NV NV - Steven T. Koecher, 30, Henderson, 13 Dec 2009 - # 4

[laytonian]

BBM. No evidence? I hope LE there doesn't work that way. Their neighborhood was where the car was left. Do most people make a habit of parking their car in some random subdivision to walk blocks or miles away to somewhere else? I don't. When I go visit a friend I park within a couple of houses of their house. When I go to the bank I park at the bank. And if I'm going to meet someone to catch a ride I usually leave my car at or near their house or at a business that's convenient for both of us. So if I were to assume Steven got into someone else's car and drove away, IMO, it would make sense that they lived there.

Personally if a situation like this happened in my neighborhood, I'd be more worried about who's living next to me. I'd like to think my neighbors are the wonderful people I've gotten to know. But there is no way in heck I'm going to put money on them not being responsible for this. I'd be viewing my neighbors with great concern and looking at them sideways. And I'd be upset with the person who caused someone to go missing and drug me into it. Not at the people trying to find that missing person. Talk about misplaced anger.

Henderson PD is evidently the lead agency -- and while at first, I thought it would be better if LVPD was investigating, I then decided Henderson might actually be fortuitive for this case.

We learned about 50 people are reported missing in Vegas, every day.

But that's not true of Henderson, and the Sun City Anthem area is particularly low in crime (per their own stats). Steven's case should be getting a closer investigation, than if his car had turned up in downtown Vegas. Actually....if the car had been left in Vegas, it could still be sitting there, unnoticed.

 

[laytonian]

about Appalled's post….

First of all I am NOT giddy about this case. I take it very serious as I do
with any other case I follow and to have someone think I find anything about
this case giddy is an insult!

Second… IF someone went missing and was last seen on my street
and I felt the need to post on a thread about it I would state I
completely understand why people would be sleuthing the neighborhood.
I would also post and ask what questions I could answer to help move the
sleuthing off my street if I felt it was really a dead end.

Third…. I love all my neighbors and I think I know them…
BUT I could never state as a fact that one of them had nothing to do with
the person going missing!
I don’t care how good you think you know your neighbors…. YOU NEVER
KNOW what they are capable of!

To insist that no one on that street knows anything … well I’m sure
Casey Anthony’s, BTK’s, Ted Bundy’s neighbors thought the same thing!

I understand that some don’t want the neighborhood to be looked into
but that is the last known place Steven may have been and IMO it’s the first
place we should sleuth!

Hmmmm....do you think someone was trying to make us aware of a certain house?

Seriously, I see nothing wrong with the sleuthing itself -- but I did feel a bit uncomfortable about it being done so publicly.

Like I've said, I'm the newbie here and I'm learning the ropes.

But I've been wondering if there could be a "secret playground" established for groups to meet in and exchange information, without it being publicly available here. Kinda like how al Qaeda gets together and creates one email account that everyone has a password to....and then they all post TO that email but it's never sent? KWIM? Something like that.

Now that Google digs up everything, every word said here, pops up when someone Googles. I could see it being disquieting to someone. BUT...not so disquieting that there's a total loss of what caused the disquietation (if that's a word)

 

[webrocket]

At the risk of repeating myself, let me phrase it this way. On these missing person threads, the location of the missing person's car becomes ground zero and the search begins there.

Can anyone here recall a case where a missing person's car is in the neighborhood where their killer resided? If you can, please let me know. (and I don't mean where an existing neighbor kills another)

 

[SuziQ]

At the risk of repeating myself, let me phrase it this way. On these missing person threads, the location of the missing person's car becomes ground zero and the search begins there.

Can anyone here recall a case where a missing person's car is in the neighborhood where their killer resided? If you can, please let me know. (and I don't mean where an existing neighbor kills another)

So many I can't think of specific cases at the moment. So take that for what it's worth. Criminals are not known for their smarts and cars have been found within a block of a perps residence. Heck in some cases the perps drive the victims cars around and park them in their own driveways.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Maria_Lauterbach

 

[Fairy1]

At the risk of repeating myself, let me phrase it this way. On these missing person threads, the location of the missing person's car becomes ground zero and the search begins there.

