LAYTON, Utah, April 15, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Issues surrounding the death of a young Layton woman remain unresolved a week after her body was found in Rich County.
Sophia Lower, 22, was reported missing on March 29 by family members, who said their last contact with her was March 20 via social media, Sgt. John Ottesen, Layton Police spokesman, said Friday.
Lower’s body was found April 8, according to a release Thursday from the Rich County Sheriff’s Office, which said she was located five miles west of Randolph by a group of teenage boys on dirt bikes.
Rich County officers responded and processed the scene, the statement said, enlisting the assistance of Weber County Sheriff’s Office crime scene preservation specialists. “No identification could be located on the body.”
The State Medical Examiner’s Office was able to identify the woman from her fingerprints, and her family was contacted, according to the release, which did not offer the results of the medical examiner’s April 11 autopsy of Lower, or any further details. Calls to the Rich County Sheriff’s Office were not immediately returned.
“We have not been notified of any evidence indicating any suspicion of foul play but it’s still showing as an active case,” Ottesen said. “It’s still referred to our detective division.”
The detectives working Lower’s case when she went missing last month are coordinating with Rich County officers, who are leading the death investigation, Ottesen said. Randolph, Rich County, is some 100 miles northeast of Layton.
Lower’s family, of Layton, had called from Lower’s residence to report her missing, Ottesen said, indicating they hadn’t had any direct contact with her for several weeks, except for the March 20 social media interaction.
