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

[Fairy1]

We've been told that one of Steven's most important goals was to find a good job. I just don't have the feeling he really was trying very hard.

Why would that be?

 

[laytonian]

yeah, but no known way to connect to download. If there are emails dated after he moved to St. George then pretty much means he took his laptop to a wifi hotspot, but from latest description from jaxon there is little to no effort there if did.

I was unemployed a year and a half only a few years ago, lost everything, but I would have been totally unable to job hunt if I'd lost my internet connection.

Although, maybe like Steven, after awhile you do get real depressed.

rd

...OR MAYBE he decided that since everyone was using the same job search sites, and sending out emails, that employers weren't very responsive?

Like I've been saying: there were/are plenty of jobs in the St George area if you're willing to work. Anything would have been better than passing out flyers.

 

[laytonian]

We've been told that one of Steven's most important goals was to find a good job. I just don't have the feeling he really was trying very hard.

Why would that be?

Because what was considered the "right" job, wasn't the job "perfect" job he was looking for?

Or maybe he didn't know *how* to look for a job? That's a skill in itself. Stacking up applications and signing up for websites wasn't very successful.

He worked for the Davis County Clipper and the online edition of the SL Tribune , but he had no degree in journalism nor an IT certification. He dabbled in college radio, and we heard his nice voice - but he didn't go down that media path.

But...I think the biggest problem was his record of frequently changing jobs. That, and quitting a job before he'd found a new job. That means employment gaps that aren't very flattering on a resume.

If you fill the gaps with lesser jobs, it's hard to jump to a better job. And if you leave the lesser jobs off the resume, you have even more gaps.

The perfect girl. The perfect job.

 

[Fairy1]

Because what was considered the "right" job, wasn't the job "perfect" job he was looking for?

Or maybe he didn't know *how* to look for a job? That's a skill in itself. Stacking up applications and signing up for websites wasn't very successful.

He worked for the Davis County Clipper and the online edition of the SL Tribune , but he had no degree in journalism nor an IT certification. He dabbled in college radio, and we heard his nice voice - but he didn't go down that media path.

But...I think the biggest problem was his record of frequently changing jobs. That, and quitting a job before he'd found a new job. That means employment gaps that aren't very flattering on a resume.

If you fill the gaps with lesser jobs, it's hard to jump to a better job. And if you leave the lesser jobs off the resume, you have even more gaps.

The perfect girl. The perfect job.

True.

Seems to me a guy who considers himself deserving of the perfect girl and the perfect job would not commit suicide.

 

[carbuff]

True.

Seems to me a guy who considers himself deserving of the perfect girl and the perfect job would not commit suicide.

On the other hand, if the only thing you will accept is perfection, and you can't attain perfection, maybe you give up.

 

[RubyRed]

True.

Seems to me a guy who considers himself deserving of the perfect girl and the perfect job would not commit suicide.

That expectation is enough to set you up for failure.

 

[Fairy1]

I disagree. While meth isn't being cooked in Las Vegas nearly as much as it used to be, marijuana grow houses are popping up all over the valley.

Here's some of our station's coverage -- http://www.8newsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11936624

They're busting these places all the time, all over the valley, literally in every neighborhood. It's an angle I've been thinking about, but who knows?

I wasn't referring specifically to Vegas, but just generally. Though I do believe there are tell-tale signs of such an enterprise - if people were paying attention.

I cannot see Steven - or anyone else - unwittingly stumbling onto a grow house and being murdered for it. And in SCA no less.

IIRC, the "burglar" who was shot by the brothers was actually known to them and trying to rob them. Not an unsuspecting Mormon dude from Utah.

 

[Fairy1]

You guys may be right, but to me it screams EGO!

 

[jmarple]

On the other hand, if the only thing you will accept is perfection, and you can't attain perfection, maybe you give up.

Thank you for posting this.
I have been following both SK and EW(Eric Wales) threads the past few months. SK was looking for the "perfect" woman, the "perfect" job, and had no money. EW had a pretty girlfriend, a nice job, and money. Yet, they both have disappeared under unusual circumstances and left their cars behind. Even though EW left a "note" of sorts, his disappearance still is puzzling. My point, is that even though outwardly we make judgments that if certain things would be "perfect", SK would not have gone, we also see someone like EW who appeared to have it all and he is also gone. All the things we see as negatives for SK were positives for EW with the same result for both--no one knows where they went or what happened to them.:waitasec:

 

[carbuff]

Thank you for posting this.
I have been following both SK and EW(Eric Wales) threads the past few months. SK was looking for the "perfect" woman, the "perfect" job, and had no money. EW had a pretty girlfriend, a nice job, and money. Yet, they both have disappeared under unusual circumstances and left their cars behind. Even though EW left a "note" of sorts, his disappearance still is puzzling. My point, is that even though outwardly we make judgments that if certain things would be "perfect", SK would not have gone, we also see someone like EW who appeared to have it all and he is also gone. All the things we see as negatives for SK were positives for EW with the same result for both--no one knows where they went or what happened to them.:waitasec:

Good point.

