(SitNews) Anchorage, Alaska - After Israel Keyes was arrested for the murder of 18-year-old Samantha Koenig in Alaska in 2012, authorities realized that the man they had in custody was a prolific serial killer. Keyes freely admitted as much.

During conversations with investigators, the 34-year-old sometime construction worker revealed the names of two additional victims - along with tantalizing clues about other murders he had committed around the country over a period of years. But last December, Keyes killed himself in his Anchorage jail cell, leaving a trail of unanswered questions and unidentified victims.

Israel Keyes - Deceased
Photo courtesy FBI

Those victims have not been forgotten and the FBI is now releasing new information in the hopes that the public can help them identify others who died by Keyes’ hands. The information includes extensive videotaped conversations with Keyes in jail and an interactive map that contains a detailed timeline of his known movements beginning in 1997.

“He gave us a number of clues,” said Special Agent Jolene Goeden in the Anchorage FBI Division. “He talked openly about some of the homicides, but much of what he said only hinted at the things he had done. So we are trying to get information out there about what he did tell us. We are letting the public know the types of cars he rented, towns he visited, campgrounds he frequented. Anything that might spur someone’s memory could help us,” Goeden said.

Apart from Koenig, who was abducted from the Anchorage coffee stand where she worked, and Bill and Lorraine Currier, a middle-aged married couple who were murdered in 2011 in Vermont, Keyes discussed “seven or eight other victims,” Goeden said. “We want to identify them.”

Based upon the investigation conducted following his arrest in March 2012, Israel Keyes is believed to have committed multiple kidnappings and murders across the country between 2001 and March 2012. Keyes lived in Washington state from 2001 to March 2007, at which time he moved to Alaska. While living in Alaska, Keyes traveled extensively while working as a general contractor. In a series of interviews with law enforcement, Keyes described significant planning and preparation for his murders, reflecting a meticulous and organized approach to his crimes.

Keyes stated to the FBI his murders occurred in less than 10 states but did not disclose all of the locations. Keyes described crossing into multiple states during the abduction, murder, and disposal of a victim. It is not unlikely that in some cases Keyes abducted a victim from one state, transported the victim to another state where he or she was murdered, and potentially drove the victim to a third state to dispose of the body. Keyes admitted to burglarizing 20 to 30 homes throughout the United States and talked about committing arson as a means to cover up a homicide.

Investigators believe that Keyes killed and buried a victim in upstate New York in April 2009. “He also told us about a couple in Washington state, another victim in that area, and possibly others in surrounding states,” Goeden said.

FBI agents are working with law enforcement around the country to link Keyes to open cases. “If we have a missing person identified in a particular area, we work closely with that local police department to either connect the person to Keyes or not,” Goeden explained. “We have his DNA.”

It’s a painstaking process said Goeden, made more complicated because Keyes was meticulous about covering his tracks. In the Currier case, for example, he flew from Alaska to Chicago, rented a car, and drove 1,000 miles to Vermont where he searched for victims. He chose the Curriers randomly.

According to the FBI, Keyes also left “murder kits” in various locations around the country that contained, among other items, weapons and cash - the money came from bank robberies he committed to support his criminal activities. The caches provided further cover because Keyes didn’t have to risk boarding an airplane with a weapon or using credit cards that could later connect him to a crime in a particular area.

“Although he chose many of his victims randomly, a tremendous amount of planning went into these crimes,” Goeden said. “Keyes enjoyed what he did, and he had no remorse at all. He told us if he hadn’t been caught he would have continued kidnapping and murdering people.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) requests the public’s assistance in developing information about the travels and activities of now-deceased serial killer Israel Keyes who also spent time in several Texas cities, including Houston, Humble, and Shepherd.

If the videos or map provided by the FBI regarding Israel Keyes’ movements spark any memories, or if you have any information regarding Keyes, you are asked to please contact your local FBI office or submit a tip online.

“That fact that Keyes is dead makes it more difficult for us,” Goeden said, “but the investigation absolutely continues.”

Anyone with information about Keyes is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

The following is a timeline that articulates the information provided by Keyes and known to law enforcement about Keyes’ criminal activities. It also includes travel dates/locations investigators believe Keyes may have committed a homicide.

