What Actually Happened to Kayelyn Louder?
Shutterstock
Shutterstock
Kayelyn Louder was 30 years old when she vanished from her apartment complex in Murray, Utah in 2014. Her body was discovered two months after her disappearance on the banks of the Jordan River, miles from the creek that ran behind her apartment complex. Police have ruled her death accidental, but Louder’s family has not accepted this explanation and believes to this day that foul play was somehow involved.
The day before she disappeared, Kayelyn made several bizarre calls to 911. She called the day before her disappearance and warned police of a fight happening in her apartment building that involved guns. When police arrived, they discovered a wedding party had shot off a firecracker during their reception.
The next day, Kayelyn called 911 to report an intruder in her home. In the background of the recording, some listeners say they hear sounds like laughter and voices overlapping.
In the call, Kayelyn’s roommate Carole can be heard trying to calm her down. Carole sounds convinced that Kayelyn is being paranoid, telling her that the front door is locked so there’s no way anyone is in the apartment with them. Kayelyn quickly asserts that “they must have a key, then!” Some have speculated that this could indicate Kayelyn had a sudden psychotic break or schizophrenic episode, marked by sudden irrational paranoia.
Later that day, Kayelyn is seen on surveillance footage outside her apartment building, barefoot in the rain. She can be seen talking to either herself or her dog, but it’s hard to tell which from the footage. Her dog looks relatively calm in the footage while Kayelyn continues speaking animatedly for a few minutes. She is seen a few more times on footage going up and down a hill near her apartment that leads to a small creek that runs behind the property.
A few hours later, Kayelyn was reported missing. It’s unclear what happened to her next, as no one reported seeing her following that morning. Her body was discovered on the banks of the Jordan River, miles from where she was last seen on surveillance footage, badly decomposed from proximity to water. Her autopsy revealed that there was no water in her lungs, and there was no evidence of cuts or bruises or broken bones. This complete lack of a definitive cause of death has led to a whirlwind of speculation.
Some believe Kayelyn may have had a psychotic break and walked along the river before slipping and suffering from a “dry drowning.” In a dry drowning, the throat closes up to prevent the victim from inhaling water. Should they stay under, however, they’ll simply suffocate. Other believe Kayelyn may have been assaulted by someone near the creek and then dumped miles away, and that her injuries from this attack were impossible to detect due to the decomposition of her body.
Still others believe that Kayelyn may have taken her own life somehow. However, the autopsy showed no evidence of drugs in her system. Proponents of the suicide theory have argued that, given the state her body was in, it’s possible any drugs in her system would be undetectable by the time the autopsy was performed. In the end, the world may never know what really happened to Kayelyn Louder.