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

[velvta]

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.

I am the one who wrote that. I came here to add this theory to the thread, and here it is already posted. Weird

I've done a little research (very little) into the job of servicing foreclosures, and it does appear that lenders/law firms rely on contracted people, and they often just get people through Craigslist. Anyway, I'd really like to read others' opinions of my idea. And one thing I left out was that he was there on a Sunday, which is odd for a devoutly religious person to be working on, but he was in need of income. But Sunday is a popular day for finding people trying to evade police, car repossession, lawsuit notice delivery..etc, because people are at home on Sundays. More than any other day of the week, Sunday is just the day most people have off, or will be with family. This fact is common knowledge among people whose job it is to find people that don't want to be found.

 

[tarabull]

Welcome velvta thanks for joining us....

Arriving to find your post seems like serendipity to me lol

I like your theory, I bet I'm not the only one.

 

[JnRyan]

I believe the foreclosure notice is a very good possibility. It appears that he may have going to a house or houses in the subdivision and did not want to announce his presence by parking in front of the house. I have one downside to that possibility and that is if he was doing it for a legitimate entity such as a law firm, why didn't they report him missing?

Could he have unwittingly been a 'cut-out', a deniable 'go-between' for someone where he is delivering something such as a document? He may have thought everything was on the legit side, but if he is delivering something such as a correspondence in a sealed envelope could the receiving party have taken it out on him? If he was delivering something there is something strange about parking his car away from the residence and whoever Steven is on an errand for doesn't step forward to say, "He was acting as a courier for us.". I suppose a legal entity that had him doing something entirely legal might want to avoid a law suit from the family, but it is still suspicious.

Along those lines I believe I've read that Steven did not have any calls to or from unknown or unidentified numbers. So whatever process Steven was involved may have been face-to-face and not over the phone? (Could he have had an undiscovered 'burner' phone he was given for only calls to whoever sent him on the mission?) I believe I also read, but I can't find it now, that Steven did not have a computer but he conducted his computer work/business on library computers. If that is so, then that may be that is where the contact was made and directions were provided.

 

[tarabull]

Ironically the proposed theory is actually similar to a current headline...

FWIW, IT happens!

Body found in search for missing debt collector who vanished while going door-to-door

ETA: IF this was the case with Steven, why hasn't anyone come forward to say he was a collector for them....or maybe someone has come forward???

 

[JnRyan]

Ironically the proposed theory is actually similar to a current headline...

FWIW, IT happens!

Body found in search for missing debt collector who vanished while going door-to-door

ETA: IF this was the case with Steven, why hasn't anyone come forward to say he was a collector for them....or maybe someone has come forward???

Debt collectors going door-to-door? In the UK maybe, but I haven't seen it here or heard of it. They usually use the phone or mail to contact those who owe money.

BUT, your point that if Steven was doing a job for someone why haven't they come forward is a valid one, regardless whether it was debt collection, foreclosure notices or whatever. Fear of a law suit? Using illegal or unethical means to conduct their business?

 

[tarabull]

Debt collectors going door-to-door? In the UK maybe, but I haven't seen it here or heard of it. They usually use the phone or mail to contact those who owe money.

BUT, your point that if Steven was doing a job for someone why haven't they come forward is a valid one, regardless whether it was debt collection, foreclosure notices or whatever. Fear of a law suit? Using illegal or unethical means to conduct their business?

I only posted the story from the UK because of the theory posted today up thread by velvta...FWIW.

Cheers.

 

[JnRyan]

I only posted the story from the UK because of the theory posted today up thread by velvta...FWIW.

Cheers.

Got it! I think we're both onboard with the basic premise that someone may have been paying Steven to perform some service for them and they told him it was all legal and on the up-and-up, when in reality it may not have been. Or there was an element of risk that was not fully disclosed.

There has been a theory he was involved in illegal drug distribution and that got him killed. The drug theory just seemed to be the obvious reason to end up murdered. But he a devout member of the Church of LDS and didn't drink or do illegal drugs. There might be another thing he was involved in such as money laundering, but he was told he was doing something else. Las Vegas is known for organized crime connections.

 

[tarabull]

I am picking up what you are laying down JnRyan...

Where is Steven after 9.5 years?????????????????

 

[Mmeclh]

As JnRyan pointed out, the biggest issue with the foreclosure notice theory is why hasn't anyone come forward to say that Steven was working for them serving notices. In addition even if it was some kind of shady loosely defined business, you'd think that one of the homeowners Steven might have served would have remembered him? I would hope that the cities (such as Springville, UT, Overton, NV) that Steven visited on his random seeming road trips were checked out and posters of him were passed out, but then again who knows... Maybe there's a better chance of people having seen him in those places than in Henderson where is car ultimately ended up. I'm not sure myself but just throwing ideas out there.

 

[spikeelvis]

Debt collectors going door-to-door? In the UK maybe, but I haven't seen it here or heard of it. They usually use the phone or mail to contact those who owe money.

