AK - Samantha Koenig, 18, Anchorage, 1 Feb 2012 - #2

[Jersey*Girl]

Attention to a mod:

One of Samantha's good friends is involved with a guy that has a huge interest in the occult. While I may find this creepy, others may not, but either way it's huge & has a large following. Anyway, this friend of Sam's has been mentioned in the media on numerous occasions. It appears she may socialize with the goth underbelly of Anchorage. I haven't searched records on her boyfriend yet but it's downright creepy the crap that he's interested in. Seems as though his gf (Sam's friend) has similar interests. Are we allowed to sleuth this avenue since she's been named in the media? Or should we leave it alone?

 

[Jersey*Girl]

ASARA

http://alaskasar.org/

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Alaska Search & Rescue Dogs
200 Wst 34th Ave. #566
Anchorage, AK. 99503
Phone: (907) 275-DOGS (3647)
Site: www.asard.org
Email: info@asard.org

ASARD's mission is to furnish highly trained volunteer teams of dogs and dog handlers for search and rescue work, for the benefit and welfare of the community. ASARD is a statewide volunteer search and rescue (SAR) unit, based in Anchorage. For over 20 years ASARD has assisted the Alaska State Troopers as well as additional federal, state, and local agencies on SAR emergencies. ASARD dog teams respond on average to 25 SAR missions in the greater Anchorage Bowl and around the State of Alaska. ASARD teams have volunteer hundreds of hours each year assisting in search and rescue operations lost and missing persons. ASARD continues to provide qualified search and rescue teams 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, and play an important role in Alaska's search and rescue response system. ASARD teams have operational standards in avalanche, wilderness, human remains detection / water search, disaster and tracking.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Anchorage Police Depart Auxiliary Search Team
PO Box 242883
Anchorage, AK 99524
Phone: (907) 222-6142
Email: info@apdst.org

The Anchorage Police Department (APD) is a non-profit organization of volunteers. The primary mission is to assist the in locating and rendering aid to persons reported lost or missing within the APD service district. Other areas of support include evidence searches, natural or man-made disasters, and public or special events.

History

ADPST was established in 1999 in Anchorage Alaska. We have 37 members. Our strengths are in urban searches, moderate field searches. We search for evidence and missing persons. We are also involved in Project Life Saver, where we tract missing people electronically. We participate in both classroom and field trainings upgrading skills on a regular basis.

Affiliations

Project Lifesaver - Project Lifesaver International
National Association for Search & Rescue (NASAR)
Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS)
Alaska Community Share

 

[Wondergirl]

What was wrong with the way the women that were working at Common Grounds were dress? Most of the pictures show women dressed no different than the way you would see women dressed to work at any other retail establishment that does not have uniforms for their employees to wear.

Some pictures were fun or seasonal pictures where the women dressed up in costume for Halloween, Christmas or some other holiday like St. Patrick's day. I didn't think any of the pictures were distasteful or sleazy.

What I meant by cleaning up fb was pictures had been deleted, not cleaning up bad pictures. Some of the current or past employees of Common Grounds might have asked to have the pictures deleted that showed themselves on fb also regardless of what they were wearing since Sam was abducted also. Just as a safety measure for their own sake..


I don't think the reason Sam was abducted has anything to do with the pictures on fb. I didn't see any pictures posted on fb of Sam while she was working at the Common Grounds before her abduction. She was supposedly only working there about a month.

JMO

We could debate till the cows come home about seductive/appropriate dress at work etc.

It is my opinion that the young ladies (are there any male barristas?) that are hired at the coffee shacks, are part of the fun and inviting atmosphere and culture, of the coffee shack.

The pictures of the girls did not look like a typical Starbucks barrista, or Dunkin' Donuts employee, in my opinion. Like I said, I don't get the whole shack thing, and the locals could possibly shed more light on this subject, but, I am speculating that there was a bit more of a "sexy sells" to the coffee shacks, and that was a competitive advantage over other coffee places. Of course, there would be other advantages as well, like drive-thru, location etc. Maybe I am totally wrong here, I don't know. It just "appears" like that to me, and was reinforced when I looked at those pictures.

