A small town in a remote corner of Utah has been convulsed by fear and conspiracy theories after a local woman was found dead in her car.
Kimberly Hyde, 60, was discovered in her 2014 Honda Civic on October 8. The car was parked in Vernal, a small town of around 10,000 people near the northwest border with Colorado.
She was reported missing by her husband Michael the day before, Gephardt Daily reported, with townsfolk distraught after Hyde was found dead.
Hyde was from Roosevelt, which sits around 30 miles away and which is an even smaller town of around 8,000.
And now locals both there and in Vernal have been spooked by a short obituary which said Hyde had been ‘taken from this life.’ That has triggered speculation that Hyde fell victim to foul play and that she was murdered.
Local police have only issued vague statements about the case, pouring further fuel on the flames.
Kimberly Hyde, of Roosevelt, was mysteriously found dead in her 2014 Honda Civic roughly 30 miles outside of her small town in Vernal near 750 South and 500 East on October 8 after her husband Michael had reported her missing the day before
This is the town of Roosevelt in Utah, where Kimberly Hyde was from and which has now been convulsed by fears over her strange death
The manner in which Hyde died or how she was found inside the car have been released and the lack of transparency has amped up ‘public concerns.’
Police Chief, Mark J. Watkins, responded to the concerns by telling the public in a statement that the department is ‘unable to release certain details at this time to protect the integrity of the investigation.’
‘We want to assure the community that there is no heightened threat to public safety connected with this case,’ he said in a statement. ‘Roosevelt residents remain safe.
‘The Roosevelt City Police Department is committed to transparency and will provide further updates as soon as possible.’
Watkins said he believed the department would release more information this coming week.
But that hasn’t soothed sleuths’ souls who claimed under the Facebook post that they believe officers are ‘protecting information.’
Despite the demands, police have been vague in their messaging, simply stating that they are investigating Hyde’s death, but not offering a motive or an official cause of death (pictured: Hyde with her husband Michael)
‘They’re dotting their I’s and crossing their T’s because they know defense attorneys work to discredit every piece of evidence and how it’s gathered,’ Reed Cowan wrote.
‘What about Vernal?’ asked Tarlene Murray. ‘After all, she was found almost in my daughter’s backyard. You say Roosevelt is safe but it affected two towns.’
Maryann Jones wrote: ‘Really!! This poor lady, came up missing…found murdered in her car nothing about an arrest or even searching for the killer, but Roosevelt is safe…mmmmk.’
Daryl Duncan questioned: ‘Rumors? But are they rumors?’
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