BUT, your point that if Steven was doing a job for someone why haven't they come forward is a valid one, regardless whether it was debt collection, foreclosure notices or whatever. Fear of a law suit? Using illegal or unethical means to conduct their business?

In the early 70's I would knock on doors to collect for a finance company in Detroit. It got a bit hairy at times. I don't know if that is still done.

 

[Laughing]

Can't find the post, but wasn't the landlord involved in distributing prescription drugs, but records were -- lacking, IIRC?

Steven may have been making deliveries the he believed were legit.

Still wanna know more about The Landlord....

 

[SassyBenton]

Hi fellow sleuthers,


Been a long time since I’ve been on here but I’ve never stopped thinking about this case. I came across something very interesting today and wanted to share. I’ve made a habit of searching Youtube every so often for videos about Steven and always read the comments to see if anyone has anything interesting to say. Today I found a video titled “Where is Steven Koecher? Where was he going?” by a woman named Shauna Rae. The video was okay BUT the really interesting part came afterwards in the comments section. A woman w/ the initials AJ stated that she was one of the last people to see Steven alive, it was her family’s house that recorded him walking down the street. She claims that Steven’s parents returned to Las Vegas last month and shared that Steven’s body had been FOUND in the desert outside of Las Vegas. When asked further about it she said she believed the family wasn’t making it publicly known and was keeping it mostly to themselves.


Now I know I must take everything I read in those comments sections with a huge grain of salt but IF his body was found, would the family be able to keep it from the public since it’s an official missing persons case? I just checked Namus and he’s still on there but it says the file was updated on 5/31/18.


Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[carbuff]

I dunno. Could be. Family members have not been saying much at all.

 

[SassyBenton]

I dunno. Could be. Family members have not been saying much at all.

The YouTube commenter is using her real name and actually lives in the area where he disappeared and has a lot of family in the area so it makes me wonder if she’s legit, seems like it.

IF he was found and the family is keeping it quiet I’m leaning towards suicide as cause of death as it seems like if it were a murder law enforcement would’ve made some kind of statement about it by now.

 

[Ali.]

Hi fellow sleuthers,


Been a long time since I’ve been on here but I’ve never stopped thinking about this case. I came across something very interesting today and wanted to share. I’ve made a habit of searching Youtube every so often for videos about Steven and always read the comments to see if anyone has anything interesting to say. Today I found a video titled “Where is Steven Koecher? Where was he going?” by a woman named Shauna Rae. The video was okay BUT the really interesting part came afterwards in the comments section. A woman w/ the initials AJ stated that she was one of the last people to see Steven alive, it was her family’s house that recorded him walking down the street. She claims that Steven’s parents returned to Las Vegas last month and shared that Steven’s body had been FOUND in the desert outside of Las Vegas. When asked further about it she said she believed the family wasn’t making it publicly known and was keeping it mostly to themselves.


Now I know I must take everything I read in those comments sections with a huge grain of salt but IF his body was found, would the family be able to keep it from the public since it’s an official missing persons case? I just checked Namus and he’s still on there but it says the file was updated on 5/31/18.


Anyone have any thoughts?

If that comment is true, I'm thinking it's not officially confirmed yet. Maybe there were personal items found with remains that make them believe it's Steven but awaiting DNA confirmation.

 

[SassyBenton]

If that comment is true, I'm thinking it's not officially confirmed yet. Maybe there were personal items found with remains that make them believe it's Steven but awaiting DNA confirmation.

Hmm, good point.

 

[fridaybaker]

Isn't it news that the person who owned the house whose video captured SK actually saw him? I don't remember hearing that before. I suppose that means that he/she saw him on the street that day? Or somewhere else? Hmm.

 

[timsmith]

Isn't it news that the person who owned the house whose video captured SK actually saw him? I don't remember hearing that before. I suppose that means that he/she saw him on the street that day? Or somewhere else? Hmm.

That's how I interpreted it as well. I mean, was he/she looking out the window and saw Steven? Also, he/she stated that Steven's parents came back to the area a couple of weeks before the posting. However, his father has been deceased since 2011. Unless it was another older male relative? If his remains had been found, at some point a death date needs to be recorded (either 2009 or the year of discovery-2018. I don't know how that works). I really don't know what to make of that post. I just hope that's not a cruel prank.

 

[carbuff]

The YouTube commenter is using her real name and actually lives in the area where he disappeared and has a lot of family in the area so it makes me wonder if she’s legit, seems like it.

IF he was found and the family is keeping it quiet I’m leaning towards suicide as cause of death as it seems like if it were a murder law enforcement would’ve made some kind of statement about it by now.

Meaning no offense to the other poster, who I'm sure is sincere--but being sincere and legit don't necessarily mean a person is correct.

 

[SassyBenton]

Does anyone on here know anything about Namus? I just checked Steven’s profile and it was updated again on 6/4/18. I know it may be nothing but why would it be updated on 5/30/18 and then again on 6/4/18 if there’s nothing new involving the case? Last year a case I had been following for years was solved and one indication we got before it was announced was that the person’s Namus page, which hadn’t changed in years, suddenly was updated and a week later we got official word that the case had been solved.