Can anyone here recall a case where a missing person's car is in the neighborhood where their killer resided? If you can, please let me know. (and I don't mean where an existing neighbor kills another)

You make a good point web. But if this happened on my street, I'd be bothered by a heck of a lot more than the abandoned car and I would be sleuthing my own neighbors! That's the age we live in. I don't recall seeing any names associated with the addresses. Did I miss that?

The thing is, for now, that street is ground zero. Until we have reason to believe Steven did not drive that car to that location himself and was never in the neighborhood, it's where we have to start.

I think that post was a fine example of a priority challenged perspective. I'm sorry to see someone so terribly unconcerned about a missing person, though I have witnessed that more than once with Steven's case (not here!).

And I can assure you, I've been called much, much worse than a "cheerleader." Although this is the first time I've been accused of being a possible murderer!

 

[webrocket]

So many I can't think of specific cases at the moment. So take that for what it's worth. Criminals are not known for their smarts and cars have been found within a block of a perps residence. Heck in some cases the perps drive the victims cars around and park them in their own driveways.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Maria_Lauterbach

The link says nothing about a car.

That aside, it is not just that Steven left the car on his own accord. He left NO indication where he was going and the absence of a cell phone or email trail is highly suspicious and demonstrates to me that he wanted to cover his tracks. So the two events together, to me, show that he was not planning on returning to St. George.

 

[fasteddy4]

Was doing some searching and ran across the curious case of Keri Bray. Walked out of a development center in Orem, UT in 1986. Totally disappeared. Didn't tell anyone where he was going but he had always talked about being a cowboy. 20 years later he was found working on a ranch in Texas. Keri was in one way or another disabled. . .not sure if it was mentally or physically. . .but 20 years later he was still alive. I guess it is possible that Steven might have accomplished the same thing in totally disappearing without anyone being able to track him down.

 

[laytonian]

The link says nothing about a car.

That aside, it is not just that Steven left the car on his own accord. He left NO indication where he was going and the absence of a cell phone or email trail is highly suspicious and demonstrates to me that he wanted to cover his tracks. So the two events together, to me, show that he was not planning on returning to St. George.

I agree....yet he left his notebook computer behind.

Wait! We don't have any questions for today.

I'm going to ask Naegle if Steven was known to use library computers.

 

[Fairy1]

I agree....yet he left his notebook computer behind.

Wait! We don't have any questions for today.

I'm going to ask Naegle if Steven was known to use library computers.

May we ask if there is another search planned this weekend and, if so, who is organizing it?

Thank you!

 

[SuziQ]

The link says nothing about a car.

That aside, it is not just that Steven left the car on his own accord. He left NO indication where he was going and the absence of a cell phone or email trail is highly suspicious and demonstrates to me that he wanted to cover his tracks. So the two events together, to me, show that he was not planning on returning to St. George.

Well she's got a thread here somewhere. After killing her in his house and burning her up in his backyard firepit, her killer drove him and his wife around in the dead girls car and parked it in his driveway till his boss started asking questions. Then he dumped the car at a bus station.

BBM. And that could be what happened. But we don't know that as fact. Steven could have walked away to start a new life, walked away to commit suicide, or he met with foul play. I see evidence that points to all three possibilities.

 

[laytonian]

May we ask if there is another search planned this weekend and, if so, who is organizing it?

Thank you!

May I modify it a bit, to say "When is the next search scheduled, and who is organizing it?" -- then that way, we don't have to ask again if they don't search this weekend

OK. Thanks

 

[Fairy1]

May I modify it a bit, to say "When is the next search scheduled, and who is organizing it?" -- then that way, we don't have to ask again if they don't search this weekend

OK. Thanks

Of course!