It is possible that was part of the motive for the abductor. He knew he would find a pretty, young barrista in the shack, alone. Just throwing it out there.

 

[Wondergirl]

One more thing.

Perps DEFINITELY monitor Facebook and use it as a research tool for victims. 100% this happens.

Facebook may not have been used in this case, but, it was in a recent high profile serial killer case in Canada.

So, it is definitley not implausible that the perp may have planned this crime, and used tools available to do so, including casing the shack, and going on the Facebook Page for the Common Grounds, and/or Samantha.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Hi Wondergirl


From my understanding, Common Grounds isn't like some other coffee huts that have bikini clad baristas working for them. From the pictures I've seen, the girls that work for Common Grounds dress like kid's that work at a Walmart, Abercrombie, small town diner, Dairy Queen, etc. I think it's just the common theme among this generation to show their bellies, hence their piercings. I don't think they were dressed like that in the winter. There is a coffee hut chain that has their employees wear bikinis. Plus, Hooters is right across the street from Common Grounds & they always have their employees on their websites. With Hooters being right across the street, knowing what Sam had on compared to a Hooters gal, why would the perp go after Sam instead? Hooters is open much later & it's much less busy when they do close, so why would the perp kidnap Sam around 8:00 pm if it was spur of the moment? She def wasn't dressed as sexy as a Hooters girl, nowhere near as sexy. For as small as Common Grounds is, and where it's located, they had great surveillance especially in conjunction with The Alaska Club's cameras, so why would the perp choose Sam? I personally think she was scoped out, scouted and I don't believe it had anything to do with her clothes. I wore less when I worked at Hooters in Orlando years ago.

 

[MDATCA]

I have not read every post so IDK if this has been posted before or not.

Is it possible that she was taking out the trash when she was targeted? To me that explains why she hadn't quite finished up closing for the night. Maybe she made coffee for her and her BF and had her stuff all packed up and ready to go. Maybe she unlocked the door to take it out and came back in to do the last few things quickly while she waited for her BF to get there and forgot to lock back up. She heard someone come in and thought it was her bf at first and took a moment to realize it wasn't. Maybe they had a weapon and forced her to leave and lock the door so it wouldn't seem to the next shift to be more than a bad job closing? That could be why she had her coat on and not her belongings with her. I guess we won't know unless they solve it or releaase the video.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

I have not read every post so IDK if this has been posted before or not.

Is it possible that she was taking out the trash when she was targeted? To me that explains why she hadn't quite finished up closing for the night. Maybe she made coffee for her and her BF and had her stuff all packed up and ready to go. Maybe she unlocked the door to take it out and came back in to do the last few things quickly while she waited for her BF to get there and forgot to lock back up. She heard someone come in and thought it was her bf at first and took a moment to realize it wasn't. Maybe they had a weapon and forced her to leave and lock the door so it wouldn't seem to the next shift to be more than a bad job closing? That could be why she had her coat on and not her belongings with her. I guess we won't know unless they solve it or releaase the video.

Darn right it's possible.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

I have not read every post so IDK if this has been posted before or not.

Is it possible that she was taking out the trash when she was targeted? To me that explains why she hadn't quite finished up closing for the night. Maybe she made coffee for her and her BF and had her stuff all packed up and ready to go. Maybe she unlocked the door to take it out and came back in to do the last few things quickly while she waited for her BF to get there and forgot to lock back up. She heard someone come in and thought it was her bf at first and took a moment to realize it wasn't. Maybe they had a weapon and forced her to leave and lock the door so it wouldn't seem to the next shift to be more than a bad job closing? That could be why she had her coat on and not her belongings with her. I guess we won't know unless they solve it or releaase the video.

Great question regarding the possibility that Sam was taking out the trash. She would be more vulnerable outside the stand, and this could explain why her coat was taken, but not some of her other possessions!

