Alaska Beat

Web page on missing barista Samantha Koenig set up

In the effort to finding missing barista Samantha Koenig, a web page has been set up as well as an email address to her father, James Koenig.

The web page includes photos, printable posters and a forum to exchange information. Samantha, 18, went missing the night of Feb. 1 from the Common Grounds espresso stand near Tudor Road and the Old Seward Highway.

According to the web page, Samantha's abductor "was believed to be wearing a dark hoodie with a possible hat on. Based on her reaction and his demeanor it is believed she did not go on her own accord. She spoke with her dad on the phone just 90 minutes before her shift was up. If you know anything or if you were in the area near Tudor Road and the Old Seward Highway that night between 7 and 9 p.m., you're urged to call Anchorage police at 907-786-8900."

While James Koenig is hoping social media sites like Facebook and Twitter help him find his daughter, he told KTVA that there has been an ugly side to it, too.

According to KTVA, rumors claiming Koenig's body had been found "everywhere from Campbell Creek to Kincaid Park have circulated on the Internet." None are true, police say. "Once something like that starts, it's almost impossible to extinguish it," Lt. Dave Parker, a spokesman for the Anchorage Police Department, told KTVA.

Parker said homicide detectives have been working hard to bring Koenig home. Misinformation spread on the Internet only "detracts from the whole investigative process," he added.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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