NV NV - Steven T. Koecher, 30, Henderson, 13 Dec 2009 - # 1

Fairy1, you are right in that his car was found just over the wall from Anthem Pkwy. In terms of going north, it would go. . .Anthem Pkwy, wall, backyard of house, house, Savannah St, Steven's car. And the area where the car was found is "inside" the Anthem Pkwy Loop. . .but just barely inside. And also, yes. . .MLK and Craig is completely on the other side of the valley. But being seen at a busstop does not sound right to me. On the video, he is walking in the opposite direction of where he would have needed to get a bus. If he was going to get a bus, he would have backtracked up Savannah, not gone on to Evening Lights. And come to think of it, I don't even think a bus line goes down that far into Anthem. I would be surprised if anyone in Anthem even rides the bus. . .period.

Somebody brought up the issue of his car. . .was he behind on payments? Never thought of that. But just ditching it? That doesn't sound like something he would do given what we know about him from reports. And somebody also mentioned that the car is FlexFuel vehicle. . .is it? I don't think so. It's a 2003 Cavalier. . .did they even make Cavaliers in 2003? I think more accurately it's a Cobalt. And did they make those in FlexFuel varieties in 2003? That's like 7 years ago.

I think what is most confusing about this is is that we absolutely know he headed to Anthem with directions. . .specific directions. Who gave him the directions? Who knows. Why? Who knows. But the neighbors have to know SOMETHING. A car. A person. Strange new people next door but now they are gone. Strange activity for a few days. It's not like Steven was a prostitute who had been living off the streets for months. And when he disappears people are like "Well, that's what happens to those people." No. . .within four days, there was an alert out for him. The first thing I am sure authorities did was question every person on that street. And it shouldn't matter what happened. . .he dropped out of his life, he got attacked, he met some girl and they decided to tour the world, etc. . .the neighbors should at least know SOMETHING. ANYTHING. But still. . .a month later. . .he is gone. THAT is weird.

I have been going back through the course of my days around that time. What was I doing around Dec. 13. See, I am at a Starbuck's like 4 miles from there at least 3 times a week in the evenings. I go to a Chipotle up in that area. The place I tan at is in that area. I know it's a long, long, long, long shot. But did I see anything? I mean, it's so close to where I live I want to make sure I didn't miss something.

Well, we have all certainly sunk our teeth into a stumper.

Fairy1, to answer your specific question. . .the way he turns in the video he would be going away from Anthem Pkwy. Now, if he followed Evening Lights around to the next street, and followed that street, he would eventually be able to make a right and get back up to Anthem Pkwy. But, that is the LONG way around. And remember, he surely did not know those video cameras were there so there was no reason to try to throw anyone off.

fasteddy4 said:

Somebody brought up the issue of his car. . .was he behind on payments? Never thought of that. But just ditching it? That doesn't sound like something he would do given what we know about him from reports. And somebody also mentioned that the car is FlexFuel vehicle. . .is it? I don't think so. It's a 2003 Cavalier. . .did they even make Cavaliers in 2003? I think more accurately it's a Cobalt. And did they make those in FlexFuel varieties in 2003? That's like 7 years ago.

I think what is most confusing about this is is that we absolutely know he headed to Anthem with directions. . .specific directions. Who gave him the directions? Who knows. Why? Who knows. But the neighbors have to know SOMETHING. A car. A person. Strange new people next door but now they are gone. Strange activity for a few days. It's not like Steven was a prostitute who had been living off the streets for months. And when he disappears people are like "Well, that's what happens to those people." No. . .within four days, there was an alert out for him. The first thing I am sure authorities did was question every person on that street. And it shouldn't matter what happened. . .he dropped out of his life, he got attacked, he met some girl and they decided to tour the world, etc. . .the neighbors should at least know SOMETHING. ANYTHING. But still. . .a month later. . .he is gone. THAT is weird.

I have been going back through the course of my days around that time. What was I doing around Dec. 13. See, I am at a Starbuck's like 4 miles from there at least 3 times a week in the evenings. I go to a Chipotle up in that area. The place I tan at is in that area. I know it's a long, long, long, long shot. But did I see anything? I mean, it's so close to where I live I want to make sure I didn't miss something.

Well, we have all certainly sunk our teeth into a stumper.

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The car issue: KC Naegle said he went to a special/different gas station to buy "special hybrid gas" for his car, and that it wasn't sold just anywhere .. but hybrids don't use special gas. She then described it as being able to use two types of fuel, so that'd pretty much be a flex-fuel, wouldn't it? I just checked, and there IS such a thing as a Flex-Fuel 2003 Cavalier, which uses regular fuel or E85.

