Missing woman’s family seeks answers after her body is found 100 miles from Utah home

The body of a missing 22-year-old Utah woman was found over 100 miles away from her hometown, leaving her family with lingering questions about the circumstances of her death, local media reports.

Sophia Lower’s body was discovered on April 8 by four teenage boys who were riding dirt bikes in Rich County, near the city of Randolph. An April 11 autopsy confirmed that it was the body of the woman who vanished from Layton earlier in the year, KSL reported.

Randolph is about 108 miles northeast of Layton.

Before she disappeared, Lower had invited people over to her family’s home in Layton and discussed her plans to visit Randolph soon, Fox 13 reported. She left with her guests but continued to stay in touch with her family until sometime in March, the outlet reported.

She was officially reported missing on March 29, just 10 days before her body was found, McClatchy News reported.

“We want to know how she ended up where she ended up,” Veronica Bair, Lower’s older sister, told Fox 13. “Why she ended up where she was.”

Lower graduated from high school in 2018, according to her obituary. Her family called her a “bold ray of sunshine” who was “curious and open-minded.”

“She always talked about opening a roadside fruit stand and traveling the world, never wanting to be tied down,” the obituary said. “Being around her was always fun as she laughed easily and had a way of finding the joy in the ordinary.”

She’s survived by her mother, sister, two nephews, grandmother, and “many uncles, aunts, and cousins,” the obituary said.

Authorities in Rich County and Weber County are still investigating her death, KSL reported.

“We want the mystery solved,” Bair told Fox 13.

Layton is 24 miles north of Salt Lake City.

The Layton City Police Department, Rich County Sheriff’s Office and Weber County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from McClatchy News.