Wayne County communities remember, honor 3 women police said were killed by a stranger

LYMAN, Wayne County — Neighbors placed ribbons around communities from Loa to Torrey Thursday as they honored and remembered three women who investigators said died at the hands of a stranger.

Police apprehended that stranger, identified by detectives as 22-year-old Ivan Miller of Blakesburg, Iowa, in Colorado after they said he fled Wayne County in one of the victim’s cars.

The three victims have been identified as Margaret Oldroyd, 86, Linda Dewey, 65, and Natalie Graves, 34. 

Linda Dewey and Natalie Graves, who were aunt and niece, were killed while hiking. Margaret Oldroyd was killed in her home. 

“Our family is dealing with the shock of the devastating loss of two members of our family who were bonding over the beauty of a hike in one of their favorite places on earth–cherished by them and the community, considered to be a safe sanctuary. They were murdered. We cannot comprehend why this happened,” Dewey’s family said in a statement.

Dewey’s family went on to talk about how Dewey “was loved deeply.”

“Linda, age 65, was a wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and had many extended family members and friends all over the world. She was loved deeply and loved her family deeply,” the statement said. “She was the heart of our family.”

The family also spoke about Graves, who “was joy, sunshine and beauty.”

“Natalie, age 34, was a wife, daughter and sister, adored by her many friends and extended family members. She was joy, sunshine and beauty embodied.”

“We need time to mourn, love each other and be with our family and friends,” Dewey’s family said. “We are at a loss for words that can describe what we are feeling and cannot publicly express our sadness and devastation at this time.”

The Dewey family statement also asked that media and the community use the Cockscomb Trailhead to memorialize their family members, instead of approaching their homes.

The Utah Department of Public Safety has said at this time, there is no known evidence linking Dewey and Graves with Oldroyd.

“We wanted to honor our friend and neighbor,” said Mary Sorenson, who was one of three women tying ribbons around Lyman, where one of the women was killed inside her home. “And the other two women who were viciously murdered yesterday.”

Lori Chappell and Melissa Robins joined Sorenson, and remembered their neighbor as quiet, peaceful, “smiley,” and someone who helped others.

“No matter her age, she was always first in line to help everybody,” Sorenson said. “We’re just overwhelmed and shocked, in disbelief, sad, angry — so angry.”

There was similar high emotion in Torrey, where Mayor Mickey Wright said he and his wife were friends with one of the other victims.

“She was like everybody around here — a very good person,” Wright said during an interview with KSL. “(We) offer our condolences to all the families, friends and (we) know it’s going to be a few rough days, but we’ll get through it.”

The mayor described a tense 24 hours after the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning on social media for residents to leave lights on, lock their doors and stay inside as they dealt with the situation.

Learning that there were personal connections to the victims made the ordeal that much more difficult, he acknowledged.

“There’s definitely a lot of hurt, a lot of, ‘why did this happen to those people,’” Wright said. “I think that’s part of the process and part of the grieving and that will be with us for quite a while.”

Wright said the community would never forget, but he hoped it would be able to heal.

Well before that, however, women like Sorenson did what they “could do,” placing pink ribbons in memory of those who were lost.

“Our hearts are still with them and their families,” Sorenson said tearfully. “We want them to be remembered for their kindness and their love and as part of this community, we’re all deeply affected by it.”