You can't tell by looking at someone's external circumstances what's going on inside their head. Someone can seem perfectly cheerful and well adjusted to their circumstances, but be despairing inside. Someone can have it all and feel it's worth nothing. Someone can be trying to live up to someone else's standard, or some arbitrary internalized standard, and feeling like they can never be good enough and never see what kind of wonderful person they are.

 

[Malini2001]

Good point.

You can't tell by looking at someone's external circumstances what's going on inside their head. Someone can seem perfectly cheerful and well adjusted to their circumstances, but be despairing inside. Someone can have it all and feel it's worth nothing. Someone can be trying to live up to someone else's standard, or some arbitrary internalized standard, and feeling like they can never be good enough and never see what kind of wonderful person they are.

I agree.....recently, a 25 year old that I have known since she was 5 took her own life. She always had a smile on her face, graduated college and married someone who seemed to be her soul-mate. This is in stark contrast to some of her peers who have struggled. I mean I would have picked her as probably the most cheerful girl in her class - she was ALWAYS smiling. I used to think the signs of depression were visible, but no more. Those very close to her knew things I didn't know, but she had 2 faces and only a select few saw the sad side.

Considering all that, I used to think Steve wasn't the type to take his own life, but I don't believe anybody is "not the type" to kill themselves. And maybe he even hid his sad side from everybody, he didn't have anyone that close to him anymore. It still doesn't make much sense to me that he drove to Henderson and left his car there, however.....but I am more seriously considering that he have taken his own life.

 

[Fairy1]

Good point.

You can't tell by looking at someone's external circumstances what's going on inside their head. Someone can seem perfectly cheerful and well adjusted to their circumstances, but be despairing inside. Someone can have it all and feel it's worth nothing. Someone can be trying to live up to someone else's standard, or some arbitrary internalized standard, and feeling like they can never be good enough and never see what kind of wonderful person they are.

You are so right. And that is exactly what has concerned me about Steven all along. There doesn't seem to have been anyone close enough to him - emotionally or geographically - to know his heart.

 

[SleuthyMcSleutherson]

You guys may be right, but to me it screams EGO!

What it sounds like to me, and something I've wondered from the beginning, is if he had high functioning autism/aspergers. He sounds a lot like a young man I know. Not very socially adept, but considered sweet and harmless. Obsessions or fixations (searching for perfection) but not good on follow through. A strange dichotomy: trusting and naive about the motives of some, but frustrated by the lack of freedom given by family members (relatives trying to give advice about romance or jobs, and this young man being angry about it, feeling he knew better than all of them).

Now, I am describing my acquaintance, but I see so many similarities with SK. I also know that families are sometimes very reluctant to admit there is something "off" about a loved one. 30 years ago it wasn't common to seek a diagnosis or treatment for a "quirky" personality and now most parents want early intervention in cases where kids aren't meeting developmental milestones.

 

[Fairy1]

What it sounds like to me, and something I've wondered from the beginning, is if he had high functioning autism/aspergers. He sounds a lot like a young man I know. Not very socially adept, but considered sweet and harmless. Obsessions or fixations (searching for perfection) but not good on follow through. A strange dichotomy: trusting and naive about the motives of some, but frustrated by the lack of freedom given by family members (relatives trying to give advice about romance or jobs, and this young man being angry about it, feeling he knew better than all of them).

Now I am describing my acquaintance, but I see so many similarities with SK. I also know that families are sometimes very reluctant to admit there is something "off" about a loved one.30 years ago it wasn't common to seek a diagnosis or treatment for a "quirky" personality and now most parents want early intervention in cases where kids aren't meeting developmental milestones.

We actually have discussed this possibility, but have never had any confirmation. I believe it's entirely possible.

 

[CONCRNED CTZN]

Well....the timing IS about right ... but it's too easy to connect things because of a coincidental last name or a cell tower right by one of many LDS church buildings. There's likely an LDS building close enough to every cell tower in Vegas, so it's easy for logic to take a leap.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's standard for regular LDS Sunday worship meetings to begin at 1pm and end at 4pm.

I'm going to assume that if he saw an LDS church, he'd know he could walk in and be a part of the congregation. No appointment, no connections needed.

At 4:36pm, he checked voicemail -- after (apparently) ignoring a call.

Nothing came in between the last call from St George and this time -- but since LDS pretty much all go to church at the same time, no matter which city they're in, it's logical to have a silent cell phone for that length of time.

