The Disappearance of Samantha Koenig

(Photo is of 18-year-old Samantha Koenig)

On February 1st, 2012, around 2000 hrs (8:00PM) an 18-year-old girl by the name of Samantha Koenig was fiddling with coffee machines inside of a small teal colored shack. This shack was a very popular coffee shop named “Common Grounds” which sat in the middle of a large parking lot located in the sparsely populated city of Anchorage, Alaska.

The parking lot was coated with a blanket of snow. There were a few cars scattered about in the parking lot where the coffee shop was located but for the most part the night had been fairly quiet. As Ms. Koenig’s shift was nearing an end, she made a cup of coffee. A man wearing a thick set of winter clothes approached the small shack and made his way up to the window.

Ms. Koenig walked over to the window and greeted the man. He ordered an Americano and Ms. Koenig immediately started on his order. She walked over to the coffee machine, grabbed a small white cup sitting up top, and placed it underneath the nozzle. The coffee began to pour into the cup, steam and the smell of coffee grounds filling the air. Once the coffee’s slow drip ceased Ms. Koenig grabbed the cup and showed it to the man at the window, ensuring that it was made to his satisfaction.

The man was content with his coffee and Ms. Koenig put the lid on the warm cup and handed it over to him. After handing the man his coffee, Ms. Koenig diverted her attention to something behind her then looked back at the man before leaping backwards and defensively placing her hands in front of her body. Her eyebrows raised in distress as the man ordered her to turn off the lights in the coffee shop, focusing his pistol on her.

Ms. Koenig quickly ducks below the window and sits on her knees attempting to be quiet and still for a minute before getting up and walking over to the cash register. She then nervously opens the register, grabbing a handful of cash before walking back over to the window and handing the man outside the items in her hand. She then gets down on her knees again and ducks.

Soon after, the mysterious man outside of the window leans inside of the kiosk and begins to tie Ms. Koenig’s hands behind her back. Once the man finishes tying Ms. Koenig’s hands, he jumps into the window with ease, shuts it behind him and proceeds to press the pistol into Ms. Koenig’s back. He then orders her to walk as he moves her outside of the kiosk and over to his truck which is parked not far off from the shack.

On January 31st, 2012, Ms. Koenig asked her boyfriend, Duane Tortolani II, if he could pick her up from work on the evening of February 1st, 2012. Duane obliged and on the night of February 1st, 2012 he drove over to The Common Grounds and arrived around 2030 hrs (8:30PM), approximately 30 minutes after The Common Grounds would have been closed.

As he is looking around the parking lot for Ms. Koenig, he notices that she is no where to be found. The coffee shop itself had the lights cut off and was obviously shut down for the night. Duane then parked his truck, stepped outside and was met with a bitter breeze in the air. He walked through the snow and made his way over to the window of the shack, pressed his face up against it and tried to see if he could spot anyone inside. It was void of people.

Confused, Duane walked back over to his truck, hopped inside and pondered about where she could possibly be. Earlier in the day the couple had gotten into a small fight. Ms. Koenig thought that Duane was cheating on her and Duane, being a nonchalant person, behaved as though these accusations did not bother him, thus angering Ms. Koenig further. Still, it didn’t make sense as to why she would have left work without informing him that she would have gotten a ride beforehand.

To be on the safe side, Duane had sent a couple of messages to Ms. Koenig in an attempt to make sure that she was safe at home. He waited for a few minutes and never received a reply. The longer he sat there the more concerned he became so, he decided that he would drive over to Ms. Koenig’s residence and check in to make sure that she was at home.

Once he arrived he stepped out of his truck, approached the home and knocked on the door. Ms. Koenig’s father, James Koenig Jr, whom she was very close to, answered the door. Duane explained how he had been trying to get in contact with Ms. Koenig and he had not heard back from her and then asked if she had made it home. James was taken back by this and told Duane that she hadn’t came home yet.

James invited Duane in and the two sat down in the kitchen and discussed how strange it was that they couldn’t get a hold of her. Ms. Koenig was not the type of person to unexpectedly leave for days at a time without telling anyone, especially not without informing her father of her whereabouts.

James and Duane both began to send numerous texts and calls to Ms. Koenig. Eventually, Duane received a reply back that stated she needed some time to think, that she would be back in a couple of days, and for Duane to relay the message to her father. James thought that this was strange. Ms. Koenig had always been so open with him and she could clearly see that he was worried about her so, why would she ignore his messages and reply to only Duane instead?

By the time the two men had a strange feeling in their gut it was in the early morning hours of February 2nd, 2012. James had decided to go to the Anchorage Police Department to file a missing persons report.

An officer with the Anchorage Police Department was assigned to Ms. Koenig’s missing persons case. The officer called the owner of the Common Grounds coffee shop, Michelle Duncan, and Ms. Duncan stated that she received a distressed call earlier in the day from an employee who was responsible for opening the shop. The employee stated that the store had been robbed and that Ms. Koenig had not made contact with any of her colleagues. This stood out to the owner, as well as the opening employee because the 18-year-old was very mature and trustworthy. They knew that she wouldn’t have done something like this herself, now all everyone had to do was prove this to the police.

