NV NV - Steven T. Koecher, 30, Henderson, 13 Dec 2009 - # 5

[liz b.]

IMHO this mystery will probably be solved when LE looks on SK's google searches at the public library. After all, he could not have "wiped " that hard drive clean..... I wonder if Steven's parents have been informed of the search results already ?
I remember when Chandra Levy disappeared ; there were all kinds of theories as to where she had gone. But, her last internet searches were for Rock Creek Park, and that is where she was ultimately found. Occum's Razor usually has the answer. JMO

 

[laytonian]

IMHO this mystery will probably be solved when LE looks on SK's google searches at the public library. After all, he could not have "wiped " that hard drive clean..... I wonder if Steven's parents have been informed of the search results already ?
I remember when Chandra Levy disappeared ; there were all kinds of theories as to where she had gone. But, her last internet searches were for Rock Creek Park, and that is where she was ultimately found. Occum's Razor usually has the answer. JMO

....and if the searchers had really looked as hard as they said they did, they'd have found her right away. With evidence. Supposedly, that park had been fine-toothed combed...but obviously was not.

(Same with the Elizabeth Smart case...where the searchers didn't go up the little canyons)

 

[believe09]

Are there any bodies of water within walking distance from where Steven parked his car? Was Steven known to own a gun? How remote of a possibility do you guys, who are closer to this case than I, think it is Steven might have committed suicide? Sorry if this has been examined before. I have been trying to keep up with the threads.

Hey G!!!!!! Yes there was water within walking distance and no one from the family has indicated that Steven owned and carried a gun. Steven's family reports that while he was down in the dumps regarding his job prospects, he was generally upbeat. Steven did an an intensive drive in the week prior to his disappearance....capoly did a cool map and laytonian did a great time line....watch the video if you get a chance and see if you think the man depicted was on his way to do himself in....

 

[hollyblue]

We are not positive that he had his PP or BC with him in the portfolio. If he didn't, where were they or who could have them? And why? Just a thought....

 

[believe09]

....and if the searchers had really looked as hard as they said they did, they'd have found her right away. With evidence. Supposedly, that park had been fine-toothed combed...but obviously was not.

(Same with the Elizabeth Smart case...where the searchers didn't go up the little canyons)

Same with the Jody King case where the search dogs went to the fence line of Mass Mutual and LE turned them back....

 

[believe09]

If Steven was going to do away with himself, why carry his portfolio and cell phone at all? If his motivation for going to that area was to end his own life, the pieces do not fit for me.

If he went there for a job/interview and it didnt work out, who knows...

 

[laytonian]

If Steven was going to do away with himself, why carry his portfolio and cell phone at all? If his motivation for going to that area was to end his own life, the pieces do not fit for me.

If he went there for a job/interview and it didnt work out, who knows...

Unless the portfolio contained the instrument of self-destruction?

Certainly, LE's been able to get historical records from craigslist and local newspapers regarding "job opportunities". I can almost see Steven falling for one of the Utah-centric get-rich-quick/MLM/ponzi schemes, and then having to sell it to others.

 

[Lato]

Notes I made while reading the threads already posted.

My first thoughts about Steven - here is a young man under enormous pressure. He is not working full time, he has moved away from family, he does not have the funds to keep his apartment for much longer, his father knows that he is behind in rent (usually embarrassing for most men to have their father know), he is not using the money his grandmother and mother have given him, He has a recent payment of $100 from his current boss.

He has a strong faith and is very much a part of his church group. He has a family that loves him. Christmas and all of the family gatherings are right ahead of him. He appears to have bought his niece and nephews each a small gift.

At this point I think of him going in circles, driving from one place to another, thinking about his life and what he can do about it. I see him desperate to be successful, to be in the right groove. I don't think he wants to go to a family gathering unless he has a job and is dating and is paying the rent. It is less than two weeks until Christmas.

I did not think "gay". I know single men and women who work first and have marriage and family later. I read what I could about LDS as this is such a part of his life. I find the fact that the two men were in LV that Sunday very strange. I suspect that it would be unusual for both of them to be absent from church on the same day.

Now I don't know. I think the immediate answer may be on the tapes from the day he went missing. The tape ends so abruptly. I feel like I am left standing in the middle of the street in SCA. A few more minutes might take him to one of the homes or to a car waiting for him or to that space between the homes that leads to the golf course or ???