 

[Jersey*Girl]

I have a question for anybody from the area around Anchorage...

I'm looking at the businesses near The Alaska Club Midtown, where Common Grounds is located. I'm seeing Hooters closed in 2008! I didn't know, was basing my opinion on what I read on here about the surrounding businesses. Has it reopened bc I don't see that it has. When I search 701 East Tudor, there are several businesses but 1 of them is a psychiatric clinic. Would this clinic be the kind that assists with counseling as well as drug rehab therapy? This is directly across the street from Common Grounds or no? I'm trying to figure out the lay of the correct map. Many thanks!

:blowkiss:

 

[Janeumayer]

I have not read every post so IDK if this has been posted before or not.

Is it possible that she was taking out the trash when she was targeted? To me that explains why she hadn't quite finished up closing for the night. Maybe she made coffee for her and her BF and had her stuff all packed up and ready to go. Maybe she unlocked the door to take it out and came back in to do the last few things quickly while she waited for her BF to get there and forgot to lock back up. She heard someone come in and thought it was her bf at first and took a moment to realize it wasn't. Maybe they had a weapon and forced her to leave and lock the door so it wouldn't seem to the next shift to be more than a bad job closing? That could be why she had her coat on and not her belongings with her. I guess we won't know unless they solve it or releaase the video.

Wow, never thought of this simple answer. Thanks, MDATCA!!!

 

[ak81]

Hi Wondergirl


From my understanding, Common Grounds isn't like some other coffee huts that have bikini clad baristas working for them. From the pictures I've seen, the girls that work for Common Grounds dress like kid's that work at a Walmart, Abercrombie, small town diner, Dairy Queen, etc.

I don't know if this will even work to attach this (such a newbie!) but Michelle Duncan, the owner of Common Grounds, has prided herself on NOT having bikini baristas, as this article shows. (Her grandmother wrote a letter to the editor in the Anchorage Daily News, and a photo of it appears on Michelle's FB page).
This has been a topic of debate in Anchorage, since a columnist at the paper (Julie O'Malley) wrote an article about the bikini baristas in January. Some are practically blaming her for the abduction, since she brought this issue into the public spotlight.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

I don't know if this will even work to attach this (such a newbie!) but Michelle Duncan, the owner of Common Grounds, has prided herself on NOT having bikini baristas, as this article shows. (Her grandmother wrote a letter to the editor in the Anchorage Daily News, and a photo of it appears on Michelle's FB page).
This has been a topic of debate in Anchorage, since a columnist at the paper (Julie O'Malley) wrote an article about the bikini baristas in January. Some are practically blaming her for the abduction, since she brought this issue into the public spotlight.

Good for her Grams! I agree with her! Thank you AK for this letter to the editor.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

http://www.ktuu.com/news/ktuu-samstock-raises-money-for-koenigs-reward-fund-20120225,0,142551.story

"Samstock" Raises Money For Koenig's Reward Fund


by Abby Hancock
Channel 2 News
8:22 p.m. AKST, February 25, 2012


Snipped:
Samantha's boyfriend Duane was also there to help with the fundraiser. He says he is doing what he can to help get her back.

"She's there every night when I go to sleep, you know. It's just hard. Just trying to show positivity on the outside but on the inside it's just fear," he says.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

http://helpfindsamanthakoenig.com/community-plans-fundraiser-to-help-in-search-for-missing-barista/

February 22, 2012|By Christine Kim*|*Channel 2 News

Snipped:
It’s a fundraiser sponsored by Top Hat Entertainment, an event center. One of the 7 organizers, Michelle Tasker said, proceeds from the event, called “Samstock,” will go towards future searches and to increase the reward fund.

“Maybe there’s a certain figure people are looking for, and once we hit it, it might just be the money shot that will get her home,” said Tasker. “We are covering every base at that point.”

 

[ak81]

I have a question for anybody from the area around Anchorage...

