2 LDS missionaries die in Taiwan; 1 dies in U.S.

Mormon missionaries, 24 and 19, found dead in Taiwan; another, 19, dies in Oklahoma car crash

8/23/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SALT LAKE CITY — Two Mormon missionaries serving in Taiwan and another in Oklahoma have died.

The Mormon church in a Saturday statement to The Associated Press said 19-year-old Connor Benjamin Thredgold of Springville, Utah, and 24-year-old Yu Peng Xiong of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, were found dead Saturday in an apartment they shared in Taiwan.

Church spokesman Eric Hawkins said authorities do not suspect foul play, but they haven’t determined a cause of death.

He also said 19-year-old Nancy Ann Vea of West Jordan, Utah, died from injuries sustained in a Tulsa car crash on Friday.

Hawkins says only a few missionaries die each year and it is rare for deaths to occur within such a short period.

About 84,600 church missionaries serve worldwide.