NV NV - Steven T. Koecher, 30, Henderson, 13 Dec 2009 - #20

[laytonian]

I have seen the storage place, but I've never really looked for any cell towers.

A storage place. Hmmmmm.

Not sure why the Hmmmm.
Do you think someone would rent a storage space, to hide a missing person?

 

[laytonian]

Thanks for your input and WELCOME!

So, you're saying the guy in the video may not be Steven, but his killer?

Having been one who has thought Steven did just walk away, for the most part, I'm going to have to think on that a bit. However, it would explain two things that have been questioned. One, what was Steven doing in the hours between the time he spoke to his church associates and the time his car appears on the surveillance video? And two, if his killer actually lived in that area of SCA, why would they leave his car so nearby for days?

And three, the person who parked the car, would have known about that spot (whereas Steven may not have).

Back to your "two" -- why not?
Maybe they wanted the car found quickly - to throw someone else off-track?

As it turned out, whether it was Steven or not, it was the best possible place to leave a car ... undisturbed, for several days.

 

[carbuff]

Not sure why the Hmmmm.
Do you think someone would rent a storage space, to hide a missing person?

It has happened before.

 

[Fairy1]

Not sure why the Hmmmm.
Do you think someone would rent a storage space, to hide a missing person?

It wouldn't be the first time.

But to be fair, there are a lot of other businesses in the area. And plenty of desert.

 

[Fairy1]

And three, the person who parked the car, would have known about that spot (whereas Steven may not have).

Possibly, but maybe not. You have seen those cameras. Would the average person know that's what they are?

Back to your "two" -- why not?
Maybe they wanted the car found quickly - to throw someone else off-track?

If it was intentional, it was quite brilliant. Whether it was Steven or someone else.

As it turned out, whether it was Steven or not, it was the best possible place to leave a car ... undisturbed, for several days.

Yep. Except for those dang surveillance cameras.

 

[sophieness]

why do you think he would walk away from his life in a spot like that?

 

[Fairy1]

why do you think he would walk away from his life in a spot like that?

The key is the thought that he walked OUT of his life there, not INTO a new life.

Suicide has never made sense to me and I could never come up with a truly viable reason for Steven to have been a victim of foul play. OTOH, I could understand why he may have felt he needed a new start.

 

[sophieness]

but where could he be if he committed suicide in the area? I thought there were aerial searches. it is very rocky there, but not lots of trees...

 

[sophieness]

suicide was my thought at the very beginning of the disappeared show, but after they showed more about him, I felt like....I don't know. why turn up evening lights? I don't understand. they seemed like they were going to a house to me, that whole thing of walking with a stride etc. wait are you disputing all three possibilities? walking into a new life, suicide, and foul play? I'm confused.

 

[carbuff]

I love Steven even though I never got to know him, but the facts are pretty brutal. He's 30 and unmarried, unemployed, with no prospects for either and documented statements that he felt like he'd screwed up with the woman who should have been his God-given partner. His professional career has been on a downward spiral, from promising jobs at the newspaper through failed attempts at running a web-based business to passing out fliers to pay the rent. Which he was behind on. He was living on peanut butter, mostly. And his family had just been called in to bail him out. Again. People liked him but he had no close friends and had apparently ceased confiding in family members. He'd been behaving erratically for at least a week, driving long distances and dropping in on at least one set of people who barely knew him.

He left his car in one of the few places where it was unlikely to be broken into, where it would be returned to his family. He went Christmas shopping early and had the presents in the car, again where they would be found.

Yeah, I think he left. My only question is how permanently.

 

[sophieness]

ok. so you think he chose that spot to be mysterious, and then went onto somewhere else? how could he get by without using his social security, tax information for a job, etc.? he didn't have money saved...he didn't seem like he would be super street savvy, although I could be wrong....he didn't seem like he would have ties that could get him false identification, although that may be what brought him to the neighborhood if that theory was correct...it just seemed to me, over and over again, in the show, the central theme was how important his faith was to him. so that's part of the reason I find it hard to think that. he didn't take money that we know of or possessions...my question is, is this the kind of person that would stand back for over a year knowing that his family was suffering? even when his father died? to me, when I saw the show, it didn't seem like it. he may have wanted a new start (and tried one prior in st. george) but he didn't seem like the type of person to do that. it seemed like morality was very important to him.

 

[laytonian]

Possibly, but maybe not. You have seen those cameras. Would the average person know that's what they are?

