PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia police said there has been an arrest in connection with the disappearance of Kada Scott, but they are still searching for the 23-year-old.
Keon King, 21, is charged with kidnapping in connection with her disappearance — something he has been charged with before.
Despite the arrest, Scott has yet to be found. Investigators located King’s 1999 Toyota Camry Wednesday afternoon outside of an apartment complex on Gypsy Lane near School House Lane in East Falls.
Detectives don’t know what could be in that car, but are currently waiting for a warrant in order to search the car. They said King discarded evidence, so the vehicle is a big piece of their investigation.
“The No. 1 priority is locating Ms. Scott,” said Deputy Commissioner John Stanford.
Missing for 11 days
Scott was last seen on the night of Oct. 4 by her mother. She left her home on Rodney Street in East Mount Airy to work an overnight shift at a nearby nursing home. Detectives said she got to work but left before completing her shift. Police recovered her car in the parking lot, but her phone has been dead, and she hasn’t updated her usually very active social media accounts.
Investigators said Scott had recently complained to family about being harassed by phone. Now, investigators believe King was the last person to be in contact with Scott before she disappeared and went offline.
“She was in communication with an individual,” said Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore. “That individual appears to meet her very shortly after she leaves her place of work, and very shortly after that, she disappears off of the footprint.”
Evidence has led investigators to several places, including Awbury Arboretum. Last week, detectives scoured its heavily wooded 55 acres in East Germantown, but they did not find anything.
However, shortly after Wednesday's press conference, police received a tip that led them to a school across the street from Awbury Arboretum. Officials said they already found promising evidence.
Prior kidnapping charges
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said in a prior domestic incident, King kidnapped and assaulted a different woman. Charges were dropped in May because the witness failed to appear at court, but police said they will re-charge King in that case.
On top of the two kidnapping charges, King is also charged with recklessly endangering another person and use of a communication facility.
The case has been shifted to the homicide unit due to its expertise and resources, but officials on Wednesday said they are still treating this investigation as if Scott is still alive.
“[King] has a pattern of this type of history,” stressed Stanford, “so we want to encourage anyone that may have been involved with this individual, anyone that may know this individual … call us and let us know if you have any information regarding this person.”
Anyone with information can call the police tip line at 215-686-8477.
Scott's family set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for a reward leading to information in the case. It has raised nearly $6,000 so far.
KYW Newsradio's Tim Jimenez and Vik Raghupathi contributed to this story.