Samantha Koenig Disappearance: Missing Barista's Body Found In Alaska Lake, Police Say

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The body of an 18-year-old coffee shop worker who vanished Feb. 1 was found Monday by a forensic dive team in a lake north of Anchorage, Police Chief Mark Mew said.

A body believed to be that of Samantha Koenig of Anchorage was recovered from Matanuska Lake, Mew said. City police, state troopers and FBI agents spent hours at the lake scene Monday.

Surveillance video on the night Koenig was last seen showed her being led away from her coffee stand by a man believed to be armed.

Police said they believe the Anchorage woman died within hours of her abduction, Mew told a Monday evening news conference.

"Investigators further believe the person responsible for Samantha's death acted alone, and we are confident that we have that person in custody," Mew said.

The only man who has been listed by Anchorage police as a "person of interest" in the abduction of Koenig was arraigned March 27 in federal court in Anchorage on a fraud charge, shortly after being returned from Texas, where he was arrested.

Israel Keyes, 34, entered a not guilty plea to a charge of access device fraud. Federal prosecutors say he made cash withdrawals from a stolen debit card.

The card was not Koenig's.

"We are working closely with the U.S. Attorney's Office, and charges for Samantha's kidnapping and murder will be forthcoming," Mew said.

Local and federal investigators are seeking witnesses who may know something about the movements of Keyes' white three-quarter ton Chevrolet pickup, which was seized after Keyes' arrest in Texas.

"We would like to reiterate our request for information relative to the movement of the white pickup truck," FBI Special Agent in Anchorage Mary Rook said at Monday's news conference.

"Specifically, we want to hear from anyone who may have seen the truck in the vicinity of Matanuska Lake," she said.

Investigators earlier said they're looking for people who may have seen the truck in late January and early February near the midtown Anchorage coffee shack where Samantha Koenig worked as a barista and other locations.

The truck was equipped with green tool boxes that run the length of the box on each side. It also was photographed with a rack over the box, but the truck may have been driven without it, investigators said.

FBI agent Darrin Jones last week said the rack may have been off of the vehicle at the time of the incident.

Keyes likely would have needed help moving the rack on or off the truck, and investigators would like to speak to anyone who may have assisted him.

PHOTOS

Loading Slideshow

• Samantha Koenig

  A kidnapper abducted 18-year-old Samantha Koenig at gunpoint from the coffee stand in Alaska where she worked as a barista on Feb. 1.

• Father Offers Reward

  The body of Samantha Koenig was found April 2 by a forensic dive team in Matanuska Lake north of Anchorage, Alaska.

• Samantha Koenig

  Contractor Israel Keyes has been charged with kidnapping Samantha Koenig by federal prosecutors.

• Israel Keyes

  Israel Keyes was charged by federal prosecutors with kidnapping teenaged barista Samantha Koenig in February 2012. Koenig's body was found in a lake north of Anchorage, Alaska by divers in April. His dead body was found in his jail cell on Dec. 2, 2012 in an apparent suicide, according to law enforcement authorities.

• Samantha Koenig Twitter page.

  Source: https://twitter.com/ridethe907

• Samantha Koenig's MySpace profile. Source: http://www.myspace.com/ridethe907ak

From our partners

• 6 People Saved By Their Enemies - www.cracked.com
• 25 Crazy Celebrity Workouts And Diets - Guyism.com
• Experts: Decriminalize ALL Drugs! - Newser.com

Comments

[PoppaG]

10:17 AM on 04/06/2012

should have been put to death a long time ago.

[1 Alaskan]

10:35 PM on 04/05/2012

Because our girls (my daughter included) have to deal with strange people quire a bit while working in these coffee huts, they've formed quite a network. One of the things they do is write down the license plate numbers of the creeps who think its funny to make suggestive and inappropriate remarks. The responsible coffee shop owners make sure to give the information to APD. These girls are well versed in proper procedure and are pretty intelligent people - including Samantha. We did lose a valuable resource with the death of one of our young people, we also lost a little more innocence. RIP Samantha.

[HammerHeadCombatSystems]

10:56 PM on 04/04/2012

I hope this helps.

http://hammerheadcombatsystems.org/2012/03/08/counter-abduction-principles/

[Zutroy]

03:13 PM on 04/05/2012

It doesn't, and you've been reported.

[evolvedtg]

06:22 PM on 04/09/2012

It does help, What's listed in the site above makes a lot of sense and didn't cost a penny to read. What's wrong with you? "You've been reported.." This kind of info could save a kid's life. Sheesh, mr. policeman of the internet?

[Terri Entcorrenti]

08:37 PM on 04/16/2012

Reported for what???? What the heck is wrong with you?? What Hammerhead posted is very valuable info!

[Gregor53]

03:27 PM on 04/04/2012

Another senseless killing of our most value resource - a young person. My thoughts are with the family in this time or sorrow. Now closure can be found.

[country girl15]

05:31 AM on 04/04/2012

My Sincerest and Deepest Sympathies to her Family,
I Pray they can at least find some closure now that they can give their loved one a proper memorial. I know they may never find peace( i can certaily understand that) but i hope having her found i hope as i said at least gives them closure. I hope this guy if guilty of this awful crime get's what he deserves.
Rest In Peace Samantha Koenig

[Cerulean1299]

04:38 AM on 04/04/2012

My condolences to her family and friends. I don't know the particulars in this case but I hope justice is served.

