LAYTON, Utah — The family of a young missing Layton woman is looking for answers after her body was found 108 miles away outside the town of Randolph, Utah.
Sophia Lower, 22, was laid to rest on Monday, but there are still many unanswered questions about how she died.
“Just the mystery of it all,” said Veronica Bair, Lower’s older sister. “We want the mystery solved.”
Bair said Lower was last seen in February at her family’s home in Layton. She said she brought people over and expressed plans to visit Randolph.
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“They came in and introduced themselves and my mom made sure that they swapped phone numbers so that my mom could keep tabs on her,” she said. “And then she went with them.”
Lower stayed in contact with her family until communication stopped one day in March.
A group of teenage boys riding dirt bikes found her body on April 8 near a road five miles west of Randolph. Two crime scene preservation specialists from the Weber County Sheriff's Office were brought in to assist.
“We want to know how she ended up where she ended up. Why she ended up where she was,” said Bair.
Bair said Lower was beautiful with a striking imagination. She’d go out of her way to compliment others and saw something worthy in every person she met.
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“Sophia spent the last two months with us,” she said. “I’m grateful every single day that I got to have those.”
Bair said her sister struggled with addiction and she hopes her story can spread some awareness.
“There’s predators out there. There’s people that prey on naive girls and they’ll take your family members away,” she said.
For those battling similar demons, she’s asking you to never be afraid to reach out and lean on your loved ones for support.
“They may seem frustrated with you and you may be frustrated with them because they’re not seeing your point-of-view, but it’s because they want you to live,” she said. “They don’t want you to be taken away too soon.”
It’s been almost two weeks since teenagers discovered Lower’s body. The Rich County Sheriff’s Office said they have not yet received a report from the medical examiner’s office. Deputies are not doing any interviews at this time due to the ongoing investigation.
To learn more about Lower and the bright light that she was, you can read her obituary here.
