NV NV - Steven T. Koecher, 30, Henderson, 13 Dec 2009 - # 6

[laytonian]

IMO, it's a step up from running off to join the circus - and you probably don't know anyone who's done that either!

We haven't mentioned carnivals.

 

[Fairy1]

We haven't mentioned carnivals.

That was by design on my part. I think Steven has too many teeth for that line of work....

 

[Fairy1]

Seriously, I don't know which way to turn next here. We're still missing so many important answers to questions that have been asked over and over and over again.

Any direction would be so helpful at this point.

 

[carbuff]

Are you sure? Outside of teenaged girl groupies, I can't think of any.

Considering some of the things Steven is supposed to have said about his guitar, running off to join a band is well short of being the most far-fetched theory we have...

 

[laytonian]

Seriously, I don't know which way to turn next here. We're still missing so many important answers to questions that have been asked over and over and over again.

Any direction would be so helpful at this point.

I'm starting to think that our questions directed at the St George area, are much more indepth than have been asked by the St George PD.

In the neighborhood, they interviewed who?
The landlords and the guy across the street?

Any questions we ask, related to a church schedule, are met with stony silence. Even here! What's so wrong about wanting to confirm when "ward temple night" was held?

 

[laytonian]

Considering some of the things Steven is supposed to have said about his guitar, running off to join a band is well short of being the most far-fetched theory we have...

But he left it behind.

 

[Fairy1]

But he left it behind.

We really don't know if he had others - and neither does anyone else. IMO.

 

[laytonian]

We really don't know if he had others - and neither does anyone else. IMO.

It's always referred to as singular, not "left one of his guitars" or "one of his guitars is missing". He may have had others at his parent's home, but it was guitar in St George.

 

[carbuff]

But he left it behind.

I didn't say it was a good theory, only that it wasn't the worst we'd come up with It seems like every time something seems to come together, another set of facts comes unglued at the other end.

Might have been just a size thing -- he doesn't seem to have taken anything that wouldn't fit into a pocket.

 

[Fairy1]

It's always referred to as singular, not "left one of his guitars" or "one of his guitars is missing". He may have had others at his parent's home, but it was guitar in St George.

I get it. The thing is, it seems Steven didn't have anyone truly involved in his day-to-day life. No one knows what clothes he had or what instruments he had or what he was doing with his nights or other off-time. There's a big hole with regard to information here. For us and the family. IMO.

 

[Mia]

Laytonian,
The hours fit, and it's just the kind of thing he would have liked. I think the Ruby Valley trip was,of course, a detour ; he really did want to visit the ranch. But, the hours fit , especially that last night, when he left St.George at around 10:30, and showed up in Vegas the next morning. It could also explain that comment about " maybe going to Sacramento", that no one could figure out. Makes sense if the band was going to play there. Also, those coats in his car ? Could have been for the guys he was with ; the band.That sounds like something he would do.
This was something he had done before, and it's very possible IMO.

i just don't think there's any evidence for Steven secretly roadie'ing for a mysterious band. Yes, he played guitar (but stopped because apparently he thought it "would ruin his life" - what was that quote all about anyway?? :waitasec and helped Dorsey a couple of times, but beyond that...I just don't think it fits. Why wouldn't he tell his parents? Or at least Dorsey? And wouldn't there be evidence of his communications with this "band" on his cell phone and/or e-mail? It just seems kind of random to me. (No offense, LizB, I'm a huge fan of your posts, they are always in-depth, descriptive, and thought-provoking).

You do bring up a good point about Sacramento. He did tell AN's family that he was going there. Kind of strange that he didn't say what for. If I was having lunch with someone, and they said they were planning on visiting a city out of state, my obvious question would be, "Oh really? What for? Vacation? To visit friends?" I just find it strange that AN's family didn't ask. Anyway, Steven could have been lying and just making conversation or trying to impress, or, perhaps, if he was planning on 'running away' either alone or with someone, this could be where he was planning on going. Maybe it was a slip of the tongue, and afterward he caught himself and that's why he didn't offer up more information on why he was planning on going there. Has this story been publicized in Sacramento? Does anyone know?

 

[Fairy1]

i just don't think there's any evidence for Steven secretly roadie'ing for a mysterious band. Yes, he played guitar (but stopped because apparently he thought it "would ruin his life" - what was that quote all about anyway?? :waitasec and helped Dorsey a couple of times, but beyond that...I just don't think it fits. Why wouldn't he tell his parents? Or at least Dorsey? And wouldn't there be evidence of his communications with this "band" on his cell phone and/or e-mail? It just seems kind of random to me. (No offense, LizB, I'm a huge fan of your posts, they are always in-depth, descriptive, and thought-provoking).

You do bring up a good point about Sacramento. He did tell AN's family that he was going there. Kind of strange that he didn't say what for. If I was having lunch with someone, and they said they were planning on visiting a city out of state, my obvious question would be, "Oh really? What for? Vacation? To visit friends?" I just find it strange that AN's family didn't ask. Anyway, Steven could have been lying and just making conversation or trying to impress, or, perhaps, if he was planning on 'running away' either alone or with someone, this could be where he was planning on going. Maybe it was a slip of the tongue, and afterward he caught himself and that's why he didn't offer up more information on why he was planning on going there. Has this story been publicized in Sacramento? Does anyone know?

BBM - good question. I do not know.