I'm referring to the parking spot itself; it's the only one, in all of SCA, not surrounded by homes. I doubt whoever parked there, thought about security cameras there -- in fact, I think that's one reason the car was parked there. In a commercial parking lot, there'd be lots of cameras.

 

[carbuff]

No, I don't think he chose that spot to be mysterious. Not at all. Just because we don't know how he knew about it doesn't mean there wasn't a perfectly straightforward reason.

I think from his point of view, that last conversation with his father was more final than his father thought. That it was the last blow to Steven feeling like a complete failure, that not only wasn't he the perfect son they wanted, he wasn't even a good son and they were better off without him. He probably wasn't thinking rationally at that point -- may have been depressed, which would really throw his thinking into a negative loop.

I think that last check of voice mail was hoping his father or somebody had called to say it was all right. Instead all he had was messages about being behind on the rent. Sometimes it's a thin line between falling into the abyss and pulling yourself out. I've stood there myself. Some of us get a lifeline, and some of us get kicked in.

 

[laytonian]

Unidentified remains in northern Las Vegas. I doubt it's related to this case, because it says "homeowner" (unless it's a fairly new home purchase).

"Officers were called to the 1300 block of Gold Ave., near Owens Ave. and Martin Luther King Dr. around 11:15 a.m. Saturday morning. According to police, a homeowner reported finding some suspicious remains in the backyard where he was digging."

CLICK HERE for map.

Source: KLAS-TV/8newsnow.com.

One of our "similar cases"? Michael Patrick Coyne was last seen just a few blocks away from this discovery.

 

[Fairy1]

suicide was my thought at the very beginning of the disappeared show, but after they showed more about him, I felt like....I don't know. why turn up evening lights? I don't understand. they seemed like they were going to a house to me, that whole thing of walking with a stride etc. wait are you disputing all three possibilities? walking into a new life, suicide, and foul play? I'm confused.

I don't believe suicide because he didn't need to come to Vegas/Henderson for that. I also believe he would have been found by now. And I know that if that IS him on the video, he did not walk into the foothills or the desert, but toward the city.

I have only recently begun to believe he was a victim of foul play. Up until lately, I have looked for Steven in all my travels, believing he was still alive and just wanted a new beginning.

 

[Fairy1]

No, I don't think he chose that spot to be mysterious. Not at all. Just because we don't know how he knew about it doesn't mean there wasn't a perfectly straightforward reason.

I think from his point of view, that last conversation with his father was more final than his father thought. That it was the last blow to Steven feeling like a complete failure, that not only wasn't he the perfect son they wanted, he wasn't even a good son and they were better off without him. He probably wasn't thinking rationally at that point -- may have been depressed, which would really throw his thinking into a negative loop.

I think that last check of voice mail was hoping his father or somebody had called to say it was all right. Instead all he had was messages about being behind on the rent. Sometimes it's a thin line between falling into the abyss and pulling yourself out. I've stood there myself. Some of us get a lifeline, and some of us get kicked in.

I think you may be right about the possibility of the rift between Steven and his family being bigger than it's been made out to be. And I know you have insights into Steven's possible psyche that others of us do not.

The part I have bolded above is something that really bothers me. As far as we know, this issue was being resolved. I don't understand why the dude kept calling Steven after that???

 

[sophieness]

that conversation must have haunted his father. all I see, when I see pictures of Steven, is kindness, and innocence. I don't know him either, and I do think he was depressed, maybe depressed enough to kill himself, maybe not. but I don't think he would stay alive and let his family think he was dead and possibly tortured and killed. we all, have instincts in different ways and yeah I'm sure he had other sides to him but I think it takes a remarkable coldness to do that, on anyone's part, and I just didn't see it there.

 

[laytonian]

ok. so you think he chose that spot to be mysterious, and then went onto somewhere else? how could he get by without using his social security, tax information for a job, etc.? he didn't have money saved...he didn't seem like he would be super street savvy, although I could be wrong....he didn't seem like he would have ties that could get him false identification, although that may be what brought him to the neighborhood if that theory was correct...it just seemed to me, over and over again, in the show, the central theme was how important his faith was to him. so that's part of the reason I find it hard to think that. he didn't take money that we know of or possessions...my question is, is this the kind of person that would stand back for over a year knowing that his family was suffering? even when his father died? to me, when I saw the show, it didn't seem like it. he may have wanted a new start (and tried one prior in st. george) but he didn't seem like the type of person to do that. it seemed like morality was very important to him.

We only know what others (primarily family) have said about him. A couple of friends have given us broad insight into some potential "issues" and behavior patterns. (See posts by gsmith here on WS.)