 

[fasteddy4]

Does anyone here think that it is at least possible that Steven might have gone on another mission? I know that is something his family originally thought and it kind of got put to the side. But, if I was Mormon, down on my luck, not a lot of money, no real job, behind three months on rent, etc., going on another mission would seem to me to be a viable option.
What sticks out to me is that his passport is missing? Was it current or expired? When was the last time he would have used it officially (as in going out of the country)? He had to have been carrying in the videos since it was not found in his car nor at his apartment. It just doesn't seem like something a person would naturally do. . .carrying his passport. Someone said that you could use that for ID on an I-9. I guess that's true but then we are back to the "job interview went wrong" scenario which does not seem possible. Isn't it more probable that he was carrying it because he was headed somewhere?
Maybe on Dec.12, the reason he went back to his apartment for 20 minutes was to get his passport? Somebody had called him and said, "It's time to go." He jets home. Gets his passport and makes a beeline for Vegas. Because it doesn't make sense to me that he was carrying it around going to Nephi, Ruby Valley, Springville, etc. You lose it and it takes time and money to replace. Most people only carry theirs when they are traveling.
Could it be that someone (sorry Appalled) in that Anthem area helped him leave NV and get to an airport in another state or country (Mexico or Canada)? If that guy who tried to blow up that jet on Christmas Day can get on a plane even though he is on a watch list, surely Steven can get on a plane in some other country. His name would be hard to track down on a database. Just the altering or the misspelling of it would throw the computers off as we have learned recently.
Maybe Webb was in on it. And that's why his statements seem strange. He doesn't want to give up the goods. And if somebody in Anthem helped then it is perfectly within their rights to not tell the cops that they assisted a guy going on a religious mission since it is none of the cops business. And frankly, if that was the case, I would applaud the Anthem's resident's right to keep his/her mouth shut, especially if Steven told him/her that he did not want his family to find out.

I wonder.

 

[harleysnana]

You can’t just go on an LDS mission… you have to get a calling from the church.
There would be a paper trail and IMO the church would not let his family think
he was a missing person… they would let the family know he went on the mission.
I also don’t think I have ever heard of someone going on two missions at his age.

 

[NotNoseyObservant]

Once a male lds member has gone on his 19 year old or what ever age he goes (up to 26) he can't go again unless he goes once he is retired with his wife & some other cases but Steven could not go again at this time just some lds inside info

 

[Fairy1]

Does anyone here think that it is at least possible that Steven might have gone on another mission? I know that is something his family originally thought and it kind of got put to the side. But, if I was Mormon, down on my luck, not a lot of money, no real job, behind three months on rent, etc., going on another mission would seem to me to be a viable option.
What sticks out to me is that his passport is missing? Was it current or expired? When was the last time he would have used it officially (as in going out of the country)? He had to have been carrying in the videos since it was not found in his car nor at his apartment. It just doesn't seem like something a person would naturally do. . .carrying his passport. Someone said that you could use that for ID on an I-9. I guess that's true but then we are back to the "job interview went wrong" scenario which does not seem possible. Isn't it more probable that he was carrying it because he was headed somewhere?
Maybe on Dec.12, the reason he went back to his apartment for 20 minutes was to get his passport? Somebody had called him and said, "It's time to go." He jets home. Gets his passport and makes a beeline for Vegas. Because it doesn't make sense to me that he was carrying it around going to Nephi, Ruby Valley, Springville, etc. You lose it and it takes time and money to replace. Most people only carry theirs when they are traveling.
Could it be that someone (sorry Appalled) in that Anthem area helped him leave NV and get to an airport in another state or country (Mexico or Canada)? If that guy who tried to blow up that jet on Christmas Day can get on a plane even though he is on a watch list, surely Steven can get on a plane in some other country. His name would be hard to track down on a database. Just the altering or the misspelling of it would throw the computers off as we have learned recently.
Maybe Webb was in on it. And that's why his statements seem strange. He doesn't want to give up the goods. And if somebody in Anthem helped then it is perfectly within their rights to not tell the cops that they assisted a guy going on a religious mission since it is none of the cops business. And frankly, if that was the case, I would applaud the Anthem's resident's right to keep his/her mouth shut, especially if Steven told him/her that he did not want his family to find out.

