More than a week after 23-year-old Kada Scott disappeared in Philadelphia, police have arrested a man they believe is connected to her disappearance, and to another kidnapping earlier this year that authorities say shows a troubling “pattern.”
Per CNN, Keon King, 21, was taken into custody Tuesday night and charged with kidnapping, recklessly endangering another person, and using his phone in connection to Scott’s disappearance, according to prosecutors. The young woman was last seen on the night of October 4, leaving her workplace, and her family has been pleading for her safe return ever since.
“I just need her to come home and be safe. That’s what I fear – she’s not safe,” Scott’s mother, Kim Matthews, told a local ABC station last week.
During a Wednesday morning news conference, Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski said investigators could track phone communications that led them to King.
“Mr. King is the last person, we believe, to be in contact with her and that he was in contact with her when she went offline,” Toczylowski said.
When prosecutors joined the investigation, they learned that King was already facing charges from a previous case involving accusations of strangulation and kidnapping earlier this year.
In that incident, King allegedly kidnapped a woman outside her home, forced her into a car, assaulted her, and later released her, Toczylowski explained. She described the case as “domestic in nature,” noting that King and the woman knew each other. Prosecutors said video evidence from that alleged attack will be shown at his upcoming preliminary hearing.
“He’s being really charged with two cases today,” Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said Wednesday. “This is a pattern of behavior.”
The Philadelphia Police Department’s homicide division is leading the ongoing search for Scott with help from the FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force. According to Philadelphia Police First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford, their number one priority is finding Ms. Scott, and are urging anyone with information to come forward.
“Canvass the neighborhoods, any leads we can possibly get so we can forward to police in hopes of getting my daughter back home,” her father, Kevin Scott, told ABC. “You never know what little, small, minuscule information may apply to the big picture, the puzzle that might get Kada home.”
Police are also asking for the public’s help locating a gold 1999 Toyota Camry linked to King. A local outlet reported that a tip received on Wednesday afternoon led investigators to the car in an apartment complex parking lot. Officials believe Scott may have been in the vehicle, which has been tracked at multiple locations throughout the city. A search will be conducted once authorities obtain a warrant.
“We are still treating this as if Ms. Scott is still alive, and that’s why we want the public’s help in trying to locate every single piece of this,” Stanford said.
Police say Scott met with King shortly after leaving her workplace on the night she disappeared. Video and digital evidence show that she left her car at work about 20 minutes after arriving and went offline completely. Authorities are still investigating the nature of King and Scott’s relationship.
“We need to find Ms. Scott, figure out where she is, what may have happened to her to cause her to completely disappear from all her items, her phone, her Instagram, social media sites, and everywhere else,” Vanore said. “Obviously, they had a connection. They’re going back and forth and they’ve known each other for a short time, but I don’t know how long.”
Investigators are now tracing multiple phone numbers and contacts tied to the case to determine if anyone else was involved. However, as of now, Toczylowski says “all roads at this point lead to King,” which she hopes will lead officials to Scott.
