A Philadelphia man has been arrested and charged in connection with the abduction of 23-year-old Kada Scott, who remains missing, and faces another kidnapping charge in what police described as a pattern.
Keon King, 21, was arrested Tuesday and charged with kidnapping Scott, police said during a Wednesday morning press conference.
King is also charged with kidnapping another woman earlier this year in a case the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office withdrew in May after a witness failed to show up in court. Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski said charges were refiled Tuesday.
Toczylowski said King allegedly kidnapped a woman in front of her house, threw her in a car, assaulted her and eventually let her out. Police have video evidence in connection with that case, Toczylowski said.
Scott was last seen by her family on Saturday, Oct. 4, when she left for her overnight shift at The Terrace at Chestnut Hill.
Police said Scott arrived at work in her car and left before her shift ended. Scott didn’t leave work in her car, and her phone was off.
Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said Wednesday that Scott was at work for “maybe 20 minutes” before leaving. Vanore added police believe Scott and King were communicating, but don’t know their relationship or how long they knew each other.
Vanore said it appears Scott and King were communicating before she left work and then met up.
“Very shortly after that, she disappears off the footprint,” Vanore said.
King is believed to be the last person who had contact with Scott before her disappearance, officials said.
“It’s very important to know we’re not done our investigation,” Vanore said. “We need to find Ms. Scott, figure out where she is, what may have happened to her to cause her to completely disappear.”
Investigators said evidence led them to Awbury Arboretum in East Germantown, last Friday, where police searched the 55-acre property but didn’t find anything related to the investigation.
Shortly after Wednesday’s press conference, police said they received a tip leading them to an abandoned school, Ada H. H. Lewis Middle School in East Germantown. The school is about 2 miles away from the Awbury Arboretum, where police previously focused their investigation last week.
Police said they’ve found at least two pieces of personal property belonging to Scott at an abandoned school.
“This is some of the most concrete, physical evidence that we have found since Ms. Scott has gone missing,” Sgt. Eric Gripp said.
Hours after asking for the public’s help finding King’s gold 1999 Toyota Camry, police said they found the car in the 4000 block of Gypsy Lane in the city’s East Falls section.
“At this point, he is connected to this vehicle,” Toczylowski said. “We also believe she may have been in that vehicle.”
King allegedly got rid of his car, phone and other items he was using, police said.
