An Anchorage man connected to the disappearance of 18-year-old Samantha Koenig is in jail after his arrest this week in Texas, but Koenig remains missing, police said Thursday.
Texas authorities arrested the man, Israel Keyes, midday Tuesday in Lufkin, Texas after a traffic stop, police said. He was described in a statement issued by police here Thursday as "a person of interest" in Koenig's disappearance.
Police have not revealed the charges against Keyes, but according to a charging document filed in Texas federal court, Keyes allegedly committed access device fraud, a charge typically levied against an individual who uses another person's bank or credit card to retrieve funds without permission. Federal and local law enforcement are now asking for help from the public to find out more information about the 34-year-old self-employed builder, believed to be the lone employee of his construction company, Keyes Construction.
Keyes' arrest is the only publicly released break in the case since Koenig vanished about 8 p.m. Feb. 1. Police say surveillance video shows an armed abductor force her from the Midtown coffee hut where she worked. Det. Slawomir Markiewicz would not say if Keyes matched the description of the man seen in the video.
"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," Markiewicz said.
Two Anchorage detectives have been in Texas for several days this week working on the case, Markiewicz said. The detectives will remain in Texas for several more days serving search warrants, he said. When asked if the arrest meant police are closer now to finding Koenig -- whom they hope is still alive -- Markiewicz replied, "Of course."
"As I've said before, I believe this case will be solved. This is a step toward that goal, a big step," he said.
Both Markiewicz and Koenig's father, who spoke to the Daily News through a family friend, said they do not know how Keyes might have known Koenig.
"We haven't found evidence linking him to her," Markiewicz said. "We don't know if he knew her before (she disappeared)."
Markiewicz would not comment on whether police believe Keyes was directly responsible for abducting Koenig or if Keyes was found with any of Koenig's belongings.
A TV station in Lufkin, Texas, KTRE, first reported Keyes' arrest.
KTRE reported Tuesday that diners having an outdoor lunch watched authorities take a "suspected kidnapper" into custody. A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson told the TV station that the man -- who police did not identify at the time but is now known to be Keyes -- was pulled over for a traffic violation."
Investigators said they found enough evidence in the vehicle to arrest the driver for suspected kidnapping. He was also searched and then taken into custody for questioning," the KTRE story says.
Markiewicz would not comment on whether Keyes was cooperating with police or specifically what led the authorities to him.
"It's the result of many hours of police work," Markiewicz said. "Methodical meticulous police work (by) our officers and detectives, the local FBI office and the local enforcement in Texas, screening every lead and following up."
"This wasn't the result of luck."
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