Body of Mackenzie Lueck recovered from Logan Canyon, police say
Jul 5, 2019, 11:13 AM | Updated: Oct 23, 2020, 11:42 am
Police served a search warrant in the Fairpark neighborhood in late June in the disappearance of Mackenzie Lueck. The owner of that home was later arrested. Photo: Kelli Pierce / KSL Newsradio
SALT LAKE CITY — Police Chief Mike Brown confirmed Friday the body of a missing University of Utah student, Mackenzie Lueck, has been recovered from Logan Canyon.
“I spoke with Mackenzie’s family this morning. Another devastating call,” Brown said. “Despite their grief, we hope this will help them find some closure and justice for Mackenzie.”
Lueck, 23, was last seen early on the morning of June 17 after returning to Salt Lake International Airport from a funeral in California. A Lyft driver told police Lueck was dropped off at a park in North Salt Lake, where she was observed getting into a vehicle with someone else. The Lyft driver said Lueck did not appear to be in distress.
This undated photo provided by Kennedy Stoner shows herself, from left, posing with Mackenzie Lueck and Grace Peterson. (Courtesy of Kennedy Stoner via AP)
Police said tissue identified as belonging to Lueck was recovered from a home owned by a man named Ayoola Ajayi in the course of the investigation. However, until this week, Lueck’s body had not been found.
When Ajayi was arrested, Brown told reporters both Lueck and Ajayi’s cell phones indicated activity within the same time frame from the park in North Salt Lake.
Ajayi, 31, has not yet been charged in the case. Speaking at a news conference Friday, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said the investigation remained active while his office screens charges, which he expected to come in the next week.
Neither police nor the prosecutor have said how Lueck died. They have also not disclosed how Lueck and Ajayi may have known each other.
