The sister of a Washington woman who is missing along with her partner said that she doesn't think the pair left their home willingly.
Pauline Dutton said her sister, Karen Koep, and Koep's partner, Davido, wouldn't just leave without telling someone.
“I know that they didn’t walk away from their house on their own, let’s put it that way," Dutton said. "They didn’t just walk out of there. They’re not in Bora Bora having a vacation. They are missing, and I don’t think they went willingly.”
Koep and Davido — whose legal name is simply Davido, according to Dutton — have been missing from their Lacey, Washington, home since Monday.
Dutton said police performed a wellness check at the home on Monday after Koep, a chiropractor, didn't show up to work and had patients waiting. Dutton said Koep's office called her before police police after failed attempts to get in touch with both Koep and Davido.
"That's what started the ball rolling," Dutton said.
The couple's car — a 2015 silver Toyota Yaris — was later found on a street in Lacey near where Koep works, according to a listing on Zocdoc.
Police are continuing to search for the couple, who they said disappeared under "suspicious" circumstances, but did not provide additional details.
When Dutton was asked about the circumstances surrounding the disappearance, she said she couldn't comment out of fear of compromising the investigation. She said she was not aware of any problems the couple was having prior to their disappearance.
Dutton said she last spoke to her sister Nov. 10 by text message, and she doesn't think anyone has heard from Koep or Davido since last Friday.
“We’ve got 100% faith that these people are working really hard because it’s personal to that community,” Dutton said of the Thurston County Sheriff's Office, which is handling the investigation.
She said police are organizing a search party for Sunday so community members can help look for Koep and Davido.
Dutton said Koep was "very involved in the community" and "worked with the same patients for over 30 years."
"People want something to do, they want to help," she said. Koep's patients “know and love her, people want her home.”
