NV NV - Steven T. Koecher, 30, Henderson, 13 Dec 2009 - #12

[laytonian]

This was news to me:

"(Steven) told people he would be back."

It's just a misquote of what Steven's father has said many times.

When Rolf Koecher writes about it himself, he says it the same way that GW stated it (click!): " He said he was in the Las Vegas area but would be willing to get back to St. George that afternoon if they needed him."

 

[laytonian]

http://www.standard.net/topics/safe...ahns-picture-milk-carton-utah-southern-nevada

Here is one of the links to SK's picture on the half gallon. I can see why this one was chosen-I am sure that it (perhaps) best resembled SK when he was last seen in the video...clean cut.

But, what if he looks more like the SK from some of the facebook photos where he is more casual and scruffy, with the ball cap on? I wonder how many people who bought half gallons of milk live on or around college campuses to begin with, then notice the back of the carton and then would compare it to SK??? :waitasec:

That's why a WSer here prepared a better flyer for people to download, and it's posted on the timeline. It shows several views of Steven, not just the "returned missionary" picture that the parents have used (or the many years-old photo with the blue shirt). According to Steven's cousin, he most resembled, when he disappeared, the photo on the FB page showing him dumping a wheelbarrow. Much heavier than in other photos.

I think you are correct about the liklihood of SK traveling to TX and being hidden by friends of his parents....

That's an interesting theory. How would that work? Friends of his parents would seriously wound their friends, by hiding their son? Why, since he had a car, wouldn't he just have driven to Texas? (Why hide?)

 

[believe09]

How would a missing person "hang out" on a college campus?




Yes, he has friends there -- and his best friend from Amarillo came to Vegas to help search for him on Apr 10th.

Why hide him?
Hide him from what?

I dont understand your first question, laytonian. I think he could blend into a college campus environment very easily. If you dont, OK.

As to the second and third, I am speculating on the possibility that an alive Steven had help in his disappearance, if in fact he is alive and he disappeared out of the state of Nevada. If he dumped his car and sailed off into the sunset, he may have had someone waiting for him to help him get away from the pressures of his life. Who would do that for you but a close friend?

 

[believe09]

It's just a misquote of what Steven's father has said many times.

When Rolf Koecher writes about it himself, he says it the same way that GW stated it (click!): " He said he was in the Las Vegas area but would be willing to get back to St. George that afternoon if they needed him."

I will post what the reporter has to say if he writes back regarding my question.

 

[believe09]

That's why a WSer here prepared a better flyer for people to download, and it's posted on the timeline. It shows several views of Steven, not just the "returned missionary" picture that the parents have used (or the many years-old photo with the blue shirt). According to Steven's cousin, he most resembled, when he disappeared, the photo on the FB page showing him dumping a wheelbarrow. Much heavier than in other photos.



That's an interesting theory. How would that work? Friends of his parents would seriously wound their friends, by hiding their son? Why, since he had a car, wouldn't he just have driven to Texas? (Why hide?)

I think people do all kinds of things for all kinds of reasons, laytonian. I can envision a scenario where the plight of the child (Steven) MIGHT supercede the regard for the friendship.

 

[laytonian]

How would a missing person "hang out" on a college campus?




Yes, he has friends there -- and his best friend from Amarillo came to Vegas to help search for him on Apr 10th.

Why hide him?
Hide him from what?[/quote]

I dont understand your first question, laytonian. I think he could blend into a college campus environment very easily. If you dont, OK.

As to the second and third, I am speculating on the possibility that an alive Steven had help in his disappearance, if in fact he is alive and he disappeared out of the state of Nevada. If he dumped his car and sailed off into the sunset, he may have had someone waiting for him to help him get away from the pressures of his life. Who would do that for you but a close friend?

My first question was very serious.
How does a missing person "hang out" (undetected) on a college campus?
Sleep in someone's room, undetected?
Use the dining rooms, undetected?
Sleep in the bushes at night, undetected?

If he left SCA (to go anywhere), he could have had help from a very good friend. It's a very good idea -- but if one is truly interested in seriously solving this case: which friend would that be?

 

[laytonian]

I think people do all kinds of things for all kinds of reasons, laytonian. I can envision a scenario where the plight of the child (Steven) MIGHT supercede the regard for the friendship.

"A child"? We're talking about a college-educated, 30-year-old man. With a mother who gave him money to help him out (but which he didn't use).

