AMERICAN FORK, Utah -- Kay Ricks is home.
Family, police, and UTA personnel participated in a procession, transporting Ricks’ body from the medical examiner in Salt Lake City to a mortuary in American Fork.
Family spokesman Richard Massey says it's been an emotional day for Kay's wife, Laurie.
"She always relied on Kay," Massey said. "Kay was always her rock and she his, and that separation, which we will all feel at some time in our lives and maybe already have, is helped by the love of her good family."
As the family prepares for the funeral, Wyoming authorities are hard at work trying to figure out how Ricks was killed.
Services for Ricks will be public, with the family hoping that many in the community will come show their support for Ricks. A viewing will be held Friday, May 27 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Anderson Mortuary, 49 East 100 North, in American Fork.
The funeral will be held at noon on Saturday, May 28 at an LDS Church at 579 North 680 West in American Fork. Members of the public are encouraged to attend the funeral.
A big piece of the puzzle regarding Ricks' death was solved when his UTA truck was found in the Sublette County woods Thursday. Sublette County Sheriff Stephen Haskell says finding the truck was no easy task
"Thank goodness it was a white pickup, because if it would've been blue or some of these other colors, if it had been darker, we would've had problems," he said. "I don't know if we would've seen it."
The truck is now in Salt Lake City being processed by the FBI and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. The investigation into how Ricks was killed now lies in the hands of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department in Wyoming.
"Really it is not a topic of conversation in the Ricks’ home at all, and I know people find that hard to believe, but I'm telling you the truth," Massey said of Ricks' family's take on the ongoing investigation.
The Ricks may not be talking about it right now, but the questions still remain.
"They know that Kay did not die of natural causes," Massey said. "We are confident that Kay did not die of his own hand. We know that something happened that we don't understand and that will eventually come out, and we are comfortable with that."
DJ and Flint Harrison have been named persons of interest in the case. They are currently sitting at the Davis County Jail, charged with five counts each of aggravated kidnapping and assault for the May 10th attack on a mother and her four teenage daughters. The pair fled Utah around the time Ricks vanished, and police are investigating possible connections between their flight and Ricks' death.
Friday, police in Sublette County, Wyoming (where the Harrisons were captured) stated in a press release they are searching for several firearms and knives believed to have been in the Harrisons' possession during the search in that county. They asked anyone who encounters weapons or unattended camping gear to call police and not touch anything.
“It is extremely important that if anyone encounters any firearms, knives or unattended camping equipment in the area that they not disturb or even touch them, but to note their location and notify the Sheriff’s Office immediately,” Sheriff Stephen Haskell stated. “Once we are called, we will have deputies secure the scene right away to collect them properly and preserve them as evidence.”