I'm not totally convinced he went there on purpose; I could drive to a strange town, make a few turns into a new neighborhood....and others would wonder how I found that street. But if he went there on purpose, I think he met someone.....and probably expected to be back home that evening.

How many other young men are missing in the LV area?

TO ALL:
Is this discussion legitimate, about his cellphone messages being retrieved a day after he disappeared, before his phone went dead? There's no attribution of where the info came from and I hadn't heard about that before:
Steve Koecher missing since 12/13/09

Laytonian, I would agree with you it is POSSIBLE that he just ended up there by accident. Maybe he was lost. . .who knows. But the thing that makes me think that is not true is that definitely in that second video you can see him speeding. . .well going the speed limit. . .down Savannah and then just as he gets to Evening Lights he slows down, very much like how someone would if they were looking for a particular street sign. And then he speed ups again and parks his car in the cul de sac.

I watched those videos again. There was something new that caught my eye. I do a lot of walking in my neighborhood. I just took it up a couple of months ago. Sometimes I walk in the morning before dawn, sometimes I walk in the afternoon. But in either case, when a car is approaching I look up and try to catch the driver's eye to make sure he sees me. Even when it is dark with the headlights in my eyes, I will look up to make sure the car sees me and isn't coming toward me.

But in that first video, he has his head down. Granted, the split second when the SUV passes Steven they are both just off camera to the right but a second later Steven is in frame and his head is down. . .and it stays down for a few seconds, almost looking like he is fumbling with something. He does not even turn around to see if the SUV is parking near his car. If it's me, I'm in a new area, I park my car in a cul de sac where we all know people don't usually park. . .I am going to pay close attention if I am walking away from my car and another car comes by. Maybe it's someone who is going to tell me to move my car, maybe it's the HOA of the community, maybe I am just curious on what that car is doing. . .but I am going to turn around if I care about my car.

But in Steven's case, to me, looking at that first video, he is avoiding contact with the driver of that SUV. I don't think he wanted to be seen. Head down. Walking the other way without looking over his shoulder to see if the SUV is stopping by his car. The body language is all wrong for someone who is walking on a street. He is not looking around. He is looking either down or straight ahead. It was a beautiful day. The sun was out. There are beautiful houses around him. And he seems to focused on just one thing. . .going wherever he is going without being noticed.

In fact, even when he starts down Evening Lights, that SUV would have been pulling up to that house on Savannah behind him. Not once in that second video does he ever turn around, not even to just be curious. He just keeps walking straight ahead. Head forward. If I'm walking and a car comes up behind me and parks, I'm going to turn around to see what's going on.

In fact, his footsteps are almost in beat. . .like marching. The body language is all wrong for someone who is taking a casual stroll. To me, it looks like a nervous walk. Has someone from his family watched the video to see if that is his "walk"? Granted, on the video you can't tell if it is him or not. But a walk is almost like a signature. . .it can rarely be copied. Every person has a unique strut or gait. Is that Steven's? To me it just seems from his walk that he has a thousand things going through his head.

Ok here's a few more facts I've been looking up.
There are no bank records of Steven making it to Sacramento prior to December 13. You'd think he'd have to buy gas at least once to get there and back. His mother believes he mentioned Sacramento as just an off hand remark. He has no family there.

Laytonian what behavior makes it look like he is dumping the car?

Steven did work for the Davis County Clipper. I'm not sure about the other place.

On his initial search of the area Steven's father found that the white SUV belongs to a real estate agent who works for the house that the SUV parked in front of. Apparently it's a coincidence that the SUV pulled up to the house just as Steven waked in front of it.

I kind of wonder if it's someone else ditching the car. Maybe instead of looking for a specific street, the person driving slowed down to look around quickly to see if there was anyone around outside that would notice him. Then, when he didn't see anyone out there he quickly looked for a place to park. The couple minutes that he was in the car could've been him looking around trying to make sure that he wasn't leaving anything behind that could be connected to him. Maybe even wiping the steering wheel clean?

fasteddy4 said:

I watched those videos again. There was something new that caught my eye. I do a lot of walking in my neighborhood. I just took it up a couple of months ago. Sometimes I walk in the morning before dawn, sometimes I walk in the afternoon. But in either case, when a car is approaching I look up and try to catch the driver's eye to make sure he sees me. Even when it is dark with the headlights in my eyes, I will look up to make sure the car sees me and isn't coming toward me.