 

[believe09]

My first question was very serious.
How does a missing person "hang out" (undetected) on a college campus?
Sleep in someone's room, undetected?
Use the dining rooms, undetected?
Sleep in the bushes at night, undetected?

If he left SCA (to go anywhere), he could have had help from a very good friend. It's a very good idea -- but if one is truly interested in seriously solving this case: which friend would that be?

You dont think that if Steven walked away he is living as Steven Koecher do you? Although I have seen it happen before, that would take a lot of nerve. My guess would be that he assumed another identity if he stayed in Las Vegas. When I was pondering the possibility of that, I wondered where he could be that he had not really stood out in the last 5 months. And thats when I started to consider him hanging around a college environment.

Not having a complete list of close friends puts me at a disavantage for answering your last question. Since you are the family contact, and you make it clear you feel well versed in this case perhaps you are better able to answer that one.

 

[believe09]

"A child"? We're talking about a college-educated, 30-year-old man. With a mother who gave him money to help him out (but which he didn't use).

There are many connotations for the world "child", laytonian. He was his parents "child." Beyond that, I am certain I am not the only one that finds his struggles with his life and his rationalizations regarding why this job was not a fit or this woman was not a fit as not socially mature.

 

[laytonian]

You dont think that if Steven walked away he is living as Steven Koecher do you? Although I have seen it happen before, that would take a lot of nerve.

My guess would be that he assumed another identity if he stayed in Las Vegas. When I was pondering the possibility of that, I wondered where he could be that he had not really stood out in the last 5 months. And thats when I started to consider him hanging around a college environment.

I understand, but he'd need a support system and an income, or be VERY attractive to someone who wants to support him 100%.

As for identity: he could live undetected, IMO, under any identity he chose. He's an average-looking guy in every respect. He's written (as I mentioned here several times) under the pseudonym "Steven Thell" and could use that as a job reference.

[
Not having a complete list of close friends puts me at a disavantage for answering your last question. Since you are the family contact, and you make it clear you feel well versed in this case perhaps you are better able to answer that one.

Remember the old joke about how to tell a good friend: "A good friend will help you move".

If someone helped him move, which would have been the purpose of all that driving on Dec 12th and 13th, then it shouldn't be hard to find someone who was also gone during the time period in question. Among all of his known friends, there's no one that fits that description. Among his non-friends, their whereabouts are known and in some cases, self-admitted.

If there's an unknown friend, then we're back to the "how did they link up" issue.

 

[believe09]

cool-so there is a chance that he could be living and working in Las Vegas under at least one pseudonym...I am sure the PI is all over that scenario since there does not seem to be any compelling evidence that he is dead. At least that we know about.

But as you all have noted, there is not much being said on the facebook right now, and not much in the way of media....

 

[laytonian]

There are many connotations for the world "child", laytonian. He was his parents "child." Beyond that, I am certain I am not the only one that finds his struggles with his life and his rationalizations regarding why this job was not a fit or this woman was not a fit as not socially mature.

I think it was more an inner struggle against religion and its constrictures, and the need to fit into the expectations of a large family. His family's friends, though, are from the Amarillo LDS wards and thus of the same religion -- so if they were hiding him, he'd be under the same constraints.

He may have been socially awkward/immature at times, but his coworkers didn't see anything that odd about him. They've described him as smart and funny. We've heard the music he wrote and sung.

Even the person who trained him for the SL Tribune job, couldn't describe anything *that* odd about him.

I'm wondering about undiagnosed/uncontrolled hypothyroidism. It would describe his physical changes, inattention, halting speech, some depression, feeling cold, weight gain and anxiety. I know. I've had experience with it for over 50 years....and a bad period about 25 years ago.

If he had such a problem, it would be easily diagnosed and medicated. But if it was unrecognized, he could have been in serious trouble -- and (IMO) unable to plan a complicated escape from life.

 

[laytonian]

cool-so there is a chance that he could be living and working in Las Vegas under at least one pseudonym...I am sure the PI is all over that scenario since there does not seem to be any compelling evidence that he is dead. At least that we know about.

But as you all have noted, there is not much being said on the facebook right now, and not much in the way of media....

I would HOPE the family and PI are aware of it; I've mentioned it here several times, and emailed. But there's been no response.

 

[rd_jfc]

This was news to me:

"(Steven) told people he would be back."