 

[Mia]

This case has just drawn me in like no other. My opinion has changed probably half a dozen times as to what I think happened...from running away, to committing suicide, to having a mental break and wandering the Vegas streets, most recently to being lured to SCA by a resident or non-resident for nefarious purposes and meeting with foul play. But the last few days, I just can't come up with any plausible theory regarding what anyone would want with Steven, and why they would want to hurt him, or what the 'nefarious purposes' would be. Unless Steven thought there was a real chance he'd be killed and wanted to hide the reason for his death from his family, I don't think he would have gone to the lengths to hide all of his communications with this hypothetical perpetrator (i.e., there would be records on his cell phone or at least e-mail or a written note). In fact, if Steven thought he was potentially entering a dangerous situation (which I don't anymore think he would) I think it would be MORE likely he'd be sure to leave some kind of record of his communications with this person/people behind, so that if he didn't come back his family/LE would know where to look.

Also, I'm just not really getting a 'dead' feeling from Steven, like, sadly, I was with Morgan Harrington or Abraham Shakespeare. Granted I'm nowhere near psychic and my intuitive abilities are moderate at best, but I really feel like Steven is alive (although based on my changing of opinion on what happened to him half a dozen times, take it with a boulder a salt). But seriously, he goes to Henderson, parks in a seemingly non-random place, and walks 'off camera' into the breezy afternoon. A year previously he leaves his family in SLC and moves to St. George...maybe this was an 'experiment' on his part to see how he liked/if he could live away from his family be be 'on his own', so to speak. The move just seems like a huge clue, and I never bought what Naegle told us his excuse to his parents was for the move: that he was sick of working nights because he didn't have any time to spend doing activities with his friends. Well, first of all moving to St. George he's not going to see his friends at all, and if he got a day job (9-5) he'd be at work all day, not hanging out with his friends. It just seems like a quickly whipped up cover to me. Could Steven have run away? Definitely, yes, Could he have done it alone? Less likely - no car, money (that we know of), shelter, etc. So who did he run away with? A woman? Maybe - but why wouldn't he tell his family he met the girl of his dreams and wanted to move away from Utah? Maybe he wanted to leave the church, and felt his family would disapprove. Maybe she wasn't LDS and he thought they would disapprove. Maybe he was secretly gay and moved on to start a new life. If Steven is gay, due to his involvement with the LDS church and his family's beliefs, I can totally see him leaving in this manner. Either way, he could be anywhere within the United States by now blending in quite nicely in his new life. My guess would be California; it's a state many people seem to run to, and Steven was not far away from it. Which brings us back to Sacramento...hmmm. Anyway, tonight I'm going to think this is what happened. It makes me happy.

 

[CONCRNED CTZN]

CONCRNED,
I don't think I wrote that Steven was helping Paul Doxie, or working for his band at that time. I think he may well have hooked up with another band, and was working as a roadie/advance guy for the band.
No indeed,we don't know what he was doing at night. But, there is one thing I know for sure : people have patterns.We all do. And when someone vanishes,it is their patterns that can often point the way to what might have happened. Steven Koecher had worked as a roadie before. This is a fact....

Sorry...my mistake. Thank you for the correction.

 

[liz b.]

Alright already, I'll nix the roadie theory.But, I'm finding it hard to accept that Steven is quite probably no longer alive ......
And, if I do say so myself, the roadie theory is waaay more believable than the idea of Steven Koecher acting as a coyote for illegal immigrants, or the idea of him running drugs .... JMO And, it still leaves us to figure out what he was doing,driving such distances ???? The question is still with us.

 

[Fairy1]

Alright already, I'll nix the roadie theory.But, I'm finding it hard to accept that Steven is quite probably no longer alive ......
And, if I do say so myself, the roadie theory is waaay more believable than the idea of Steven Koecher acting as a coyote for illegal immigrants, or the idea of him running drugs .... JMO And, it still leaves us to figure out what he was doing,driving such distances ???? The question is still with us.

I agree. Truthfully, every single theory discussed here has something that doesn't fit. IMO, it's because we're missing something...

What are we missing ya'll?

 

[CONCRNED CTZN]

It's always referred to as singular, not "left one of his guitars" or "one of his guitars is missing". He may have had others at his parent's home, but it was guitar in St George.

Unless it was in his portfolio... We know he didn't go back to his car. I think we can assume there was only one guitar. I agree with you Laytonian on this.

About the guitar, if we feel like it was so important...another reason to believe he was coming back or thought he was. He could have pawned it for cash if he planned on not returning. I can understand not pawning a computer b/c of information...but why leave a guitar and not just get some cash. There are a million places in Vegas that would probably love a guitar.

 

[Fairy1]

Unless it was in his portfolio... We know he didn't go back to his car. I think we can assume there was only one guitar. I agree with you Laytonian on this.

About the guitar, if we feel like it was so important...another reason to believe he was coming back or thought he was. He could have pawned it for cash if he planned on not returning. I can understand not pawning a computer b/c of information...but why leave a guitar and not just get some cash. There are a million places in Vegas that would probably love a guitar.

Actually, WE don't know if he went back to his car....

Perhaps someone else does???

 

[carbuff]

Alright already, I'll nix the roadie theory.But, I'm finding it hard to accept that Steven is quite probably no longer alive ......
And, if I do say so myself, the roadie theory is waaay more believable than the idea of Steven Koecher acting as a coyote for illegal immigrants, or the idea of him running drugs .... JMO And, it still leaves us to figure out what he was doing,driving such distances ???? The question is still with us.

Yeah, I totally agree with you there. I can see him maybe getting in trouble with loan sharks, or making some money-laundering deliveries, but that's about it.

 

[CONCRNED CTZN]

Actually, WE don't know if he went back to his car....

Perhaps someone else does???

True True

BUT...we do know that he didn't pawn the guitar at home. That was where I wanted to go with that comment really.