Laytonian, I think the article you provided, SinglesWardHopper, sounds like
SK - but this man has a job and income, and that alone is not the answer either.

 

[laytonian]

Laytonian, I think the article you provided, SinglesWardHopper, sounds like
SK - but this man has a job and income, and that alone is not the answer either.

True. I didn't post it, believing it was SK....but it's a bit of a clue as to thinking. Another article I read, said that "before they get to singles ward, all the 'good ones' are gone" (meaning the beauty queens, gymnasts and high achievers are already pledged to someone, usually a man headed into the mission field).

In fact, "all the good ones" is such a known phrase, that Google turned up 4,640 hits for this search: "singles ward" "all the good ones"

Anyone who's kept up with the Susan Powell case, knows that she was considered singles ward fodder, at the tender age of 18....which is where she met her, uh......Josh.

I think it can be a joyous place, but also a bit hopeless...especially for those hitting the 30-32 limit.

 

[carbuff]

People are harder to find than you think they are. They're smaller, they fit into smaller spaces, they blend in with the scenery, get covered up by dirt and leaves, disappear into briar patches. I was part of a group trying to find a missing hunter lo these many years ago. He had fallen and hurt himself, sliding down a steep bank into some brush. I wasn't part of the group that found him, but several of us walked past the slide more than once and hadn't been able to see him. He was only located when he was able to make enough noise to attract attention.

 

[laytonian]

People are harder to find than you think they are. They're smaller, they fit into smaller spaces, they blend in with the scenery, get covered up by dirt and leaves, disappear into briar patches. I was part of a group trying to find a missing hunter lo these many years ago. He had fallen and hurt himself, sliding down a steep bank into some brush. I wasn't part of the group that found him, but several of us walked past the slide more than once and hadn't been able to see him. He was only located when he was able to make enough noise to attract attention.

....and if they get cold, they hide in crevices.

We had a famous case a few years ago, of a mother and daughter getting lost in the Uintahs after they got caught in bad weather. The rental car was parked right at the trailhead, but they couldn't be found. Their skeletal remains were found only because they'd been scattered by animals; most of what remained, was in a little crevice where they'd huddled. And searchers had walked right by their bodies.

There's also the Nov '08 Rose Backhaus case. She drove from Colorado to Utah, to hike alone and as far as anyone knew, she was in Moab. That's where she stayed one night. It took almost a week to find her car in Goblin Valley, far away from Moab, off-route. Lots of searchers, no evidence of a crime. Six months later, her remains were found on a ledge in a small slot canyon, where'd she been huddled for a few days before she died.
http://www.denverpost.com/nationalpolitics/ci_12256432

 

[seekingsusan]

I want to know what happened between the time Steven is seen walking out of video frame and December 14th when he (or someone else) checks his voicemail. I truly believe it was Steven checking his voicemail. I think most perps would realize that cell phone records are one of the first things to get searched in missing person/homicide cases and they can pinpoint location, so why even mess with the phone? Plus, unless Steven had some important piece of private information on his voicemail, what perp checks someones messages? Also, if someone found his phone, why would they check the messages - it's unlikely they will be able to determine ownership based on the messages. Wouldn't you just call some of the last few phone numbers used on the phone and say "Hey I just found this phone"?

 

[laytonian]

I want to know what happened between the time Steven is seen walking out of video frame and December 14th when he (or someone else) checks his voicemail. I truly believe it was Steven checking his voicemail. I think most perps would realize that cell phone records are one of the first things to get searched in missing person/homicide cases and they can pinpoint location, so why even mess with the phone? Plus, unless Steven had some important piece of private information on his voicemail, what perp checks someones messages? Also, if someone found his phone, why would they check the messages - it's unlikely they will be able to determine ownership based on the messages. Wouldn't you just call some of the last few phone numbers used on the phone and say "Hey I just found this phone"?

Maybe someone found it, and checked the messages to see if the owner had called his own phone? "Hey, if you find my phone....." then it went dead. So they took it home, threw it in a drawer, and forgot about it. OR....they later found out it might belong to a missing person, and not wanting to get involved...they toss it out.

If it was found, I'll bet it was a kid who found it. But I'm betting it's with Steven, and you're correct.

Wish we knew the exact location of the last "hit". If LE keeps searching around the Anthem rough, doesn't that tell us where the phone was, last time it was used? LE doesn't seem to be searching anywhere else....and certainly, the cellphone company has told them the location of the last bounce from his phone.

