'False Hits' In Search For Missing Lake Stevens Woman

Family and friends looking for a missing 62-year-old Lake Stevens woman said they received some responses to a flier about Connie Koch, but they were “false hits.”

A representative of the search group told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Gary Horcher that they made a new version of the flier with another picture of Koch that they hope will make identification easier. They also updated the flier with information about Koch’s last known location as verified by police: Stevens Pass.

There was still no sign of Koch on Wednesday, a day after volunteers fanned out all the way to Leavenworth in an effort to search for Koch, who was discovered missing last Thursday.

The group searching for Koch met Tuesday morning at Northlake Middle School in Lake Stevens and then passed out fliers from there to Leavenworth.

By Tuesday afternoon, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Jeff Dubois said three volunteers had called him and said people they talked to believed they saw Koch in the Leavenworth area.

“We have gotten some responses from the missing flier that was passed around yesterday, unfortunately they were false hits,” an e-mail from the group searching for her said Wednesday.

Koch, a former teacher and a mother, was scheduled to fly to a medical clinic in Dallas on Thursday to be treated for multiple chemical sensitivity, a condition that made Koch acutely sensitive to odors given off by chemicals and furniture.

"I can't just see her up and disappearing, from what I knew of her as a parent. This is not her, this is not something she would do," said search volunteer Danette McCroskey.

Her family said Koch was supposed to fly with oxygen tanks but was nervous about how'd she'd react on an airplane.

See Web site set up by Koch's family.

CONNIE KOCH FLIER Download Flier About Missing Woman

"She could have oxygen on the plane, but she'd still be trapped on the plane for however long it takes to get to Texas -- five hours -- and that's an environment that she couldn't control," said Koch's son, Tim Jorgensen.

On Thursday afternoon, a relative discovered that Koch's home was empty with her suitcase still packed and her car missing.

"The only things she took with her were her purse, her phone and her two oxygen tanks. So we could think that maybe she decided she didn't want to take the plane and she's driving right now," Jorgensen.

Adding to the mystery, police said Koch sent a text message to a relative that said "look at Stevens Pass." Since then, sheriff's deputies from three counties and volunteers searched the mountains by foot and helicopter where the message was sent, but found nothing.

"She's constantly in contact with people, so that's why this is so strange to us, because she doesn't normally stop communicating," said Jorgensen.

Koch taught at area schools for 20 years and was active in her church and a helped out at a food bank.

Koch's car, a white 2005 Toyota Corolla with license No. 971VOL, is also missing.

Authorities ask anyone who sees Koch or her car to call 911 or Lake Stevens police.