Everett, Wash.
Published: Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Text message only clue in search for missing Lake Stevens woman

Volunteers are looking around Stevens Pass for a Lake Stevens woman missing since Thursday.

By Jackson Holtz
Herald Writer

 LAKE STEVENS -- A text message bounced off a cell-phone tower near Skykomish on Thursday afternoon.

"Look at Stevens Pass," was the cryptic note a Lake Stevens science teacher sent her sister in California at 4:35 p.m.

That's the last clue sixth-grade teacher Connie Koch gave, and now relatives, friends and police are trying to find the 62-year-old.

"That could have an ominous tone or it could mean she went up there to think and she thought we'd find her by now," Koch's son, Tim Jorgensen, said Monday.

He's now set up a command center in his mom's Lake Stevens living room. Jorgensen, 31, and his wife, Lexine Pishue, are using the Internet to keep the community up to date on the search efforts.

On Thursday, Koch was preparing to fly to Dallas to spend up to three months getting medical treatment for a recent diagnosis of multiple chemical sensitivity, Jorgensen said. Since January, Koch has been struggling with the problem that's made her extremely sensitive to scents, especially mold.

Smells that otherwise would go undetected became overpowering and intolerable.

"Her brain couldn't turn off the switch," he said.

The condition became so severe, she recently had to take a leave of absence from teaching at North Lake Middle School. Koch was suffering from headaches and increased anxiety, her son said.

"Trying to calm her down has been a daily routine," Jorgensen said.

The flight to Dallas -- trapped in a plane full of stale, recycled and likely smelly air -- was especially scary for her, he said.

With her bags and medicines packed for the flight, Koch's family believes she instead drove off in her white 2005 Toyota Corolla. Her luggage was left behind.

At first, her brother, Steve Koch, believed she had left to run errands.

Then the hours ticked by and Koch didn't return. The sister called from California to ask about the mysterious Stevens Pass text message. The family called 911.

Officials in Lake Stevens have reached out to police around the region to help track Koch down. They've checked the region's airports and are monitoring for activity on her cell phone and credit cards, Celori said.

Snohomish County search and rescue volunteers scoured the roads along U.S. 2 near Stevens Pass, sheriff's Sgt. Danny Wikstrom said.

A heavy snowfall clogged the pass over the weekend. More snow is forecast.

Searchers used a Snohomish County Sheriff's Office helicopter Monday and planned to use a Washington State Patrol airplane today to look for Koch.

Still, that's little solace for her relatives and friends, including colleagues at the Lake Stevens School district, where Koch has worked since 1988.

"Anyone who works in a school district for that amount of time has made lots of friends," district spokeswoman Arlene Hulten said. "The family of teachers at Lake Stevens is very concerned about her."

Koch also volunteers at the Lake Stevens food bank and is active with the Ebenezer Lutheran Church, Jorgensen said.

"I'm stressed. It's pretty rough," he said. He'd welcome some good news. "We're all praying for that."

For more info

Connie Koch's relatives have set up a Web site to keep the community updated on the search to find her at findconnie marie.blogspot.com.

Koch is believed to be driving a white 2005 Toyota Corolla with Washington plates 971-VOL. She was last seen Thursday.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lake Stevens police at 425-334-9537.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA