An Anchorage police spokesman says the Alaska state medical examiner’s office has confirmed that a body recovered from Matanuska Lake is that of an 18-year-old coffee stand worker who vanished Feb. 1.
Lt. Dave Parker said Wednesday that autopsy results confirm the body recovered Monday is Samantha Koenig. No cause of death has yet been released.
Anchorage Police Chief Mark Mew has said investigators believe she died within hours of her abduction from the coffee stand. Mew also says they believe they have the responsible person in custody.
The only man who has been listed by Anchorage police as a “person of interest” in the case was arraigned March 27 in federal court in Anchorage on a fraud charge, shortly after being returned from Texas, where he was arrested.
Israel Keyes has pleaded not guilty to a charge of access device fraud. Federal prosecutors say he made cash withdrawals from a stolen debit card. The card was not Koenig’s.
