Six weeks after the bodies of newlyweds Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner were recovered from a creek near Moab, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday asked the public for renewed help in its investigation into the double homicide.
Schulte, 24, and Turner, 38, were found fatally shot near their campsite in the South Mesa area of the La Sal Mountains on Aug. 18, two days after they were reported missing. The couple were last seen leaving Woody’s Tavern in Moab on Aug. 13 and had complained to friends about a “creepy guy” near their campsite days prior, court filings state.
Officials on Tuesday asked that anyone who was in the South Mesa area between Aug. 13 and Aug. 15 contact the Sheriff’s Office with “anything they may have seen or heard” at 435-259-8115.
A forensic analysis of evidence collected in the case is currently underway, but it may take “several months or more to complete,” officials noted in a news release Tuesday.
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office has been inundated with calls about the case, with members of the community both offering tips and demanding updates, a spokesperson said. Officials advised that they understand the community’s concern and will release updates as they are available.
For the last two weeks, Schulte’s father, Sean-Paul Schulte, has set up a “clue booth” at Swanny City Park in Moab, asking residents and travelers each day for tips to pass along to authorities about the case.
The father recently learned that the night before the women stopped showing up for work, there was an Aug. 14 wedding at Whispering Oaks Ranch, a cabin rental resort located about a half-mile southeast of where the couple’s bodies were recovered. More than 100 people were on the guest list.
According to an aunt of Kylen Schulte, the father of the August bride called the Sheriff’s Office and the FBI on Sept. 16 to offer the guest list for potential leads, but no one has contacted him or returned his call. The Grand County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for confirmation Tuesday that it had received such a list.
Kylen Schulte’s aunt, Bridget Calvert, created a Facebook group called “Justice for Kylen and Crystal” in August to try and spread the story and drudge up tips. As of Tuesday, the group reached more than 10,000 members.
She hopes that someone who was traveling through Moab in mid-August may have dash camera or GoPro footage that could be useful in the case.
Calvert said she felt “very neutral” about Tuesday’s announcement.
“I feel like the press release was to appease the community,” Calvert said. “It does not make me feel like there’s progress or that anything has changed.”
Sean-Paul Schulte will continue to set up his clue booth each morning until at least Thursday, Calvert said. His efforts have brought in some useful information, but it’s been difficult to pass tips on to authorities at times because of the sheer amount of calls and information the Sheriff’s Office is receiving, Calvert said.
She asked members of her group to stop calling the Sheriff’s Office for updates.
“We need their efforts to be on solving the case not reporting back on the case,” she has said.
An anonymous business contractor in Moab posted a $10,000 reward on Aug. 31 for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for the deaths of Schulte and Turner.
On Sept. 2, Sacred Earth One, a private lending company based in Moab, offered a second $10,000 reward. The case remains under investigation.
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