can't link to specific threads, mostly because I can't remember the town name or any useful identifiers. Maybe another poster is up for that today?

IIRC, the remains a deceased young lady were found in a commercial fishing pond in California, the specific NAMUS GPS pin is several miles from the pond per a local poster.

My family lives in New Mexico, several times the GPS pin on NAMUS does not match LE. Remains found in a rural area, pin downtown or the other way 'round.

I so appreciate access to NAMUS but the GPS map feature is perhaps not a strength.

JHMO YMMV LRR

 

[Suglo]

NAMUS is an amazing resource and I am so very glad that we have access to the information!

However, the GPS map pin feature is sometimes problematic. In several cases, the GPS coordinates on NAMUS do not match addresses provided by LE.

I can't link to specific threads, mostly because I can't remember the town name or any useful identifiers. Maybe another poster is up for that today?

IIRC, the remains a deceased young lady were found in a commercial fishing pond in California, the specific NAMUS GPS pin is several miles from the pond per a local poster.

My family lives in New Mexico, several times the GPS pin on NAMUS does not match LE. Remains found in a rural area, pin downtown or the other way 'round.

I so appreciate access to NAMUS but the GPS map feature is perhaps not a strength.

JHMO YMMV LRR

Agreed. I also remember that case of the Doe found in the pond near Stockton, CA. I can’t remember the names of other cases offhand right now either but I know that was not an anomaly.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the thread but fairly familiar with Steven’s case. I noticed that Ed Dentzel, the host of Unfound Podcast, was sharing some case files on his website this week, so I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware. The “information dump” (is what I am calling it ) consists of:

1. St. George, UT PD incident report re: Steven’s disappearance;

2. “security incident report” (“I think this corrects something that at least I have misunderstood for the last ten years. I thought the stolen vehicle on the landlord's property was found until AFTER Steven disappeared. This paperwork shows the vehicle was identified BEFORE Steven disappeared. In fact, 4 months before he disappeared in Las Vegas.” per Ed on his Unfound Podcast Discussion FB page);

3. Henderson, NV PD incident report, St. George, UT PD police report, call records, assets:
105 | Steven Koecher: A Personal Tale

I can hardly believe it has been almost eleven years .