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FBI, State Bureau of Investigation join Grand County Sheriff’s Office in Moab double murder investigation

Posted at 2:48 PM, Aug 23, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-24 09:23:02-04

MOAB, Utah — The Grand County Sheriff’s Office has called in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and State Bureau of Investigation to assist in the double murder investigation of two Moab women, Sheriff Steven White said.

READ: Loved ones hold candlelight vigil to remember Moab couple murdered, call for justice

Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner went reported missing and found dead days later on August 18 at their campsite in the South Mesa area of the La Sal Loop Road in Grand County, according to The Grand County Sheriff’s Office.

This is one of the largest investigations the Grand County Sheriff’s Office has ever taken on, White said.

“Just know that everything is being done that we can possibly do, that is why we have asked for the additional resources. We want to make sure we do it thorough, we do it complete and we do it right,” he said.

Deputies are working extra hours and extra shifts to assist in the investigation and provide extra safety to the community, White said.

“We have extra patrols that are working pretty much the whole county and we are putting special emphasis on the mountain and around those areas. We are trying to work them as much as we can, especially when we are 8 guys down.

It is devastating not knowing what happened to Schulte and Turner, Brittany Garcia who was close friends with the couple said.

“It is hard knowing we can’t figure anything out and we can’t find these people who did this to them,” she said.

WATCH: Family calls for answers after Moab couple shot dead at campsite

One of the biggest concerns is if there is enough transparency from law enforcement, another of the couple’s friends Laura Lee Green, said.

“There is a lot of curiosity in the town as far as if law enforcement is doing anything they can and if they did everything they could in the very beginning,” she said.

Sheriff White said they are doing everything they can, however they cant share many details to protect the integrity of the case.

“Right now, we are not taking anything off the table. We are investigating this at every possible avenue for every possible thing,” he said.

Green also worried if deputies searched for the newlyweds when the two women were originally reported missing. Deputies did look that day, White said.

“When the original complaint came in from, it was actually done as a missing person out of the Moab police department. There were actually deputies that went into the mountain areas, there was actually a Colorado sheriff that looked at one of the lakes on the backside of the mountain for us,” he said.

The community is shaken up and this double murder has taken a toll on everyone, including White.

“This is totally devastating. This is my home. This is where I was born and raised. I take it not only on a professional level but on a personal level that I want to get to the bottom of this,” he said.

Anyone with information that may be helpful to the investigation should contact the Grand County Sheriff's Office at 435-259-8115.