At first, this would prove to be difficult. Police officers called around and spoke to friends, family and acquaintances while other officers went to the coffee shop to investigate the potential crime scene. Upon arrival on scene the officers noticed that the shop was, in fact, a mess; however, it did not look as though someone had been abducted. Inside of the shop there was a panic button located underneath one of the counters that had not been pressed.

Originally, the police handled this situation as a robbery. They had assumed, based on what evidence they had so far, that Ms. Koenig had stolen the money out of the register herself before fleeing the scene. The only issue was how she left since she did not have any personal means of transportation. She couldn’t have walked due to how cold it was on the night of February 1st, 2012. While this seemed like a plausible theory, it quickly went down the drain as soon as they laid their eyes upon the surveillance footage everything changed.

The Anchorage Police Department had requested assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. While experts worked on the case they kept running out of ideas on what to do. The only evidence that they had was surveillance footage with an obscured man approaching the kiosk, once Ms. Koenig shut off the lights in the shop, the footage became even more difficult to make out.

Here is what we know in regard to Ms. Koenig’s victimology: she was a 18-year-old girl who was involved in a low-risk lifestyle. She did not partake in gangs, violence, and she had no criminal background. She was not a runaway, did not suffer from any know mental issues and was overall known to be a good person. The one thing that could have potentially been considered moderate to high risk was the hours that she worked at the Common Grounds coffee shop (considering the location and that she would have been the only worker at such a late hour.)

As the days went by Ms. Koenig’s abduction attracted national attention. James Koenig had gained such a large following after spreading the word about his daughters disappearance that he was receiving support from hundreds of people. The residents of Anchorage were aiding in the search for his daughter. People from all across the United States had started a GoFundMe campaign to help chip in for a reward for whoever was able to find Ms. Koenig.

On February 24th, 2012, James received a message from Ms. Koenig’s phone which read,”Conner park sign under pic of albert aint she purty.” The message was referring to a specific sign inside of a public park in Anchorage. James notified Duane of the message and the two men notified police before speeding over to the park.

One the two men arrived at the park they entered and walked over to a sign. There was a photo of a dog named Albert and beneath the photo was a ziplock bag and the contents were disturbing to say the least. Once James opened the bag he noticed a ransom note with a Proof of Life photo his daughter attached to the note. In the photo, a man was holding a copy of the Anchorage Daily newspaper that had “February 13th” typed on it so, Samantha Koenig was alive on the date of February 13th. Ms. Koenig had a blank expression plastered on her face. She was staring numbly to the side of the camera. Her hair was done, slightly messy, and her make up was done as well. It looked different from how she normally wore it.

The ransom note demanded for James to deposit approximately $30,000 into Samantha Koenig’s bank account as soon as possible. If the money was deposited, Samantha would be released six months later. James had informed the FBI of the note to 1. Get input on the proof of life photo and 2. What to do in regard to depositing the money.

Whenever the note was brought to the FBI for examination, the agents assigned to assisting with the case couldn’t help but stare at the photo of Samantha Koenig. The look on her face was off putting but they couldn’t articulate why that was. After discussing how to move forward from here, they advised James to deposit a portion of the $30,000 into Samantha Koenig’s bank account.

Whoever this was that abducted Samantha Koenig was more than likely going to use an ATM in or around Anchorage to withdrawal whatever money was deposited into the account and the FBI wanted to be there to catch him when he did.

A few days after some money was deposited into Ms. Koenig’s account, three separate transactions were made at different locations in Anchorage. Unfortunately, every single time a transaction was made and the FBI raced over to the location to detain the individual making those transactions, they were too late to catch him. For about a week there was no activity from Ms. Koenig’s account, that was until March 7th, 2012. There were more transactions made in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas but just like before they were unable to catch whoever was making these transactions.

The authorities went to these locations in the southwestern portion of the United States to obtain surveillance footage from the times that the transactions were made and they were able to get some information on this abductor. The man was seen wearing a heavy coat along with large sunglasses that obstructed his face. The man was seen getting into a white in color Ford Focus and traveling east on a Texas highway. The FBI alerted authorities in Texas and gave them a BOLO.

In March 13th, 2012 a Texas Ranger, Corporal Bryan Henry, spotted a vehicle that matched the description given by the FBI. The vehicle was sitting in the parking lot of a nearby hotel and the officer waited for the owner of the vehicle to come out and get inside. A white male in his 30s opened the doors of the hotel and approached the sedan. He opened the drivers side door, stepped inside, and began to drive. At some point the driver of the vehicle went 2 MPH over the posted speed limit and CPL Henry initiated a traffic stop.

Upon first approach, CPL Henry asked the man inside for his drivers license, refrigeration and proof of insurance. The man was calm, cooperative and obliged to the officers request. He pulled out his drivers license and handed it over to the officer, the DL was out of Alaska. He was a 34-year-old man named Israel Keyes and he was from Anchorage.

CPL Henry notified Dispatch of the situation and requested additional patrols. CPL Henry and Texas Ranger Steve Rayburn found probable cause and searched Keyes’s vehicle and in the trunk they found suspicious items that matched the description of the male who was seen in surveillance footage making transactions at numerous ATMs using Samantha Koenig’s debit card. On top of that, they also found a pistol along with Samantha Koenig’s personal items including her cellphone and credit card.