But in that first video, he has his head down. Granted, the split second when the SUV passes Steven they are both just off camera to the right but a second later Steven is in frame and his head is down. . .and it stays down for a few seconds, almost looking like he is fumbling with something.

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Maybe he was texting someone?

About him not having GPS: Maybe he did, built into his cellphone. The newer smartphones all have it; even my iPod has it.

fasteddy4 said:

Fairy1, to answer your specific question. . .the way he turns in the video he would be going away from Anthem Pkwy. Now, if he followed Evening Lights around to the next street, and followed that street, he would eventually be able to make a right and get back up to Anthem Pkwy. But, that is the LONG way around. And remember, he surely did not know those video cameras were there so there was no reason to try to throw anyone off.

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Thank you again, fasteddy4. But I'm speaking about the location where his car was found. I'm sorry I can't link the map I was looking at (Google Maps), but the address Naegle gave us showed a house DIRECTLY on the other side of the wall from Anthem Parkway. If one were going south on the Anthem Parkway, where would it take you? I assume if one were going north, it would take you into Las Vegas proper.

Naegle said:

Ok here's a few more facts I've been looking up.
There are no bank records of Steven making it to Sacramento prior to December 13. You'd think he'd have to buy gas at least once to get there and back. His mother believes he mentioned Sacramento as just an off hand remark. He has no family there.

Laytonian what behavior makes it look like he is dumping the car?

Steven did work for the Davis County Clipper. I'm not sure about the other place.

On his initial search of the area Steven's father found that the white SUV belongs to a real estate agent who works for the house that the SUV parked in front of. Apparently it's a coincidence that the SUV pulled up to the house just as Steven waked in front of it.

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So no one's really sure if he went to Sacramento, then? If he did, is it possible he went with someone else? Does his landlord know anything? Did he have an actual apartment, or was he renting a room from someone, in their house?

The recommended route to Sacramento from St George, is through Vegas to Barstow, then Bakersfield to Sacrament. It's 690 miles; probably four tanks of gas.

The entire situation sounds like a car dump to me, and the person walking away (dressed in all white?) looks thinner than the pictures I've seen of Steven. If you're going to an address, why not park at the address....rather than at the end of a cul-de-sac and walk around to another street?

Thanks for the info on the SUV.

I suppose Steven's cellphone signal has been tracked, to determine where the phone was for the two days before it went dead? The cellphone company should be able to do that, with a subpoena.

Fairy1, use Google Maps but use the Satellite view. . .the Street view will only confuse you because it gives an Anthem pic for a Savannah Springs address. Must be some quirk in the system. To my knowledge, Steven's car was found 150ft. ENE of the address Naegle gave. That would put it at the SW end of Savannah Springs where the street ends at a cul de sac. . .a turn around. . .a circle. . .whatever you want to call it. It can be plainly seen with a Google Satellite view.

looneymama said:

I kind of wonder if it's someone else ditching the car. Maybe instead of looking for a specific street, the person driving slowed down to look around quickly to see if there was anyone around outside that would notice him. Then, when he didn't see anyone out there he quickly looked for a place to park. The couple minutes that he was in the car could've been him looking around trying to make sure that he wasn't leaving anything behind that could be connected to him. Maybe even wiping the steering wheel clean?

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I suppose this is possible, but there is no logical explanation why a stranger would go all the way out to Sun City Anthem to dump a car. It's waaaaaaaaaay out there - not in the city.

It appears that Steven parked his car a way away from where he was going. Why?

We see his car enter the cul-de-sact at approximately 11:56 AM - (is that correct?). Then we see him walking to wherever he was going at exactly 12:00 noon. That does make it seem he had a scheduled appointment, doesn't it?

Oh jeez. My head hurts!

I would also like to ask where the Sacramento reference came from. I don't recall...

Fairy1 also. . .Anthem is one BIG LOOP. There technically is no North and South, East or West because no matter what direction you end up at the same place. If you just drove on Anthem all day you would go in one continuous huge circle. There are only two exits "out" of Anthem. . .Eastern which runs North and South from one end of the valley to the other. Or. . .the Executive Airport Road. . .also known as Volunteer Road. . .it's kind of the back way in and out. Most people use Eastern. . .and it can be a HUGE mess around rush hour. I live closer to the Executive Airport Road so I took it when I went out there this evening. I believe Steven would have used Eastern because the Executive Airport is not the most convenient for most people. It's POSSIBLE but not probable that Steven used the Ex Airport Rd. All of this can be seen using Google Satellite Maps.