[Bare Bones]

02:43 AM on 04/04/2012

tips for young ladies: when you're in a parking lot, someone walks toward you, to avoid them, walk 90 degrees of them. I've had men laugh at me that I'm so alert and go out of my way to avoid them in parking lots. Do not allow that ridicule intimidate you. That's what the abductor counts on in many cases. Try my method, you'll see what I'm talking about. It happens more often than you think. Every day women are abducted by men who rely on women not wanting to look weak. Don't become a victim. Get angry.

[JusticeSleuth]

03:28 AM on 04/04/2012

Statistics do not favor a good outcome in many of these situations and I agree with bare that women should be tougher and defiant no matter what the ridicule. Right on, predators look for any sign of weakness. A lot of space, a no nonsense attitude go a long way. Not to mention Krav Maga! Some people would freeze under this situation while others would valiantly struggle with suspect for control of weapon. Resistance is the path of the warrior!

[Tina Evans]

09:49 PM on 04/04/2012

Heck just carry a gun or something you can get to easy. I was a truck driver for 18 yrs and the law states we couldn't carry any kind of weapons..so I got me a baseball bat an a stun gun. But Bare is right they prey on women that show weakness..I don't take crap from anyone you mess with my family I will have justice..My heart goes out to the family..and Justice is right to they say if you don't find them in the first 48 hrs chances are they aren't coming home..My very best friend her little girl was playing on the porch when someone took her and she is still missing and this happened in 2005..So I do know the feelings of the family's that endure these situations..God Bless you all..

[nancy kriescher]

08:45 AM on 04/04/2012

I too. also a few external accessories also, I also 8/10 ths of the year, stuff tissue in my shoulder pads in my jackets, to give me a broader shoulder, still very feminine, but, I walk tall, alert, with my eybrows pinched, like an owl.. Please don't laugh, posters. also another trick, if you are approached, grabbed, yell out a name, Jeff! < Over here!, or wave to someone over the perp's shoulder, a second could be the chance you have to kick ahemm.. u know where, or bite."

[fieryat41]

12:28 AM on 04/04/2012

I was sure hoping for a better outcome. R I P Samantha. My condolences to the family.

[denum1fan]

12:10 AM on 04/04/2012

So young, so beautiful, so sad.......

[mykirbyroo]

10:26 PM on 04/03/2012

Right from the beginning, I felt this poor girl was dead. Her poor parents must be relieved. At least now they know. God, hold them close.

[Wendy Stewart]

09:12 PM on 04/03/2012

May god bless this sweet young woman. For someone to take this child away from her family and murder her for no reason is unimaginable. This case is a perfect example why there should be a death penalty. May the family find peace.

[Cheshire13]

09:39 PM on 04/03/2012

Would it be more acceptable if she weren't cute?

[doorlie]

10:13 PM on 04/03/2012

It would be less unacceptable for sure.

[sharon cresap]

01:37 AM on 04/05/2012

really ? cute ? and that is why you are effected by this? She was an 18 year old full of life , cute or not. Didn't deserve this, and this community is mourning the loss. U flippin idiot, what does cute have to do with the loss of this girl ?

[doorlie]

05:10 PM on 04/05/2012

No need to get ugly because you disagree with me.

[liephman88]

07:53 PM on 04/03/2012

Alot of folks hear are saying you should fight back and they are right no matter what you must fight back with every fiber of your being. Back in the 70's things where so bad in New York that the people would just turn their head and walk away from someone being attacked so the NewYork police department started telling folks if your attacked scream as loud as you can "FIRE! FIRE!" people would run into the streets to see a fire but not to calls for help.

[GOODDOC1]

03:37 AM on 04/05/2012

The problem is, in this situation ONLY, no one would have heard her. The only business open near her was a gym, without windows that faced the coffee shack. It was pitch black (Feb.1, in Alaska), and snowing heavily over a parking lot full of ice. She was doomed from the start -- unfortunately.

[Flynndog]

06:57 PM on 04/03/2012

Time to start killing the animals!

[zackeryrichards]

05:42 PM on 04/03/2012

I read a lot of nice comments on here, and most ask the question: "when will this
ever end"?. It will not end until the authorities stop releasing these animals. When
one is arrested he should be kept in detention by some means or other. I under-
stand there are laws that govern this . . . . . but they need to be changed!! It has
been proven over and over that these animals NEVER change. In the Orlando area
one was "released on home confinement" after being arrested and taken to court.
Within a week he was back in court for an even worse crime!! He called him-self
a "monster" and told a reporter he should have never been released. The tax payer
pays lot's of bucks into the judicial system . . . . it's time they started coming up
with ways to deal with these animals.

[beekeeper1]

01:11 PM on 04/06/2012

there is but only one way to deal with pedators and jail isn't the answer

[zackeryrichards]

02:26 PM on 04/06/2012

beekeeper1: I agree . . . . but caution has to be used. There is a trial going on
right now in the Orlanda, Florida area for a couple of guys who beat a 69 year
old man (they THOUGHT) was a child predator, to death with a bat. Turns out
he was NOT.

[evolvedtg]

06:33 PM on 04/09/2012

Blind them all when they come out if they don't want to execute them.

[Cassief]

09:06 AM on 04/17/2012

Wow, your post is scary. I just posted a comment almost just like yours. Guess I should have read yours 1st. I agree!