On December 13, 2009, around noon, Steven Koecher parked his car at the end of a street in the Anthem neighborhood of Henderson, Nevada.
A nearby security camera filmed him getting out of his car and walking away.
He returned to his car a little later, took something from it, and walked away again.
Another security camera caught his reflection in a car window as he walked.
Since then, he has not been seen.
Steven Koecher's Education and Career
Steven Koecher was born on November 1, 1979, in Amarillo, Texas.
He was the son of Rolf and Deanne Koecher.
He grew up with three siblings and was very involved in the Boy Scouts of America, where he achieved the high rank of Eagle Scout.
Koecher graduated from Amarillo High School in 1998 and pursued higher education at Ricks College (now Brigham Young University–Idaho).
He later attended the University of Utah, where he obtained a degree in communications.
As a dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), he went on a mission to Brazil and learned to speak Portuguese fluently.
After college, Koecher interned in the Utah governor's office.
Later, he worked as a part-time reporter for the Davis County Clipper, a newspaper published twice a week and edited by his father.
In 2007, he started working in the digital advertising department of the Salt Lake Tribune.
However, he quit because he didn't like working the overnight shift and was worried about the health effects of Salt Lake City's winter air pollution.
Koecher moved to St. George, Utah, hoping to find better job opportunities and enjoy a warmer climate.
However, because of the Great Recession, finding a job was very difficult.
He got a job handing out flyers for a local window-washing company, but it didn't pay enough to cover his bills.
By November 2009, he was several months behind on rent.
Greg Webb, someone from Koecher's church, said the electric company was going to cut off his power because he hadn't paid the bill
Because of this, Koecher was looking for a new job and was using connections from his church to help him find one.
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| Steven Koecher |
Mysterious Travels and Disappearance
On December 10, 2009, Koecher started a surprising trip, driving nearly 1,100 miles through Utah and Nevada.
Beginning early in the morning, he drove from St. George to Salt Lake City, then to West Wendover, Nevada, and eventually to Ruby Valley, Nevada, where he visited the Neff family.
Koecher had previously dated Annemarie Neff.
He showed up that day unannounced and told her parents he wanted to see her but she wasn't there.
He told them he was heading to visit family in Sacramento, California, but wasn't sure if he could continue because of bad weather.
After two hours, he left and decided to go back to St. George the same way he came.
Koecher's unusual travel routes and the significant distances covered raised questions about his intentions and state of mind during this period.
That same day, Koecher spoke with his mother on the phone but he never mentioned a road trip to her.
On December 12, 2009, Koecher went on another road trip, and his actions that day were equally confusing.
His phone pinged near Overton, Nevada, in the morning, and he later purchased gas and snacks in Mesquite, Nevada.
That evening, he returned to St. George, buying Christmas gifts at a local Kmart.
A neighbor remembered seeing Koecher come back to his apartment around 10 p.m.
Thirty minutes later, he left again.
Although no one saw him return that night, it's possible he did.
The next morning, on December 13, his church member Webb phoned Koecher.
He was returning from Las Vegas and was worried he might not get back to St. George in time for the 11 a.m. service.
He asked Koecher if he could lead the service since he wouldn't make it.
Koecher said he was also near Las Vegas, which is about 150 miles away, but he would come back if necessary.
Webb told him not to stress and said he would try to make it back on time.
Later that morning, another member of the church called with a similar request but dropped it when Koecher explained where he was.
Neither Webb nor the other caller questioned why Koecher had gone to Las Vegas that morning, and they didn't find anything strange about their conversations with him.
At 11:54 a.m., a security camera at Savannah Springs Avenue in Sun City, part of the Anthem community in southern Henderson, recorded Koecher's car entering the cul-de-sac where it was later found.
Six minutes later, someone wearing a white shirt and slacks, believed to be Koecher by his family, walked down the sidewalk in the opposite direction.
He was carrying what looked like a file folder or portfolio.
Shortly after, another camera in a garage caught his reflection as he walked away.
Koecher hasn't been seen since then.
Video 1 of the last time he's seen (Source - facebook)
Video 2 of the last time he's seen (Source - youtube)
However, Koecher's phone stayed active for two days after he was last seen.
Around 5 p.m. that day, it connected to a tower at the intersection of Arroyo Grande Boulevard and American Pacific Drive, over 10 miles from where he parked.
Two hours later, it connected to another tower near Henderson's Whitney Ranch neighborhood, two miles north of the previous location.
Early the next morning, the phone connected to a tower at the interchange of Interstate 515/U.S. Route 93 and Russell Road, two miles further north.
The phone stayed active near that tower for the next two days before going off.
There has been no activity on his phone since then.
Three days after his disappearance, the homeowners' association in Sun City noticed Koecher's car parked at the end of the Savannah Springs cul-de-sac.
They tried to find out who owned the car by looking through the windows.
That was when they saw one of the flyers Koecher had been handing out for the window-washing company in St. George.
They called the number on the flyer and eventually spoke with the company's owner, who gave them Koecher's cell phone number.
They called the number and when he didn't pick up, they left a voicemail for him.
