Police Officials hope for the best but prepare for the worst
After a crime scene investigation, Anchorage police announced Monday that a body they believe to be the missing barista Samantha Koenig, was found in Matanuska Lake after having been missing since Feb. 1.
Police Chief Mark Mew made the announcement in accordance with the FBI, “I can only reiterate and again assure you our joint decisions to not release more information were driven exclusively by our desire to maximize the potential for Samantha Koenig’s safe return,” Mew said. “Unfortunately, that potential no longer exists.”
The Anchorage medical examiner will hopefully get a positive ID on the body. Mew and the Anchorage Police Department believe that Samantha Koenig was abduction and murdered shortly there after, and assures the public that charges for the crimes are forthcoming, “Investigators believe Samantha died within hours of her abduction, and we are continuing to investigate these facts,” Mew said. “Investigators further believe the person responsible for Samantha’s death acted alone, and we are confident that we have that person in custody.”
Prior to the investigation at Matanuska Lake, police officials obtained a video from Common Grounds Espresso showing Samantha Koenig being abducted by an armed man. The Anchorage Police Department has in custody, Israel Keyes, for a federal access-device fraud char, and believes he is “the main player” in the Koenig case.
Authorities are still under the assumption, pending the positive ID of the body, that Samantha Koenig is still alive and that her abductor could still be at large.
“We would like to reiterate our request for information relative to the movement of the white pickup truck,” Mark Rook, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Anchorage Division said. “Specifically, we want to hear from anyone who may have seen the truck in the vicinity of Matanuska Lake.”
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