AMERICAN FORK, Utah, May 18, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Transit Authority worker Kay Ricks lived a highly regimented life.
He arose at the same hour, prepared his tools and his food cooler for a day at work, and walked out the front door of his American Fork home at the same time.
Except on May 10, when he stopped and turned around. Lorie, Ricks’ wife of 42 years, asked him what he was doing.
“I forgot to give you a kiss goodbye,” her husband answered.
That kiss would mark the last time anyone from Ricks’ family would see him alive.
A body tentatively identified as that of Ricks, 63, was found late Tuesday night in a rural portion of Lincoln County, Wyoming. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Centerville Police Department have confirmed it is Ricks’ body.
Utah Transit Authority Police say the identification will not be finalized until the coroner confirms a match of fingerprints or other markers, but the body was in clothing identical to those Ricks was wearing when he was last seen, and according to one report, a name tag was found on the body.
The Ricks family believes the body is that of Kay, said family spokesman Richard Massey, speaking Wednesday outside the LDS ward house where Kay Ricks used to attend local meetings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Until last night, the family was obviously hoping for the safe return of Kay Ricks,” Massey said.
Ricks was last seen by coworkers at about 4 p.m. the day he nearly forgot to kiss his wife. His work truck, a 2013 white Ford F-150 UTA maintenance vehicle, also was missing. Ricks’ cell phone, found on the pavement, was another bad sign.
“Kay would never let his cell phone fall,” Massey said. “And if he did, he would spend time searching for it, because it was part of his routine.”
With the phone found, Ricks’ family knew the situation was grim, Massey said.
Also in the headlines last week was the alleged beating of a Centerville women with a baseball bat after she and her four teenage daughters were invited to a barbecue. All were bound and held in a basement, but escaped. The suspects in the May 10 case are father and son Flint Wayne Harrison and his son D.J. (Dereck James) Harrison.
The men fled the area, and police believed the two might be headed for Wyoming, which they were. Flint Harrison turned himself in Saturday to authorities in Sublette County, and helped officers locate son D.J., who had been camping in the Half Moon Lake area of Sublette County.
The body believed to be Ricks’ was found in nearby Lincoln County, 16 miles south of Kemmerer, Wyo., according to an official from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. It was found in a rural area, and had not been concealed.
Ricks’ UTA maintenance truck was caught on a surveillance camera at a Diamondville, Wyo., Chevron station, but the identity of the driver was not clear. As of Wednesday afternoon, the UTA vehicle Ricks was driving had not been located. Law enforcement officials were considering searching for it in a nearby lake, according to the Sheriff Shane Johnson.
Investigators are searching for more evidence to link the Harrisons with Ricks’ disappearance and discovery, deceased, in Wyoming.
Massey said Ricks’ survivors are wife Lorie, their three sons, all married, and six grandchildren.
Massey said the family wishes to thank all the officers, friends and strangers who helped in the search for Kay Ricks. They are also grateful to all the people who had offered condolences, including those who didn’t know the family but who left messages on Massey’s phone.
And Massey thanked the unknown person who tied yellow ribbons of tribute on all the mail boxes and light posts around the church where he was speaking.
Massey said the Ricks family is mourning the death of Kay, and not focusing on the circumstances at present.
“They are not angry with anyone. They are not mad at anyone. They don’t want revenge on anyone. If it ends up being a connection we’ll take it as it is, and continue moving day to day.
“People lose their lives every day,” Massey said. “The lose of life is tragic no matter how the life is lost…. They are sincerely grateful for everything that has been done.”
