Rodney Koester missing for nearly 3 weeks; family desperate for information
The family of Rodney Koester is frantic to get information on his whereabouts after the Calgary man has not been seen or heard from in nearly three weeks.
The 35-year-old is the father to two boys, a two-year-old and a 14-year-old who has disabilities.
He never fails to check in by phone, says his sister Christina Koester.
"I felt in my soul something is wrong and he would reach out to me" said Christina, who says she and her brother are very close and are always helping each other with their kids.
The family, who describes him as a "people person," has reached out to his many friends, including on Facebook, where people have shared the fact he is missing.
Rodney struggles with an addiction to the powerful drug fentanyl, after taking the pain medication for scoliosis and then a back injury.
Fatal addiction: Alberta's fentanyl crisis.
The drug, considered stronger than morphine, has become a growing crisis in Alberta, and is behind at least 29 deaths in the Calgary region this year.
Rodney's family says fentanyl has been destroying his life, though he vowed to get off the drug. He became addicted about a year and a half ago, said his sister. The family has known of his addiction for a year. "He's lost everything basically. He's very honest about it" said Christina, who is very close to her brother. She also said her brother has tried to quit the drug before.
Alpha House is the last place Christina saw Rodney when she dropped him off. He was to stay there until there was room for him at the Renfrew Recovery Centre.
Police have no leads
"My intentions when I dropped him off at the Alpha House was to teach him a lesson and get him help," Christina said. "In no way shape or form did I ever think that by dropping him off there I would never hear from him."
Rodney's mother, Debbie Hauck, said the last time she heard from her son, it was in a very strange voicemail he left her the day after Mother's Day.
"I could hardly understand it. … He just said, 'I love you mom and I just want you to know that.'"
The family has filed a missing persons report with Calgary Police. Police say they have no leads.
Anyone with information about Rodney should contact Calgary Police at 403-266-1234 or through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-4877.