I messed up. . .the address that Naegle gave is 150ft ENE of the culde sac. . .not the opposite. So, Steven's car was found 150 ft. WSW of that address. You can see it on Google Satellite Maps.

fasteddy4 said:

Fairy1, use Google Maps but use the Satellite view. . .the Street view will only confuse you because it gives an Anthem pic for a Savannah Springs address. Must be some quirk in the system. To my knowledge, Steven's car was found 150ft. ENE of the address Naegle gave. That would put it at the SW end of Savannah Springs where the street ends at a cul de sac. . .a turn around. . .a circle. . .whatever you want to call it. It can be plainly seen with a Google Satellite view.

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I did! I looked at the "street view" also, which is shown from the Anthem Parkway side.

fasteddy4 said:

I messed up. . .the address that Naegle gave is 150ft ENE of the culde sac. . .not the opposite. So, Steven's car was found 150 ft. WSW of that address. You can see it on Google Satellite Maps.

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So, could one get there, in short order, from Anthem Parkway?

And if you entered the Anthem Parkway going south off Eastern and just kept going, you would just go in a circle back to Eastern?

For those who don't live here, I do believe Eastern Avenue, which originates in Las Vegas, becomes Anthem Parkway - which is forked out in Sun City/Henderson.

Am I correct fasteddy4?

Steven was in Vegas a month ago or a month before he went missing and stopped by an old friends parents house. The friend was not home, but he visited with her parents for a few hours. He told them he was on the way to Sacramento. Do we know what he was doing in Vegas that time? Why would he say Sacramento...in passing? That seems weird right there. Sounds like his parents are being a bit naive.

Also, another website states that someone called voice mail from his phone. Naegle, do we know this to be true?

If the SUV is the Realtor, did that person remember ANYTHING? Seemed to me like they were watching him. Did they say if he went to a house, kept walking, saw another car waiting for him? I thought there was another car in the video. Am I just seeing things? Maybe that car is the "other" person. Are there rules in that HOA about parking in front of houses overnight? If someone knows the rules, they could have told him to park there because then no one would get a violation if he was going to park there for a period of time. If someone that I was going to visit or go on a short trip with told me that, I would buy it given how HOA's are.

Naegle, could you verify if the family has stated if they think that is him or not...maybe we can at least dispel the theory that it was someone else?

Also, the owner/or other renter of the house where he was living posted on another blog. She and her husband stayed at the house when they were in town, and the remaining rooms were rented to Steven and another guy. The other guy bailed and after they finally got into his room, it was clear he used pot (she mentioned that, so I will also). She said that Steven was behind, but was working with them or DH (not sure who that is) to catch up. They said the bills were in their name and they were paying them. The rent was only $400 a month. Sounds like he was making money, so if he was behind on the $400, what was he doing with his money????

Maybe there is something more to the Sacramento thing and authorities there need to be notified. At least something put in the papers or online newspapers. Just a thought. I don't think he would make something like that up.

There are missing links here. Do you have his bank records? Are there any 800 numbers, chat lines, websites...that he was using his card for? His his mother was able to transfer money to his account, that means she was able to see it too probably. So maybe he had another card that people did not know about????

His FB page has a mention from an Amarillo, TX friend,wondering if maybe
he tried to hitch a ride down to Amarillo. Just trying out any idea I think.

laytonian said:

The entire situation sounds like a car dump to me

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A car dump would imply insurance fraud. What good is insurance fraud for Koecher? It's not like he is going to collect a check for the proceeds.

If he just wanted to be relieved of payments, there are more efficient ways to accomplish this.

CONCRNED CTZN said:

Steven was in Vegas a month ago or a month before he went missing and stopped by an old friends parents house. The friend was not home, but he visited with her parents for a few hours. He told them he was on the way to Sacramento. Do we know what he was doing in Vegas that time? Why would he say Sacramento...in passing? That seems weird right there. Sounds like his parents are being a bit naive.

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If I recall correctly, the visit to the friends house was on December 8th. So it was actually less than a week before he disappeared. You bring up a good point why was he in the area at that time? You'd think that would have been brought up during conversation when he was talking to the parents.

Any one know the dates Steven worked for the Salt Lake Tribune. I know I have seen them, but having trouble finding them now.

ETA: Found them. No need to search.