The officers took Israel Keyes into custody and initially he denied having any involvement in Ms. Koenig’s disappearance but once investigators explained the situation to Mr. Keyes and showed him all the evidence that pointed to him being the suspect in the abduction of Samantha Koenig he admitted to abducting her.

Mr. Keyes stated that he would explain everything to investigators only if they abided by his requests: he wanted a peanut butter Snickers, a cigar and an Americano, the same drink that he had ordered at the Coffee Grounds before abducting Samantha Koenig.

According to Israel Keyes, here is what took place on the night of February 1st, 2012. Originally, Mr. Keyes had just planned on robbing the Common Grounds coffee shop; however, once he approached the window, made his order, and watched Samantha Koenig turn around he decided that he was going to abduct her.

As Mr. Keyes watched Samantha Koenig make his Americano, he placed his hand on his pistol. He watched as Ms. Koenig walked over to the window and handed him the Americano and very calmly pulled out his pistol and trained it on Ms. Koenig.

After giving her orders and tying her hands behind her back, he shoved a wad of napkins into her mouth to ensure that she was unable to make sound and began walking her over to his pickup truck, his pistol pressed into her back. Once at the truck, Mr. Keyes opened the passenger side door and pushed Ms. Koenig inside before shutting it and walking over to the drivers side door, hopping in and turning towards Ms. Koenig. He informed her that if she tried to scream or alert anyone that something was wrong that he was going to kill her. Israel Keyes stated that Samantha Koenig was very obedient and followed his orders without any resistance.

Mr. Keyes stated that while he was driving around he reached over, grabbed Ms. Koenig’s phone and sent that first message to Duane stating that she would be going off for a few days and to let her dad know. He then took the battery out of Ms. Koenig’s phone to avoid the location of the phone being pinged from cell towers. Mr. Keyes continued driving and only stopped if he deemed it necessary. While he was driving he informed Samantha Koenig that he would be temporarily kidnapping her and that she would be released once he received money from her father. Ms. Koenig thought this was strange and explained to Mr. Keyes that her and her family did not come from money and that it would be difficult for him to obtain, what she considered to be, a high dollar amount but Mr. Keyes told her not to worry.

Eventually, Mr. Keyes pulled into the driveway of his residence where his girlfriend and 10-year-old daughter resided as well. He ordered Samantha to get into the backseat of his vehicle and proceeded to cover her with a tarp to obscure her from anyone who might, for whatever reason, pass by. Mr. Keyes then briefly went inside and came back out. He placed a blind fold over Ms. Koenig’s head and walked her towards a shed that sat at the front of his residence towards the end of his driveway. He sat her down inside, bound her by placing a rope against her neck and then turned on a speaker to drown out any sounds that she might make.

Mr. Keyes walked back up the driveway towards his truck, got inside and proceeded to drive to Samantha Koenig’s boyfriend Duane’s house and grabbed her debit card out of his truck. Once he arrived back home he untied Samantha Koenig and chirpily informed her that her father had paid the ransom money and that she would be released. Relieved, Ms. Koenig leaned forward and let out a refreshed sigh, she felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. She knew that as long as she trusted Mr. Keyes and did as he said that she would be released back to her family — that was until Mr. Keyes pushed her back against the wall, bound her even tighter than before and sexually assaulted her before finally strangling her to death.

Mr. Keyes left the shed and walked back inside of his house. He walked into his 10-year-old daughter’s room and nudged her awake, explaining that she needed to get ready for their two-week long cruise. Keyes then went back outside to the shed, wrapped up Samantha Koenig’s body, and pretended as if it never happened.

Mr. Keyes and his family arrived back in Anchorage, Alaska on February 17th, 2012. Keyes went to his shed and unwrapped Samantha Koenig. He thought that she still looked lively enough to take a photo, even though she had been deceased for two weeks at this point. He sat her up in a chair, fixed her hair and done her makeup, sewn her eyelids open and held out a copy of the Anchorage Daily News before snapping a photo, which was later realized to be the Proof of Life photo that he left in the park.

It is also important to add that any image you find online of Samantha Koenig being posed with a newspaper next to her is fake. According to the profilers on The Consult: Retired FBI Profilers, the real image was never released by the FBI.

Israel Keyes confessed to two more murders, the murders of Bill and Lorraine Currier. It is believed that he had killed eleven people total, the reason why is because on December 2nd, 2012 Keyes committed suicide. He used a bed sheet to strangle himself and used razor blades to slit his own wrists. Using his own blood, Keyes drew skulls on eleven different sheets of paper. He also wrote a suicide note that was less about his life of crime and more about his ideologies.

Keyes also stated that he had “murder kits” placed all throughout the country. Some speculate whether or not this is true but considering he traveled as much as he did, and the fact that, while being interviewed by the FBI, he even asked for the death penalty because he can’t sit in one place for the rest of his life, I believe he was telling the truth about hiding buckets of weapons and bounding tools throughout the nation.