I wonder who he told he would back (people as in plural even)?

This article specifically referred to his debit cards, as I thought.

The father thinks that is a portfolio under his arm, possibly containing his resume, and that he was lured there. I have to agree now that I've got clarification of Steven's business relationship with the window cleaning company.

I called the number on the flyer and talked to TH. Steven didn't do any of the window cleaning and was just helping out by handing out some flyers to earn some money to help pay rent. So the implication there is that there was no commission sales as I thought and other people did the cleaning.

TH said the cleaning wasn't done down there where SK was so wouldn't do any good to hand out flyers there.

So that's more or less what everyone else understood and thought but I had to rule it out.

Much thanks to TH for taking the time to answer my questions.

rd

 

[rd_jfc]

That's why a WSer here prepared a better flyer for people to download, and it's posted on the timeline. It shows several views of Steven, not just the "returned missionary" picture that the parents have used (or the many years-old photo with the blue shirt). According to Steven's cousin, he most resembled, when he disappeared, the photo on the FB page showing him dumping a wheelbarrow. Much heavier than in other photos.

That's what I was thinking about the Henderson video walking way from the car. That explains why he looks heavier than in the flyer picture.

rd

 

[carbuff]

rd, thanks very much for checking that out.

 

[laytonian]

That's what I was thinking about the Henderson video walking way from the car. That explains why he looks heavier than in the flyer picture.

rd

The first flyer picture (blue shirt) is several years old and he was MUCH thinner (and younger) then.

THIS picture, July 2009, is what Naegle told us was most representational of how Steven would have looked when he disappeared. Notice how he's very heavy in the face; he'd be "that much" heavier all over.. The figure we see walking in the video looks much thinner, to me.
(Yes, I know.....I'm the only one who thinks MAYBE it's not SK who parked the car -- but what better way to throw everyone off, than to park a car in a strange place?)

 

[rd_jfc]

wow, that's so much different than the flyer. Who would recognize him now from the flyer picture that hadn't seen him before?

Yes, that's the thickness of body I saw in video and commented about. Was assured family recognized him but now I see why.

rd

 

[laytonian]

I wonder who he told he would back (people as in plural even)?

"People" would be "the people at church" -- but since he really didn't say he'd be back, just that he'd come back if "they" needed him......

This article specifically referred to his debit cards, as I thought.

It's always been "debit" cards. If he had a credit (non-debit) card, it didn't sound like the family knew about it.

The father thinks that is a portfolio under his arm, possibly containing his resume, and that he was lured there. I have to agree now that I've got clarification of Steven's business relationship with the window cleaning company.

I called the number on the flyer and talked to TH. Steven didn't do any of the window cleaning and was just helping out by handing out some flyers to earn some money to help pay rent. So the implication there is that there was no commission sales as I thought and other people did the cleaning.

TH said the cleaning wasn't done down there where SK was so wouldn't do any good to hand out flyers there.

So that's more or less what everyone else understood and thought but I had to rule it out.

Much thanks to TH for taking the time to answer my questions.

rd

Thanks for bugging him

He probably got a lot of calls months ago...and yours was probably timed correctly.

TH said from the first that he wouldn't be handing flyers out, and it was also obvious that it'd be nonproductive for a cleaning company to dispatch window cleaners on a 240+ mile errand. "Mrs Smith, that'll be $29.95 for our window-cleaning special, and $72.00 for mileage."

 

[rd_jfc]

"People" would be "the people at church" -- but since he really didn't say he'd be back, just that he'd come back if "they" needed him......



It's always been "debit" cards. If he had a credit (non-debit) card, it didn't sound like the family knew about it.



Thanks for bugging him

He probably got a lot of calls months ago...and yours was probably timed correctly.

TH said from the first that he wouldn't be handing flyers out, and it was also obvious that it'd be nonproductive for a cleaning company to dispatch window cleaners on a 240+ mile errand. "Mrs Smith, that'll be $29.95 for our window-cleaning special, and $72.00 for mileage."

you're welcome, laytonian.

We just had this discussion a few posts back. I responded that your numbers are based on one job, that they would be canvassing for multiple jobs. I also didn't know if SK was doing any of the work himself. He wasn't.

It also appears to me to be his self description as wildly overstating the gig as anything but a very short term one time hand out some flyers.

It wasn't always debit cards. I got chastized a few posts back for saying debit cards.

rd