According to Mew, APD believes Koenig was murdered soon after her disappearance, and that charges in her abduction and murder were 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."
Koenig had not been seen since the night of Feb. 1, when APD says surveillance video from Common Grounds Espresso shows Koenig being abducted by an armed man. At several points in the investigation, officials said that they had been proceeding under the assumption that Koenig was still alive.
Prior to Monday’s crime-scene investigation, the last major breaks in the case were related to the March arrest in Lufkin, Texas of 34-year-old Israel Keyes, described by APD as “the main player” in the Koenig case, on a federal access-device fraud charge.
Keyes is accused of using a debit card taken from a man’s vehicle on the night of Koenig’s abduction at locations across Anchorage, as well as in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas prior to his arrest. He is being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex, after U.S. Marshals transferred him from Texas.
Late Friday night, FBI and APD officials seized a large shed from the Turnagain home on Spurr Lane where Keyes lived, which was subsequently taken to the FBI’s Alaska headquarters in Downtown Anchorage for examination over the weekend.
Mary Rook, special agent in charge of the FBI's Anchorage Division, said investigators believed there was no connection between the abductor and the Koenig family. She credited callers and officials who provided information in the case from Alaska, as well as the Lower 48, for their role in the investigation.
"We received hundreds of phone calls from people in Anchorage and from many locations across the Lower 48," Rook said. "Likewise, when assistance was required in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, local, state and federal authorities moved quickly to support and move this investigation forward. In fact, were it not for the efforts of several very alert and dedicated Texas law enforcement officers, Samantha's abductor may still be at large."
Investigators had been at the lake since mid-morning Monday, where FBI spokesperson Darrin Jones confirmed that authorities were conducting an investigation that was related to Koenig’s Feb. 1 abduction.
Access to the lake was blocked off, but several undercover APD vehicles and the department's Major Crime Scene Unit van were present. A wide area was roped off with crime-scene tape, and several marker cones had been placed on the ground.
At Monday's press conference, Rook again asked the community for further information relating to a white Chevrolet pickup truck Keyes drove as part of his business, Keyes Construction, as well as tips from anybody who helped Keyes remove a large utility rack from the vehicle or saw it in the vicinity of Common Grounds Espresso on Feb. 1.
"We would like to reiterate our request for information relative to the movement of the white pickup truck," Rook said. "Specifically, we want to hear from anyone who may have seen the truck in the vicinity of Matanuska Lake."
Anyone with information on the truck is asked to contact authorities at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
This is a developing story. Please watch KTUU.com and the Channel 2 newscasts for updates.
