A former beauty pageant contestant from Philadelphia is still missing more than a week after telling her family and friends she was receiving harassing phone calls.
Just a few months ago, 23-year-old Kada Scott was in the running to be the next Miss Pennsylvania USA, hoping to represent her state at the national Miss USA pageant. Now, she has become the focus of an urgent citywide search.
She was last seen on October 4, clocking in for her overnight shift at an assisted living facility in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood. Her family expected her to be home the next morning. But she never arrived.
Keon King, 21, has been charged in connection with Scott’s abduction, and faces another kidnapping charge in what investigators described as a disturbing “pattern.”
“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,” Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski said at a press conference.
Despite King being in custody, there is still no sign of Scott.
“I just need her to come home and be safe,” her mother, Kim Matthews, told WPVI. “That’s what I fear – she’s not safe.”
As police continue searching for Scott, new clues and chilling patterns are beginning to emerge.
Kada’s disappearance
Kada Scott had only been working at The Terrace at Chestnut Hill senior living facility for about two weeks when she vanished.
Her father, Kevin Scott, told WPVI she had been assigned to the overnight shift from 10 p.m.- 6 a.m.
Investigators say she was not at work for very long that night before she left the facility. However, there were no surveillance cameras in the parking lot, they said.
When Scott did not return home that morning, her parents called the senior living facility and got what they called “conflicting reports” about her whereabouts.
They met police at the facility that day and discovered her car still in the parking lot.
Her phone, iPad, keys, and other belongings were not inside the vehicle, WPVI reported.
Police are still working to determine how Scott and the suspect knew each other, but say they believe they came into contact in the days before the disappearance.
“Our evidence is pretty clear that she was in communication with an individual, that individual appears to meet her very shortly after she leaves her place of work, and very shortly after that, she disappears,” Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said.
A car, a tip, and a break in the case
As the search for Scott continued and tips flooded in, investigators were led to the Awbury Arboretum in East Germantown on October 10.
Police searched the 55-acre property they say was one of the last places her phone pinged before it was deactivated. However, no evidence was uncovered in their search.
Then on October 15, investigators found a car they believe is connected to the disappearance – a 1999 metallic gold Toyota Camry with heavy front-end damage and tinted windows.
The vehicle was found in the parking lot of the Gypsy Lane Condos in East Falls after a tip came in around 3:10 p.m. It matched the description and license plate number, MSX0797, released earlier in the day. Sources told reporters the car belonged to King, whose family lives near by.
“We believe she may have been in that vehicle,” Toczylowski said.
Surveillance footage shows the driver arriving and leaving the property within about 35 minutes, though police haven’t confirmed who was behind the wheel. Police say the vehicle was seen in several parts of the city before it was found on Wednesday.
Just hours before the car’s discovery, another tip led police to search Ada H. Lewis Middle School, an abandoned building near the Awbury Arboretum. There they reportedly found evidence that links Scott to being in that area.
“Shortly after arriving here, we were able to locate some physical evidence, which ties Miss Scott to this scene, and obviously, this is very substantial,” Philadelphia Police Sgt. Eric Gripp said.
Police have not specified what was recovered, but sources say it included her card and a phone case.
It wasn’t the first time investigators had combed the area. Drones, K9 units, and crime scene teams searched the arboretum last week with no luck. Despite the new discovery, police say they did not find Kara Scott at the school.
A pattern of violence
As investigators dug into King’s background, a troubling history began to unfold.
Toczylowski said King is accused of kidnapping and assaulting another woman earlier this year – a case that was dropped when the victim failed to appear in court. That case has now been refiled.
“At this point, he will have two open kidnapping cases that will face preliminary hearings in the coming months,” Toczylowski said.
Beyond that, court records show King has a string of other offenses, including fleeing police, driving without a license, and a pending DUI from December 2024.
Police say his record and behavior show a concerning “pattern,” and they’re asking any additional victims to come forward.
“Anyone that may have been involved with this individual or anyone that may know this individual, please at this point in time make that phone call,” Philadelphia Police 1st Deputy Commissioner John Stanford said.
“If you have been a victim of any crime regarding this individual, we want you to understand that now is the time to make that phone call and let us know.”
Before she disappeared, Scott allegedly told friends she was being harassed, though it’s unclear by whom.
A family’s plea
Philadelphia police, along with the FBI, continue to treat the case as an active missing person investigation.
Scott’s family, meanwhile, hasn’t stopped searching.
They’ve canvassed the neighborhood where she was last seen, passed out flyers, and launched a GoFundMe campaign to fund a reward for credible information.
“Canvass the neighborhoods, any leads we can possibly get so we can forward to police in hopes of getting my daughter back home,” said her father, Kevin Scott. “You never know what little, small, minuscule information may apply to the big picture, the puzzle that might get Kada home.”
As the second week of the search begins, police say they’re pursuing every lead, and say every tip matters.
Anyone with information about Kada Scott’s whereabouts or anyone who may have been victimized by Keon King is urged to call Philadelphia Police at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
“We are still treating this as an active search,” Commissioner Stanford said. “There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”
