KDXU Sunrise Stories for October 2, 2023: Chase Leads to Death in Mesquite, Grand County Plane Crash, and Miss Utah Wins Miss USA

KDXU Sunrise Stories: Volume 65 

Statewide News – 10/02/23 

Grand County Plane Crash Leaves 4 Dead 

A plane took off near Moab on October 1, but then crashed soon after near Grand County, killing four of the passengers. A full investigation is currently underway.  

No word has been given on how many of the passengers were harmed besides the four who passed, or how many passengers were in the plane. 

We’ll provide updates as the investigation provides more details. 

Miss Utah Wins Miss USA 

Noelia Voigt, AKA Miss Utah, is your Miss USA for 2023, and will continue to compete in the Miss Universe Pageant on November 18. 

Voigt’s current resume of accomplishments include publishing a children’s book and is currently studying interior design, and she’s only 23 years old. 

Miss Utah won the crown on September 29 during the Miss USA pageant which was held in Reno, Nevada. 

Attorney General Will Not Endorse Senator Candidates 

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes will not endorse any candidates vying for Utah Senator Mitt Romney’s in the 2024 election.  

Reyes told the Salt Lake Tribune he wouldn’t endorse Tim Ballard, leading some to believe there was going to be a candidate that he was going to endorse. 

Reyes then updated his statement on September 29, where he stated he wasn’t going to endorse any candidate. 

Southern Utah/St. George News – 10/02/23 

Suspect Dead Following Chase into Mesquite 

A chain of events that started with a stolen vehicle in Spanish Fork ended with gruesome results in Mesquite on September 30. 

The man was reportedly peering into St. George homes in the Bloomington area when a nearby resident noticed the man’s suspicious behavior. The resident confronted the suspect but was then threatened by the suspect. The man then got back into the stolen vehicle, beginning the chase. 

The St. George Police Department joined deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in pursuing the man into Mesquite. The suspect then vacated his vehicle and stole another vehicle before attempting to escape on foot into a nearby golf course. 

The suspect then reportedly took out a firearm on his person and shot himself, ending both the chase and his life. 

Major Power Outage in St. George 

A crash in St. George on September 29 resulted in a major power outage across most of the main St. George area. 

The crash on Riverside Drive broke a power pole that powered a good number of the traffic lights in the major intersections of St. George 

About ten crashes resulted from the power outage, with five resulting in injuries of varying severity.  

Police advised residents to stay home and wait until the following day to perform any weekend errands. City workers were able to get the power back on in the evening hours of September 29. 

Cedar City Spends $11 Million on Water Rights 

The Cedar City Council voted to approve more than $11 million on about 950 acre-feet of water from Labaron Ranch Holdings. 

Only one of the five city council members voted against the purchase but didn’t provide a reason as to why. 

The agreement will go forward with about $12,000 per acre-foot of water. 

Other 

Fun fact about Stockton Myers, the writer of Sunrise Stories. 

Stockton was on a relay team in 5th grade. Well, he was kind of on the team. A relay team usually uses four members in a race, and Stockton happened to be the 5th member. If one of the racers had to drop out for one reason or another, then Stockton had to cover. He never had to cover any of the racers though...he just kind of stood on the sidelines looking all sad. 

Happy Monday!