Especially if your entire circle of friends and relatives is LDS.

So.....this takes us back to the start, wondering if the LDS calling chain was ever implemented in the Vegas area, to find out if Steven had wandered into an LDS wardhouse that Sunday afternoon.

At least it would account for the gap in phone pings, and give him somewhere to "be".

But I don't see an LDS ward house anywhere near where the car was parked.

So who was the call that prompted him to check the voicemail suddenly? If there was no VM from that caller at that time still on the phone...one would wonder where it went. I'm like TOTALLY confused though...I always thought the last call in or out on Sunday where the phone was actually used was from the men at church. If he called VM at 4, then one would assume he was still ok and had not walked into a drug house at that point.

And there is only a 1 o'clock meeting if there three wards in the building...but sometimes if parking is tight they don't star the third ward till three. You'd be best to find out on lds.org if you really thought there was something to it and he went to church.

 

[rd_jfc]

So who was the call that prompted him to check the voicemail suddenly? If there was no VM from that caller at that time still on the phone...one would wonder where it went. I'm like TOTALLY confused though...I always thought the last call in or out on Sunday where the phone was actually used was from the men at church. If he called VM at 4, then one would assume he was still ok and had not walked into a drug house at that point.

And there is only a 1 o'clock meeting if there three wards in the building...but sometimes if parking is tight they don't star the third ward till three. You'd be best to find out on lds.org if you really thought there was something to it and he went to church.

The posts say that call at 4:36pm was from LL. I heard no mention of checking VM at that time until now. The only checking VM ever mentioned was at 7am Monday morning.

Is it really true or was just a VM being recorded only, not followed by a call to check VM? I was operating under impression no call out / answer activity on cell phone after noon except for checking VM next morning at 7am, then no call out / answer / ping cell phone activity at all after that.

That obviously would make a huge difference if VM checked at 4:36pm.

rd

 

[RubyRed]

The posts say that call at 4:36pm was from LL. I heard no mention of checking VM at that time until now. The only checking VM ever mentioned was at 7am Monday morning.

Is it really true or was just a VM being recorded only, not followed by a call to check VM? I was operating under impression no call out / answer activity on cell phone after noon except for checking VM next morning at 7am, then no call out / answer / ping cell phone activity at all after that.

That obviously would make a huge difference if VM checked at 4:36pm.

rd

I could very well be getting totally confused, but I thought I read here that he did check VM at 4:36pm. Don't quote me on that because I am seeing phone pings in my sleep. LOL

 

[rd_jfc]

She's right when she says "But it also is far more likely that a citizen journalist would think to search public reports of other attacks within days of the disappearance and start connecting the dots."

BUT....back in the Levy days, there weren't nearly as many online resources as we have now. AND...those sources benefit the journalists as well as the bloggers.

Too bad she misspelled this site as "Web Sleuths".

That we weren't searching public reports of other attacks in Chandra's case is major league bogus from this reporter. I will put up what we did in Chandra's case against anything done in any other case. I document what internet sleuthers found in Murder on a Horse Trail.

More than what this dufus reporter found hanging around outside Condit's place like an idiot.

/rant

rd

 

[rd_jfc]

I could very well be getting totally confused, but I thought I read here that he did check VM at 4:36pm. Don't quote me on that because I am seeing phone pings in my sleep. LOL

LOL yes, and riinging in my ears. oh wait, I'm not imagining that.

I can't imagine that calling VM at 4:36pm wouldn't have been discussed at least as thoroughly if not more than checking VM the next morning at 7, which we have discussed pretty extensively.

VM at 4:36pm mentioned a lot, yes. Did I misunderstand it all this time? And doesn't that change a lot of opinions if true?

rd

 

[believe09]

What it sounds like to me, and something I've wondered from the beginning, is if he had high functioning autism/aspergers. He sounds a lot like a young man I know. Not very socially adept, but considered sweet and harmless. Obsessions or fixations (searching for perfection) but not good on follow through. A strange dichotomy: trusting and naive about the motives of some, but frustrated by the lack of freedom given by family members (relatives trying to give advice about romance or jobs, and this young man being angry about it, feeling he knew better than all of them).

Now, I am describing my acquaintance, but I see so many similarities with SK. I also know that families are sometimes very reluctant to admit there is something "off" about a loved one. 30 years ago it wasn't common to seek a diagnosis or treatment for a "quirky" personality and now most parents want early intervention in cases where kids aren't meeting developmental milestones.

See, to me he screams ADD....if I were going to just use the very, very little I know about him. And the meds used to treat it can be as difficult as having it....he would not have liked it probably. He could still have been funny, creative, intelligent, but his follow through would be the pits. Many adults I know with this have a OCD component, which would lead to something like having hundreds of resumes and black portfolios, for example.