SALT LAKE CITY — Two LDS missionaries who died while serving in Taiwan are believed to have been killed by a carbon monoxide leak in their apartment, according to news reports in Taipei.
Connor Benjamin Thredgold, 19, of Springville, and Yu Peng Xiong, 24, of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, were found dead in their apartment Saturday in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District.
The two had been reported missing by other missionaries, and police discovered the bodies during a house visit, according to the Taiwan News. Investigators later found a faulty gas water heater, which they believe was the source of the poisonous gas leak, according to the Taipei Times.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has not yet confirmed their cause of death, but no foul play is suspected, said church spokeswoman Jessica Moody. Press reports indicate that police have closed the case.
Xiong had been serving as a missionary since March 2013, and Thredgold had been serving since March of this year.
"We pray for their families and for all those who knew them, and express our love and deepest sympathies at this tragic time," Moody said.