MOAB, Utah — The Grand County Sheriff's Office is assuring the public that investigators and deputies are doing everything they can to keep the small community safe as they search for a killer in the double murder of two local women.
It's been exactly one week since family and friends sounded the alarm and reported Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner missing. The worry after each didn't show up for work Tuesday morning turned into horror and heartache when the couple was discovered shot and killed in the La Sal Mountains a day later.
"It's surreal," said Maggie Keating, a friend and co-worker of Schulte. "Just having to talk about this and accept that it happened... It's shocking."
At a press conference Tuesday, the Grand County Sheriff's Office officially called the deaths and double homicide, rather than simply "suspicious."
Schulte and Turner were found at their campsite in the South Mesa area by a family friend.
The Grand County Sheriff's Office re-iterated that they still have no suspect. There is no indication to the public as to why the two were killed.
Sheriff Steven White stressed that public safety is paramount.
“We've increased patrols on the mountain. We’re doing everything we can. We did over-flies with helicopters," he said during the press conference. "I want the public to know, we’re doing everything we can to maintain their safety.”
Grand County enlisted help from the FBI and Utah State Bureau of Investigations. They're calling for information in hopes of finding the suspect.
It's hard to comprehend, especially to those who knew Schulte and Turner.
"She just had so much energy, and such like a bright energy," Keating said of Schulte.
The two worked together at a community-owned natural foods store, Moonflower Community Cooperative in downtown Moab.
Keating described having to make the Facebook post announcing the horrible news to their customers. She talked about how Schulte was a friendly face for regular customers and tourists four days a week, for the past four years.
"She would be the first person that a lot of people would see right when they walk in the door up at the register," Keating said.
The news has been tough for people to process.
"Everybody just can't say enough about how sweet Ky was, and just how much they're going to miss interacting with her -- some people on a daily basis," Keating said.
Keating mentioned that the newly married couple always went to lunch together, and how cute they were.
You couldn't find a couple that was happier together, Keating said.
The small community this couple called home, is in disbelief over Schulte and Turner's deaths.
"People come from all over the world to have fun here," Keating said. "It's not a place where something horrible like this would happen."