I wonder.

Any actual mission would be sanctioned by the church and there's quite a lot that goes into the process.

The passport thing is a bit of a red flag to me. Yes, it can be used for I-9 verification. But so can a driver's license. If someone were going on a short trip for a job prospect, I think it's unlikely they would take their passport. My passport doesn't leave it's drawer unless I'm travelling internationally.

I do tend to believe Webb knows more than we think he knows. We're not likely to get any answers here, but I hope LE is on top of that.

Uh oh - I need new pom-poms - be back soon!

 

[laytonian]

Maybe Webb was in on it. And that's why his statements seem strange. He doesn't want to give up the goods. And if somebody in Anthem helped then it is perfectly within their rights to not tell the cops that they assisted a guy going on a religious mission since it is none of the cops business. And frankly, if that was the case, I would applaud the Anthem's resident's right to keep his/her mouth shut, especially if Steven told him/her that he did not want his family to find out.

I wonder.

We had a Q&A discussion about the passport, back on Jan 20th.
http://sites.google.com/site/parallelcooler/home/koecher-html/qa-100120
It's current.

You just don't "go" on a mission on your own. At a certain age, if you are considered worthy, you receive "a calling". They aren't secret, either.

As for passports: when you use them, they are scanned. Every time your passport is scanned, it goes into the database. That would be an easy thing for LE to check. I'm sure they have.

NOW....we're assuming that just because the passport hasn't been found, that Steven has/had it with him. His life was in a turmoil. Maybe he lost it? Maybe it's somewhere, as yet undiscovered?

 

[fasteddy4]

Awesome. There are people on here that know the intricacies of going on a mission. I'm a cafeteria Catholic myself so that's all good to know. You can't go on more than one unless you get a calling from the church. So, he just can't get up one day and decide he wants to do it again? As in, he knows where some missionaries are and can go assist. Interesting. But then, is anyone bothered by the passport missing?

In addition, I am going to ponder what we would all be thinking if the cameras had not been on the outside of that house. I don't think any of us would have been thinking that Steven dropped off that car in Anthem by himself. We would probably be thinking something happened to him elsewhere and somebody abandoned the car there. Maybe that was what Steven was trying to make it look like but got caught by the video cameras.

 

[Fairy1]

I'm sorry - I forgot to welcome Yeahitsanna to the board! I'm sorry - I believe your first posts got lost in the BS we had earlier today.

Thank you for your insights and I hope you'll stick around!

 

[Fairy1]

Awesome. There are people on here that know the intricacies of going on a mission. I'm a cafeteria Catholic myself so that's all good to know. You can't go on more than one unless you get a calling from the church. So, he just can't get up one day and decide he wants to do it again? As in, he knows where some missionaries are and can go assist. Interesting. But then, is anyone bothered by the passport missing?

In addition, I am going to ponder what we would all be thinking if the cameras had not been on the outside of that house. I don't think any of us would have been thinking that Steven dropped off that car in Anthem by himself. We would probably be thinking something happened to him elsewhere and somebody abandoned the car there. Maybe that was what Steven was trying to make it look like but got caught by the video cameras.

The missionaries are everywhere - don't you see them where you live? They travel in twos on bicycles and they're much younger than 30.

I'm curious to know how old Steven was when he began his own mission in Brazil. Passports are good for 10 years, right - so did he have his renewed or was it still valid from when he went on his mission?

Laytonian - would you mind asking the family if they know whether or not Steven had his passport renewed?