Moab double homicide: Utah authorities, FBI on hunt for suspect in killing of newlywed couple
Newlyweds Crystal Michelle Turner, 38, and Kylen Carrol Schulte, 24, were discovered dead on Aug. 18
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Utah authorities and the FBI are still searching for suspects a week after the shooting deaths of two young women who were on a camping trip when they died.
The Grand County Sheriff's Department first responded to a call from a family friend who discovered the bodies of newlyweds Crystal Michelle Turner, 38, and Kylen Carrol Schulte, 24, of Moab on Aug. 18 in the South Mesa area of the La Sal Loop Road, according to a press release.
"The Grand County Sheriff’s Department along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State of Utah Special Bureau of Investigation and multiple law enforcement partners are conducting a double homicide investigation into the death of two female campers from the South Mesa area of the La Sal Mountains," the sheriff's office wrote in a Tuesday Facebook post.
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The Grand County Medical Examiner's Office later determined that the two women, who were last seen at a local tavern called Woody's on Aug. 13, had died of gunshot wounds, as FOX 13 Salt Lake City first reported.
The sheriff's investigation into the incident, which they are calling a double homicide, is ongoing. The office had not identified any suspects at the time of publication.
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"Kylen and Crystal’s moms are both carrying heavy hearts," Schulte's aunt Bridget Calvert wrote on a GoFundMe page for the victims' burial costs. "We have been in touch with them and they know we are here for them. The outpouring of support not only helps emotionally but truly financially. We are working on arrangements for transportation, funerals and memorials."
Donors have given more than $33,000 so far, according to the GoFundMe page.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Calvert said her niece and Turner had told friends at least twice about a man in the area who was "creeping them out," FOX 13 reported.
"They said they were going to go move, they were going to go pack up and move their campsite — that he was still creeping them out," Calvert told the outlet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Calvert wrote on the GoFuneMe page that Kyeln is the second child that her father, Sean-Paul Schulte, has lost. Kylen's brother, Mackeon, "was lost to negligent gun ownership when he was shot and killed by a friend in 2015 at the age of 15," Calvert wrote.
Schulte's father wrote in a Wednesday Facebook post that he is "not going to go down a dark tunnel" after his daughter's death like he "did after Mac."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Today I'm going to invite my mom and dad and sister and niece to console me," he said. "Today I'm going to try double hard to love Val and say extra prayers for her. I've been down this path before. I'm pretty sure I know what not to do. I think I might know what to do I'm going to take those steps today."
Authorities are asking anyone with additional information to contact the sheriff's office at (435) 259-8115.
Fox News' Stephanie Pagnones contributed to this report.