Later, they spoke with Koecher's mother and she recalled that no one else in the family had talked to him in a week and couldn't find him.
It was at this point she reported him missing.
Investigation
Koecher's brother and sister drove to St. George from the Salt Lake City area to begin searching for him.
Realizing he was missing, they immediately began searching the Las Vegas area, including jails, hospitals, and morgues.
At one time, staff at an International House of Pancakes said a man who looked like Koecher had been eating there every night for the past three weeks.
His family ate there for four nights hoping to see Koecher but he didn't show up.
Eventually, another employee gave them a clearer picture of the man and his habits, convincing the family he wasn't Koecher.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police (LVMPD) searched the houses in the neighborhood where Koecher's car was found with the help of volunteers.
They used helicopters, all-terrain vehicles, and sniffer dogs but no substantial leads emerged.
By Christmas, the news media in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas started covering the story.
A local dairy put Koecher's photo on milk cartons, and the LVMPD released a video about the case on its YouTube channel.
In April 2010, another group of searchers combed the open desert which is south of the Henderson Executive Airport.
They were following a tip given to a former LVMPD officer who was now working as a private investigator for Koecher's family.
About 70 people searched a half-mile area for two hours.
They found bone fragments, but they turned out not to be human.
A cousin of the Koechers created a Facebook page dedicated to the case.
It received tips and suggestions on how to continue the investigation.
Members of the WebSleuths Internet forum also got involved and compiled a timeline of events using newspaper articles and social media posts from Koecher's family and friends.
In 2015, a local search and rescue team organized another search, this time focusing on the hills south of Anthem, based on a different theory about what Koecher might have been doing.
Despite all these attempts, they didn't find anything.
Theories Surrounding the Disappearance
Koecher's family believes that considering his money situation back then, he probably went to Henderson that morning to look for a job.
Even though he parked his car in an unusual place, security footage shows Koecher looking well-dressed and walking with determination.
This suggests he knew his destination and what he was going there to do.
In 2018, Steven's brother Dallin noted, "he didn't seem lost or confused."
There has also been no concrete evidence to suggest what happened after he was last seen on camera.
Some of the theories explored in his disappearance include:
1. Voluntary Disappearance - One of the theories investigated was that Koecher chose to vanish on his own to begin a new life somewhere else, but his family strongly disagreed.
Despite Koecher's financial problems, his family doesn't think he decided to vanish or commit suicide.
His mother recalled their last conversation on December 10, where he seemed hopeful about finding a new job, and they were even planning for his Christmas visit home.
Koecher's car and its contents also indicate he planned to return to St. George.
His father mentioned the car was working and had half tank of gas when it was found.
Inside the car were Christmas gifts Koecher bought for his brother and family at Kmart the day before.
Also found were job applications and flyers from his employer that helped the homeowners' association contact his parents.
At Koecher's apartment, his clothes and belongings were intact and nothing seemed unusual.
2. Foul Play - Koecher's unusual travel in the days leading up to his disappearance, led to speculations that he may have turned to illicit activities for money.
A drug dog was brought in to sniff around his car but didn't detect anything suspicious.
Another vehicle was captured on security camera footage driving around the street when Koecher parked and left his car.
The car was investigated and found to be a local real estate agent showing a house in the area.
Checks of Koecher's financial records and phone calls didn't reveal anything strange apart from his trips.
There was only one charge on his credit card after he disappeared, which was an automatic payment to the web hosting company GoDaddy.
A search of Koecher's computer and internet history found nothing unusual.
The Koecher family did not see his travels as odd.
They say one of the reasons he moved to St. George was to explore his family's history in that region.
He frequently visited cemeteries to search for his ancestors' graves.
Steven's mother thinks these trips were simply a way for him to stay occupied because he didn't have a full-time job.
3. Kidnap/Murder - There is no evidence indicating Koecher was murdered or kidnapped.
But the police haven't ruled out this possibility either.
Detective Adam Olmstead from St. George police said to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "There's nothing suspicious, but it's a strange situation."
4. Speculated link to the disappearance of Susan Powell
Early in the investigation into Koecher's disappearance, tips surfaced online suggesting a possible connection between his case and the disappearance of Susan Powell.
Koecher disappeared a week after Susan Powell went missing from her home in West Valley City, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City.
Susan Powell's case received a lot of media attention because people suspected her husband, Joshua, due to their marital issues.
In 2010, Joshua's family started claiming on a website they created to find Susan that she had falsely accused him of murder and had run away with Koecher.
They allege Susan ran away with the help of her family.
Steven Powell, Joshua's father, detailed this theory in a letter sent in February to police and FBI agents investigating Susan's case.
Police looked into the allegations but found no evidence to back it up.
By 2011, a family friend of the Koechers, who had taken over managing their Facebook page, dismissed the allegations as "nonsense."
Even with relentless searches and media attention, Steven Koecher's case remains unsolved, leaving a trail of unanswered questions for investigators and his loved ones.
As time passes, it may become harder to find clear answers, but the search for the truth and closure for Koecher continues.
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