• Summer 1997 or Summer 1998: Keyes stated he abducted a female in the late afternoon or early evening while she and friends were tubing on the Deschutes River. Keyes sexually assaulted the female. He let her go and sent her on her tube back down the river. The victim in this case was between 14 and 18 years old. Investigators do not believe this sexual assault was reported to law enforcement. Keyes was living in Maupin, Oregon at the time and the abduction location is believed to be near Maupin.
• July 2001: Keyes was discharged from the U.S. Army.
• July 2001 to October 2001: Keyes resided in Neah Bay, Washington and committed his first homicide. The identity and location of the victim are unknown.
• July 2001 to 2005: Keyes stated he murdered an unidentified couple in Washington. Keyes refused to tell law enforcement if the couple was married or what their relationship to one another was. It is unknown if the victims were residents of Washington, tourists, or residents he abducted from a nearby state and transported to Washington. Keyes alluded to the fact these victims were buried in a location near a valley. Keyes may have moved the victims’ car to place distance between where the vehicle was found and where the crime occurred.
• 2005 to 2006 (summer/fall months): Keyes admitted that he committed two murders independent of one another. Keyes used his boat to dispose of the bodies of these victims. Keyes stated at least one of the bodies was disposed of in Crescent Lake in Washington, where he used anchors to submerge the body. Keyes reported the body was submerged in more than 100 feet of water. Keyes may have moved the victims’ cars to place distance between where the vehicles were found and where the crime occurred. The identity of these victims is unknown.
• March 1, 2007 to March 9, 2007: Keyes drove from Neah Bay, Washington to Anchorage, Alaska, where he resided until is his arrest. Keyes traveled the Alaska-Canadian Highway, making known stops in Cache Creek, British Columbia; Watson Lake, Yukon; Destruction Bay, Yukon; and Teslin, Yukon. Keyes crossed the border into Alaska on March 9, 2007.
• October 31, 2008 to November 5, 2008: Keyes flew to Seattle following travel to multiple other states, including North Dakota and Arizona. On October 31, Keyes rented a car (2008 PT Cruiser) in Seattle. On November 2, 2008, Keyes flew from Seattle to Boston. He returned to Seattle and flew back to Anchorage on November 5, 2008. Law enforcement believes Keyes may have engaged in criminal activity on this trip and is seeking any information about Keyes activities during this timeframe.
• April 9, 2009: Keyes admitted to abducting a female victim from a state on the East Coast and transporting that person over multiple state lines into New York. The victim is buried in upstate New York. Investigators do not believe this victim is buried on the property Keyes owns in Constable, New York.
• April 10, 2009: Keyes robbed Community Bank in Tupper Lake, New York. After the bank robbery, Keyes stated he parked in a nearby campground outside of the area to wait for the emergency response vehicles to pass. He stated he sat in this campground for several hours.
• July 9, 2010 to July 12, 2010: Keyes flew from Anchorage to Sacramento, California and traveled to Auburn, California. He rented a vehicle (black Ford Focus) and drove approximately 280 miles during the three days. Law enforcement believes Keyes may have engaged in criminal activity during this travel and is seeking any information about Keyes activities during this trip.
• April/May 2011: Keyes staked out a park near Point Woronzof in Anchorage, Alaska. He admitted he intended to shoot a couple sitting in a car but his plans were disrupted by a police officer that pulled into the parking lot. Keyes turned his attention to the police officer and almost shot the officer. Keyes stated he chose not to shoot the officer or the couple when a second police officer drove into the parking lot.
• May 2011: Keyes reported he staked out the North Fork Trailhead in Eagle River, Alaska with the intention of abducting someone. He prepared a cache a short distance up the road that contained Drano and a shovel which he intended to use to dispose of the body. Keyes denied taking a victim from this location.
• June 8, 2011: Keyes flew from Anchorage to Chicago on June 2, 2011. He rented a car and drove to Essex, Vermont. On June 8, 2011, Keyes admitted to the abduction and murder of Bill and Lorraine Currier. Keyes disposed of a weapon stolen from the Currier home and the gun he used to shoot Bill Currier in Blake Falls Reservoir. These weapons and a nearby cache were recovered by the FBI. Following the murder, Keyes traveled around the East Coast before driving back to Chicago. On June 15, 2011, Keyes flew from Chicago to San Francisco, only staying one night, returning to Anchorage on June 16, 2011.
• February 1, 2012: Keyes admitted to the abduction and murder of Samantha Koenig in Anchorage, Alaska. He disposed of her body in Matanuska Lake near Palmer, Alaska.
• February 2, 2012 to February 18, 2012: Keyes flew to New Orleans, where he went on a cruise until February 11. After the cruise, he drove from New Orleans to Texas. Although he denied it, investigators believe Keyes may be responsible for a homicide in Texas or a surrounding state during this time. In the morning hours of February 16, 2012, Keyes set a home on fire in Aledo, Texas. Following the arson, he robbed National Bank of Texas in Azle, Texas.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

On the Web:

FBI: Videos & Map

Source of News: 

FBI Anchorage Division
http://www.fbi.gov

SitNews ©2013
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

Articles & photographs that appear in SitNews may be protected by copyright and may not be reprinted without written permission from and payment of any required fees to the proper sources.