| Advertisement |
|
|
Tonight in downtown Anchorage hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight vigil for Samantha Koenig. It's been 10 days since the teenage girl disappeared from her workplace -- a coffee stand in midtown.
Family members insist that the vigil was not held in Samantha's "memory." They were quite clear about that. They insist that it was held in order to send a message to Samantha: that those who care about her are not about to give up in this case.
Samantha disappeared on the night of February 1st, after finishing a shift at the Common Grounds coffee shop. It's near the intersection of East Tudor Road and Old Seward Highway.
A police videotape shows Samantha being kidnapped by an unidentified man. She hasn't been seen since. One woman says that she also witnessed the kidnapping.
The video has not been released publicly. Nor has Samantha's father seen it. James Koenig says he agrees with the police decision to withhold the tape. He says that its release would only encourage vigilantiism -- and he does not want that.
The Koenig family has been offering a $41,000 reward for information leading to Samantha's safe return.
Tonight that reward is being increased -- thanks to donations from a concerned public.
Michelle Tasker -- a friend of the family -- says the reward now totals $60,000.
But Samantha's father says he is not yet ready to release the size of the new reward. He said that he expected new donations to arrive tonight -- as a result of the vigil.
He hopes to tally-up the donations tonight and release a new figure as early as sometime tomorrow.