I'm looking at the businesses near The Alaska Club Midtown, where Common Grounds is located. I'm seeing Hooters closed in 2008! I didn't know, was basing my opinion on what I read on here about the surrounding businesses. Has it reopened bc I don't see that it has. When I search 701 East Tudor, there are several businesses but 1 of them is a psychiatric clinic. Would this clinic be the kind that assists with counseling as well as drug rehab therapy? This is directly across the street from Common Grounds or no? I'm trying to figure out the lay of the correct map. Many thanks!

:blowkiss:

Also not sure this will work, but this is the link to the street view of Common Grounds, looking across the street north (northwest actually), toward 701 W. Tudor (where the Hooters used to be). This just gives a good idea of how far away the other business in the area actually are. Tudor is a very busy 6-lane street (actually I think it's 8 lanes there in front of the coffee hut, because of the turn lanes). As far as the counseling clinic across the street, I think that's just a family counseling office, but I'm not sure. There are many offices and businesses nearby, but really none, except the Alaska Club, are very close. This is the view pointing west down Tudor, so the direction the perp supposedly walked with Samantha.
This image also shows the garbage cans, and I have also thought of the possibility that she was taking out the trash when she was approached. Seems very likely to me.

[ame="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=tudor++gambell+anchorage&hl=en&ll=61.180373,-149.870864&spn=0.00035,0.001206&sll=61.137547,-149.868166&sspn=0.001403,0.004823&hnear=Gambell+St,+Anchorage,+Alaska&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=61.180373,-149.870864&panoid=qfU8YfCX6QUYUVCZR-9m0A&cbp=12,327.31,,0,6.66"]http://maps.google.com/maps?q=tudor++gambell+anchorage&hl=en&ll=61.180373,-149.870864&spn=0.00035,0.001206&sll=61.137547,-149.868166&sspn=0.001403,0.004823&hnear=Gambell+St,+Anchorage,+Alaska&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=61.180373,-149.870864&panoid=qfU8YfCX6QUYUVCZR-9m0A&cbp=12,327.31,,0,6.66[/ame]

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Yeah, I agree AK81. With the weather being like it was on the 1st, there's no way a plane was used unless it was the day after (or other days after that as well). The guy either walked to his destination with Samantha, had a car waiting on a side street, or had somebody waiting to pick them up. Even snow mobile usage would be risky that night. I read on a state trooper call site that there were 2 drunk snow mobilers that went out that night, got caught in the white out, were separated & lost - 1 made it back safe but the other was found dead from the elements. I've also read that there's a serial rapist that hasn't been caught yet, some of his victims have escaped but not after being tied up & abused. As far as the clinic, I continued the research & have found 5 heroin & meth clinics or doctors in the area. That may sound like alot but it's not in a big city. There are probably more but I didn't look further. Prostitution is rampant & the unwilling girls that don't want to get involved are forced to, but it looks like only native alaskans are sought the most bc of their versatile looks.

I'm thinking human trafficking or a sex offender. I truly don't believe the main purpose of the abduction was the robbery. I'm curious to follow this case through & see how it ends. I only hope & pray it ends with an alive Samantha. The odds are against her statistically.

 

[Jersey*Girl]

Side note: ArchEnemy Toenail - every single time I see your name I crack up. You have one of the best monikers I've come across.

 

[katydid23]

Great question regarding the possibility that Sam was taking out the trash. She would be more vulnerable outside the stand, and this could explain why her coat was taken, but not some of her other possessions!

I would be surprised and disappointed in the owners if they routinely had the girls take out the trash alone at night while closing. That would be bad form, imo. They could easily pack it in a closed garbage bag and it be thrown out in the am. The girls should not have to leave the premises until they have a ride waiting for them outside.

I worked in a small beachside boutique when I was in college. We were given safety rules like that. When we locked up at 7pm, which was dusk, we left together, straight to our cars. And they paid us a bonus if we had a male friend pick up up at the end of the shift.