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LDS missionary from Canada dies in Utah after suffering a traumatic head injury

19-year-old, serving in the Layton Mission, becomes the third full-time Latter-day Saint proselytizer to die this year.

(Courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Elder Isaac Heninger died Monday after suffering a traumatic head injury.

  | May 8, 2023, 10:25 p.m.

A 19-year-old missionary with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints died Monday in a “tragic accident,” a spokesperson for the faith said.

Isaac Heninger, from Searsville, New Brunswick, was serving in the Utah Layton Mission when he suffered a traumatic head injury, church spokesperson Sam Penrod said in a news release.

Heninger and his companions had been walking to an appointment in Clearfield on Sunday when they stopped to talk with a group of young men who had an electric scooter, the release stated. At some point, Heninger tried to jump the electric scooter as it approached him in the roadway when he fell and suffered a head injury, according to a news release from the Clearfield Police Department.

Medical personnel transported Heninger to Holy Cross Hospital—Davis in Layton. He later was flown to the University of Utah Hospital, where he died early Monday.

Heninger had started his volunteer missionary service in December 2022. In an Instagram video he posted Oct. 26, just before opening his mission assignment, he said, “My heart is pounding.” When the call said he was going to Layton, he said, “That’s not what I expected, but I’ll take it.” The call mentioned his training would begin Dec. 19.

“We express our deepest condolences to Elder Heninger’s family and friends as they mourn his passing,” Penrod said. “We pray for all those who are impacted by this tragedy. May they feel the Savior’s love during this difficult time.”

This is the third publicly reported death of a full-time Latter-day Saint missionary this year.

The first was a 26-year-old missionary from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who died March 10 in the hospital “a short time after he began feeling ill.” He had been serving in the Mbuji-Mayi Mission in his home country.

The second was a 20-year-old missionary from Guatemala, who died April 11 while serving in the Honduras San Pedro Sula West Mission. She fell ill and was admitted to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with leukemia. “Doctors began emergency treatment,” the Utah-based church said, “but she suffered complications.”