Statesman sleuths snare slippery ex-Bronco

With rare praise for the Statesman, I gotta hand it to them on this story about former Bronco Defensive Lineman and highest ever (until this weekend) Bronco draftpick Markus Koch. The Statesman writers and staffers put out a Carmen Sandiego-like dragnet and managed to track down Koch, whom teammates and friends had not seen in nearly 15 years. The search for Koch, as of yesterday afternoon, was starting to resemble a Hardy Boys type caper—the Case of the Covert Canuck, perhaps.

Even amateur sleuths were getting in on the act as I corresponded with ISZ's J Bates several times yesterday with possible leads...all of which turned up empty. I think most people thought that Koch was hiding out in the anonymity of Canada's great white north...turns out he was finally tracked down by Statesman staffers in Port Townsend, WA—proving once and for all that finding a 6'5" 270 lb. man can sometimes be more difficult than it sounds.

My google searches for Markus now seem as bumbling as a Tim Conway/Don Knotts picture when you realize the resources that the Statesman employed in searching for the former Redskin. According to their article, they called and interviewed dozens of friends, coaches and ex-teammates; all who had their own theories about Koch's whereabouts. Finally late Thursday, the Statesman had their "Eureka" moment and tracked down Koch at 11 PM. Props again to the Statesman for "going all Sherlock Holmes"...it was the most interesting read I've possibly ever had from their paper.

Link to Statesman article.