Philadelphia police arrest man suspected of kidnapping Kada Scott, 23-year-old who disappeared 11 days ago

A Philadelphia man has been charged with kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of Kada Scott, 23, who went missing from her workplace 11 days ago and who investigators believe is in danger, police said.

Keon King, 21, was taken into custody overnight and charged Wednesday morning with kidnapping, said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore.

King was the last person in contact with Scott the night of Oct. 4, just before she disappeared, officials said, and cell phone location data show he was traveling with her phone that night before her line went dead.

His relationship to Scott was not immediately clear.

The arrest comes as local and federal law enforcement work around the clock to find Scott, a graduate of Pennsylvania State University who is from the Ivy Hill section of East Mount Airy.

Scott was working an overnight shift at a nursing home in Chestnut Hill on Oct. 4, and had told family and friends someone had been harassing her. Shortly after arriving at work around 10 p.m., police said, she walked outside — and never returned.

Investigators found her car in the parking lot and have not been able to locate her since. Her phone was turned off.

“We are still treating this as if Ms. Scott is still alive, and that’s why we need the public’s help in locating every single piece of this,” Deputy Police Commissioner John Stanford said Wednesday.

New information in the case continued to develop as the day went on.

Shortly after noon, detectives found Scott’s driver’s license and phone case discarded outside Ada H.H. Lewis Middle School, a vacant, abandoned school next to Awbury Arboretum in East Germantown, according to a law enforcement source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

And then, police located King’s car, a gold 1999 Toyota Corolla, in the parking lot of a condominium complex on the 4000 block of Gypsy Lane, the source said.

Detectives homed in on King late last week after learning of his conversations with Scott leading up to her disappearance, Vanore said. Police then traced the movements of his car and cell phone, which showed he was with Scott just before she went missing, he said. King later discarded his car and phone, Vanore said.

Investigators also learned this was not the first time King had allegedly kidnapped a woman, said Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski.

Earlier this year, King was charged with kidnapping and strangulation after he showed up outside the home of a woman he had been dating, threw her in his car, and assaulted her, Toczylowski said. King eventually let her go, she said.

But prosecutors withdrew the charges in May, she said, after the victim twice failed to appear in court. Toczylowski said prosecutors have refiled those charges in light of Scott’s disappearance.

“This is a pattern of behavior,” Vanore said.

Homicide detectives with the special investigations unit took over the case late last week. That does not mean police believe that Scott is no longer alive — homicide detectives are often called in to help with the most complicated and sensitive cases because they are the most specialized unit with a wider range of investigative tools.

Still, it underscores the seriousness of the crime.

Scott’s family declined to speak Wednesday, but in the early days of her disappearance, her parents told reporters it was not like their daughter to suddenly leave home and cut off communication.

Officials asked anyone who knows King — or might have been a victim of earlier abuse by him — to come forward.

Anyone with information can call the police department’s tip line at 215-686-8477 or the homicide unit at 215-686-3334, or email tips@phillypolice.com.

King’s car had been spotted in Center City, Southwest Philadelphia, and Northwest Philadelphia, police said.

“All roads at this point lead to him,” Toczylowski said, “and that’s what we’re hoping leads us to her.”