A Philadelphia woman went missing more than a week ago. Now, a man has been charged with her and another woman’s kidnapping

By Dalia Faheid, CNN

(CNN) — More than a week after a 23-year-old Philadelphia woman went missing, a man has been arrested and charged with her kidnapping – as well as the kidnapping of another woman earlier this year in what police call part of a “pattern.”

Suspect Keon King, 21, was arrested Tuesday night and also faces a charge of recklessly endangering another person and use of a communication facility, meaning his phone, in the disappearance of Kada Scott, prosecutors said. Meanwhile, authorities are continuing their search for Scott, who was last seen at her workplace on the night of October 4.

“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 CNN affiliate WPVI last week.

Tracking phone communications led police to King, Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

“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 the district attorney’s office joined the investigation into Scott’s kidnapping, prosecutors learned King was charged earlier this year in a case involving accusations of strangulation and kidnapping, Toczylowski said.

In that case, King allegedly kidnapped a woman in front of her house, threw her in a car, assaulted her and eventually let her out of the car, Toczylowski said. The case is “domestic in nature” as King and the victim knew each other, she added.

Charges in that case were withdrawn by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in May because a witness failed to appear in court, Toczylowski said. The office has refiled those charges and King is expected to face preliminary hearings in both kidnapping cases in the coming months, she said.

Video evidence from the alleged incident earlier this year will be played at the preliminary hearing, according to Toczylowski.

CNN is working to determine whether King has retained an attorney.

“He’s being really charged with two cases today,” Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said Wednesday.

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

The Philadelphia Police Department’s homicide division is leading the investigation into Scott’s disappearance with assistance from the FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force.

“The number one priority is locating Ms. Scott,” Philadelphia Police First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford said at the news conference Wednesday.

Tips from the public lead investigators to key evidence

Scott’s family is desperately waiting for answers and urging anyone with information relating to the case to come forward.

“You never know what little, small, minuscule information may apply to the big picture, the puzzle that might get Kada home,” her father, Kevin Scott, told WPVI this week.

During Wednesday’s news conference, police asked for the public’s help in locating a gold 1999 Toyota Camry believed to be linked to King. The same afternoon, they received a tip that led them to the car in an apartment complex parking lot, WPVI reported.

Authorities believe Scott may have been in the car at some point. The vehicle has been tracked in multiple locations across the city, officials said Wednesday. The car will be searched after authorities obtain a search warrant, WPVI reported.

“We are still treating this as if Ms. Scott is still alive, and that’s why we want the public’s health in trying to locate every single piece of this,” Stanford said.

Another tip received after the news conference led investigators to an abandoned school, where they found at least two of Scott’s belongings, CNN affiliate KYW reported.

“This is some of the most concrete, physical evidence that we have found since Ms. Scott has gone missing,” Sgt. Eric Gripp with the Philadelphia Police Department told KYW.

Before her disappearance, Scott was in contact with King, who met with her shortly after she left her workplace, police said, citing video and digital evidence. She left her car at work about 20 minutes after she first arrived there and disconnected thereafter, authorities said.

“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.

What relationship King and Scott had and how long they knew each other is under investigation, Toczylowski 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,” Vanore said.

Authorities have been tracking several phone numbers involved in Scott’s case and investigating whether any other individuals were involved with the kidnapping. “All roads at this point lead to” King and “that’s what we’re hoping leads us to” Scott, Toczylowski said.

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