Missing girl’s father pleads with abductor

“Please send my daughter home, I will give you anything in this world.” This was James Koenig’s plea to his daughter’s abductor.

Photo: adn.com

Samantha Koenig, an eighteen-year-old barista at the Common Ground’s Espresso stand, which sits in the parking lot of the Alaska Club, in Anchorage, Alaska was abducted Wednesday night by an armed man who wore a hooded dark sweatshirt and baseball cap. It was believed to be a robbery as well, as the coffee stand’s cash was missing.

There is no doubt in everyone’s mind that this was an abduction. Video surveillance shows Koenig being led away by the armed man. At first, Koenig was only listed as a “suspicious” missing person case, but by noon Friday it was upgraded to an abduction. No one knew that Koenig was abducted until she didn’t come home or call. Police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker said, “It went from somebody didn’t come home, to something very serious.” Mr. Koenig voiced his concerns and worries, saying, “I don’t know if my daughter’s being fed, taken care of, if she’s alive, getting sleep.”

On Friday afternoon, James “Sonny” Koenig came to the parking lot where his daughter was abducted, armed with rolls of tape and about 7,000 fliers, donated by Kinko’s and The University of Alaska Anchorage, printed with the words ‘Kidnapped’ in bold and his daughter’s face below it. Supporters and friends helped post the fliers. Police and supporters faced below freezing conditions to search for Samantha.

Mr. Koenig announced at a press conference Saturday that a $12,500 reward was being offered to anyone with information on Samantha’s whereabouts. Friends and family are still collecting donations for the reward and are handing out lime green ribbons to those who donated, because lime green is Samantha’s favorite color, according to her boyfriend of nine months, Dwayne.

There are about two dozen detectives on the case, as well as officers in Anchorage Police Department’s Special Assignments Unit. As of late Friday evening, there have been no leads and no suspects had been identified, said Detective Slawomir Mickiewicz. Police know that Koenig had filed a protective order against a man in Alaska in November, but she never appeared in court, so the order was never issued.

Source: adn.com