He could have easily obtained a fake ID in St George, he could have had a cash stash. He could have been in an 'inappropraite' relationship. St George may just have been a test, to see if he could live on his own.

One reason we speculate here, is so the family doesn't have to read it on their Facebook page. (I'm the family go-between, in touch with KC on a regular basis.)

Remember, when someone dies or goes missing, they are most often portrayed as "pure" victims. I think everyone has two sides. Even Steven.

I no longer think Steven is alive. Crime victim? Likely. Suicide? Possibly. Even if he had made a break with his family, there was love - and I don't think he could have stayed away this long if he was alive.

 

[carbuff]

that conversation must have haunted his father. all I see, when I see pictures of Steven, is kindness, and innocence. I don't know him either, and I do think he was depressed, maybe depressed enough to kill himself, maybe not. but I don't think he would stay alive and let his family think he was dead and possibly tortured and killed. we all, have instincts in different ways and yeah I'm sure he had other sides to him but I think it takes a remarkable coldness to do that, on anyone's part, and I just didn't see it there.

It isn't usually coldness. It's pride, and, I don't know.

I know a homeless guy who says he can't go home because of the things he said when he left. He's sure they'll never forgive him. He's sure they've forgotten him. He always said he'd go home some day when he'd proved them wrong about being a loser, but instead he's a worse loser than they ever dreamed. I told him he should at least contact the Red Cross or somebody to tell them he's alive, but he says they're better off thinking he's dead.

This guy's like 70 or more, but I keep thinking, Steven could be living like this, and my heart just breaks.

 

[webrocket]

I am glad that there are some newcomers to the thread as a result of the Disappeared segment that was broadcast on TV. Encouraging to know that not only do people watch the show but also that they take an interest in the people profiled.

I've not said much on Steven for months since there was nothing new going on and people were spinning their own theories (me included).

for the benefit of the newcomers who can't possibly be expected to read through 19 prior threads of postings, here is a summary of my take on Steven Koecher:

I believe he is gay and that was his primary reason for being 30 y.o. and unmarried. supposedly there were a few serious girlfriends in the past but they were just not the right girls for him or so he said.

it was my belief that the critical events leading up to the disappearance in Sun City Anthem (SCA) started when he was still working full-time in Salt Lake City. While the economy got worse as time wore on, there was no reason that any rational person would leave a full time job to move to a town (St. George) where he had no family ties, no friends and most importanly no job lined up. his stated excuse was the weather.

it is my belief that while Steven was living in and around SLC, he met a man online who lived much further to the south. could be So. Cal., Las Vegas, or even in Arizona. in any event, St. George was a staging ground where he could venture out, test the waters and get to know this guy a little better. I assume the fellow was older (relatively speaking of course) and financially stable. I dubbed this mystery fellow "Big Daddy Warbucks".

as to the mindset involved here, there was some suggestion (and this is not a religious debate) that some in the Mormon Church consider active homosexuals to be spiritually dead (or something like that) and that they would be separated from their family in the afterlife. so if Steven were to come out, he could be considered dead in the eyes of his family and church community. vanishing provides the ability to appear dead while being able to live the life he wanted to lead without shaming the family by their knowing what was going on. I can't say it is a wise course of action, just part of the mental torment someone like Steve could be going through.

Big Daddy Warbucks or "BDW" may well be ex-Mormon or someone who went through his own personal torment with family, relationships, etc. Steven would not have to explain what he was feeling, as BDW would understand completely without being judgmental. while one might think of a trophy 'bride' as someone being young and beautiful, Steven had a certain freshness and had not been jaded by living a life centered around gay ghettos like the Castro, West Hollywood or the like.

my hunch was that BDW was familiar with SCA as in he once lived there or had friends in the community. he knew that it was fairly safe to park a car (as in not being stolen or stripped). BDW instructed Steven to park at that cul-de-sac and walk a block or two where his car was waiting. they drove off, maybe had lunch, maybe stayed overnight at a motel/hotel in the Whitney Ranch area and drove off the next morning.

I have no idea whether any of these hunches are true. I can say that nothing that has come forth has in any way undermined these theories I've had from the beginning. If something like this has transpired, I hope he is happy with his new life.

(by the way, not to confuse anyone, but this is not a unique occurrence. Erick Wales vanished from the San Diego area. He was another devout Christian who from all accounts is now leading an 'alternative lifestyle' elsewhere. At least Erick left a note of some sort. Steven left none.)