BUT BUT BUT: In the Rose Backhaus case I mentioned a couple of posts down, HER cellphone pinged off a Taos, NM cellphone tower....and if you find Goblin Valley, Utah on the map....that's a long way from Taos. That would be called "a skip", I guess.

 

[carbuff]

....and if they get cold, they hide in crevices.

We had a famous case a few years ago, of a mother and daughter getting lost in the Uintahs after they got caught in bad weather. The rental car was parked right at the trailhead, but they couldn't be found. Their skeletal remains were found only because they'd been scattered by animals; most of what remained, was in a little crevice where they'd huddled. And searchers had walked right by their bodies.

There's also the Nov '08 Rose Backhaus case. She drove from Colorado to Utah, to hike alone and as far as anyone knew, she was in Moab. That's where she stayed one night. It took almost a week to find her car in Goblin Valley, far away from Moab, off-route. Lots of searchers, no evidence of a crime. Six months later, her remains were found on a ledge in a small slot canyon, where'd she been huddled for a few days before she died.
http://www.denverpost.com/nationalpolitics/ci_12256432

I remember hearing about Rose Backhaus. Very tragic.

I guess I'm wondering whether Steven was sufficiently distraught -- say he did have an interview that went poorly -- that he could have tried to walk to calm himself down, become disoriented, and lost himself in the desert around that development?

 

[NicoleinVegas]

So this article makes Fox News:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584774,00.html?test=latestnews

That happened in Henderson yesterday. Why hasn't SK's disappearance been on there? I don't understand it.

 

[laytonian]

I remember hearing about Rose Backhaus. Very tragic.

I guess I'm wondering whether Steven was sufficiently distraught -- say he did have an interview that went poorly -- that he could have tried to walk to calm himself down, become disoriented, and lost himself in the desert around that development?

Or maybe he was down to his last penny of the $100, convinced himself he was a failure, DIDN'T REALIZE his family had given him money in his account (because it was the weekend and he'd been crazy-travelling the past few days????) and walked into the desert "to think"?

He'd have to walk quite aways to get away from the homes (and not be able to get back)...but if he stayed out overnight (checking phone messages the next day), he'd already be a victim of exposure because he left his coat(s) in the car.

There's always the possibility of an injury that hobbled him, and kept him in one place.

Oh....I don't like thinking this way.

 

[NotNoseyObservant]

Yes. Remember I come from a long line of denture checkers.

NNO, do you (or anyone else) remember the name of the neighbor, who saw Steven at his home for about 20-30 minutes, on Dec 12th? I've been looking..........

I don't remember - You're talking about when he helped those girls that were locked out right?

 

[NotNoseyObservant]

I want to know what happened between the time Steven is seen walking out of video frame and December 14th when he (or someone else) checks his voicemail. I truly believe it was Steven checking his voicemail. I think most perps would realize that cell phone records are one of the first things to get searched in missing person/homicide cases and they can pinpoint location, so why even mess with the phone? Plus, unless Steven had some important piece of private information on his voicemail, what perp checks someones messages? Also, if someone found his phone, why would they check the messages - it's unlikely they will be able to determine ownership based on the messages. Wouldn't you just call some of the last few phone numbers used on the phone and say "Hey I just found this phone"?

I agree & don't most VM ask you for a password- at least mine does even when calling from my cell phone itself.

 

[carbuff]

Or maybe he was down to his last penny of the $100, convinced himself he was a failure, DIDN'T REALIZE his family had given him money in his account (because it was the weekend and he'd been crazy-travelling the past few days????) and walked into the desert "to think"?

He'd have to walk quite aways to get away from the homes (and not be able to get back)...but if he stayed out overnight (checking phone messages the next day), he'd already be a victim of exposure because he left his coat(s) in the car.

There's always the possibility of an injury that hobbled him, and kept him in one place.

Oh....I don't like thinking this way.

The money that wasn't touched is one of the things that makes me think he may have wanted to just get away from everything. "I won't touch their money. I'll show them I can make it on my own."

 

[laytonian]

I don't remember - You're talking about when he helped those girls that were locked out right?

I found the guy's name, finally.

I meant the neighbor who watched as Steven arrived home at about 10:00pm on the 12th, and pull back out again about 20-30 minutes later.
John S -- just couldn't remember the entire name. I was just curious about IF he could have seen him and why he'd be outside so long, then I looked at the neighborhood again and saw a house with a picnic table and sofas(?) in the front yard.