Missing Anchorage Barista: Man Arrested in Texas
A man has been arrested in connected to 18-year-old's disappearance.
March 16, 2012— -- A man has been arrested in Texas in connection with the disappearance of 18-year-old barista Samantha Koenig, who was abducted by an armed man from an espresso stand in Anchorage, Alaska, over six weeks ago.
Israel Keyes, 34, who owns a construction company in Anchorage, was arrested in Lufkin, Texas. Koenig remains missing.
"He's the only person we charged, and the only person of interest. And the biggest thing at this time is that we haven't found Samantha Koenig and we don't know her whereabouts," Detective Slawomir Markiewicz told the Anchorage Daily News.
Koenig was last seen the evening of Wednesday, February 1 on surveillance video that showed her leaving the Common Grounds Espresso stand in Anchorage with an armed man, who police said was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and possibly a baseball cap. All of the coffee stand's cash was also missing.
Keyes' arrest warrant remains sealed and police are offering few details. Police spokeswoman Anita Shell said that the warrant will remain sealed so as not to compromise the case.
According to documents, Keyes was charged in an East Texas courthouse with access device fraud. The charge is often associated with the illegal use of another person's credit or debit card to steal money, but Shell could not comment on whether Keyes had been using Koenig's card.
Investigators are now seeking to speak to anyone who has had contact with Keyes or his construction company, Keyes Construction.
According to the website for Keyes Construction, Keyes worked in Washington state in the mid-1990s then served three years in the Army Infantry, stationed in Ft. Lewis, Ft Hood, and Sianai, Egypt. According to the site he then worked from 2001-2007 for the Makah Tribal Council in Neah Bay, Wash. before moving to Alaska.
