Three Mormon missionaries die within 2 days

SALT LAKE CITY – Two Mormon missionaries serving in Taiwan and another in Oklahoma have died.

Connor Benjamin Thredgold, 19, of Springville, Utah, and Yu Peng Xiong, 24, of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, were found dead Saturday in an apartment they shared in Taiwan, the Mormon church in a statement Saturday to the Associated Press.

Authorities said they do not suspect foul play, but they haven’t determined a cause of death, church spokesman Eric Hawkins said.

In the U.S., Nancy Ann Vea, 19, of West Jordan, Utah, died from injuries sustained in a Tulsa car crash on Friday, Hawkins said.

Only a few missionaries die each year, and it is rare for deaths to occur within such a short period, Hawkins said.

Thredgold’s family told the Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday that he loved serving overseas.

Thredgold repaired electronics and worked long days at his disaster cleanup job to pay for his mission, said his father, Greg Thredgold.

“He wanted to do this. He wanted to make his family proud,” his mother, Cindy Thredgold, said.

Vea’s family members told the Tribune that while they are heartbroken about her death, they take comfort in knowing they will see her again someday.

The Tribune reported that Xiong had been serving as a missionary since March 2013.

About 84,600 church missionaries serve worldwide.