Hundreds gather in vigil for abducted Anchorage woman

A constellation of tiny flames from hundreds of candles lit up Town Square Park during a solemn vigil for abducted 18-year-old Samantha Koenig in downtown Anchorage on Saturday night.

Police say an armed man forced Koenig out of the Midtown coffee hut where she was working the night of Feb. 1. Nobody has reported seeing her since.

Many of the hundreds in attendance at the downtown gathering were strangers, said Koenig's father, James Koenig, who held the leash of his daughter's 6-year-old pit bull, Sheeba.

A stream of people approached him, offering hugs.

"It's powerful," James Koenig said. "I don't think there's words to really describe it. It's amazing how a community can come together."

A toddler in her stroller held a small, battery-powered candle. An older woman handed out green ribbons with Samantha Koenig's picture and told them Koenig used to do her hair. Two 20-something female soldiers stood in uniform in the back holding candles. A woman who said she was once abducted and raped was at the back edge of the circle of lights. Koenig's fellow teen baristas were interspersed in the crowd.

A violinist played as the group grew to fill about half the park, then James Koenig addressed them.

"I just don't know how to thank you all," he said. "You're my heroes."

"I never expected it to turn out like this. That's why I love living in Alaska."

City Church Pastor Richard Irwin spoke about courage, community and comforting those who need it.

"There's something about being able to put your arms around someone and hold them and share that grief and share that pain," Irwin said.

"I want to encourage you to be those kind of people to one another. To be people of comfort."

"Anchorage needs to be a safe place for all the Samantha Koenigs. For every person, male and female."

Irwin then addressed the abductor police say took Koenig.

"I have an idea that you are probably listening right now," Irwin said. "There is hope for you. But please, we are begging you, let Samantha go."

A few moments later, Irwin led the group in a prayer for Koenig's safe return.

The night of the abduction, Koenig was working her normal shift at a Common Grounds Espresso hut in a parking lot at 630 E. Tudor Road when the man walked up. It was just before 8 p.m., closing time. He wore a dark, hooded sweatshirt, police said. The man somehow got inside the coffee hut and forced Koenig to leave with him on foot, headed west, police said.

Koenig's frightened expression, as seen in the video, left "little doubt" that her disappearance was anything but an abduction, a detective said. The man was "significantly" taller than the 5-foot-5 Koenig, the detective said.

Koenig's boyfriend arrived to pick up Koenig sometime later, but she was gone, he said. The next morning, a barista opening the stand found the door locked as usual, but the security alarm was not set and the cash for making change was nowhere to be found.

When the owners of Common Grounds watched the surveillance footage, they reported Koenig missing the next day. The owners said the man did something to obscure the multiple cameras' views, and police say the video does not show his face.

No suspects or persons of interest have been named, nor any arrests made in relation to the apparent abduction.

Police have declined to release the video, saying that doing so could jeopardize their investigation. The investigators also have not said what type of weapon the man carried.

Late last week, a police spokesman said a team of detectives working around the clock had been making progress, but he offered no specifics on how they had advanced the case.

At the candlelight vigil Saturday, hundreds of green and white balloons were released into the air as well as floating lanterns. A cappella singers performed followed by an acoustic guitarist.

Eagle River residents Jeff and Kirsten Bowers drove to Anchorage for the vigil and to support Koenig's family. The couple have two daughters, one 22 and the other almost 18.

Alaskans' attitudes have changed since Koenig's abduction, the couple said.

"This guy has not only taken her but he's taken our innocence," said Kirsten Bowers, an Alaska resident since 1972. "It's just so random and so, I don't know, so not Alaska," she said.

"Everybody's looking over their shoulder now. ... The innocence is lost. I don't know if we can ever regain that," she said.

"You hear about this stuff happening to other people, but we get to go home and sleep at night. We've got our kids. I just can't imagine," said Jeff Bowers, his voice cracking.

Police ask that anyone with information on Samantha Koenig's whereabouts call 786-2460.

Hundreds joined a candlelight vigil in Town Square Park Saturday for missing barista Samantha Koenig.

Video by Bob Hallinen

Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4589.