Community mourns Vineyard man who died during youth camping trip
A candlelight vigil was held Saturday evening in Utah County for the youth leader who died during a church camping trip earlier in the week.
Family, friends, and strangers gathered at the Springville High School baseball field to remember Alex Johnson, 38, who was found dead Thursday morning inside his trailer at Wasatch Mountain State Park.
Josh Probst, with the Wasatch County Sheriff's Office, said inside the enclosed trailer, deputies found charcoal in a Dutch oven. Investigators theorized that Johnson had used it as a heat source, which caused carbon monoxide to fill the trailer, killing him. The state medical examiner will determine the official cause of death.
Those in the large crowd that gathered at the vigil Saturday were able to view photos of Johnson and learn about the things that were important to him. As they held lit candles and comforted one another, friends and family shared memories of the Springville native.
The tragedy of Johnson's death has left a deep void in the community, according to family friend Mardi Sifuentes. She organized a similar memorial on Friday in Vineyard, where the Johnson family currently lives.
'Anything anyone ever needed, he was there,' Sifuentes said. 'He just kind of put his footprint in every family. Everyone around here, we just all loved him. It's a huge loss.'
As the community grieves, they also remember a man who gave so much of himself to others. According to Sifuentes, Johnson was active in his community through church service. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a beloved Little League coach, gymnastics dad and owner of a local landscaping business.
He was one of our dearest friends," Sifuentes added. 'It's been a lot of tears, where you think that you don't have any more, but then they just still keep coming. I think there is always the question of: Why does it happen to good people?'
Ashley Gollaher, another family friend, echoed the heartbreak felt by many. 'A lot of tears for his wife and kids,' she said.
Johnson leaves behind his widow and four children.
Contributing: Jordan Ormond
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Newsweek
Mike Johnson Says 'Clear Distinction' Between Jan. 6 and Los Angeles Riots
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Tuesday that there's a "clear distinction" between the January 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol and the widespread demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles. What To Know CNN's Manu Raju asked Johnson whether he thinks it's "hypocritical" for President Donald Trump to condemn the anti-ICE protesters in L.A. for clashing with law enforcement when Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of everyone charged in the deadly Capitol riot, many of whom were convicted of beating or impeding law enforcement. "Look, no, I think there's a clear distinction between those two," Johnson said. "We've seen what's happened in L.A. in the early '90s and other times, when these things get out of control ... you have to stay on top of that and you cannot let it get out of control." Johnson was referring to the deadly 1992 riots that broke out in L.A. after a jury acquitted four police officers accused of brutally beating Black motorist Rodney King after a high-speed chase. "But what's the difference between the violent protesters on January 6 [and anti-ICE demonstrators]?" Raju pressed the House speaker. "Everybody wants me to relitigate January 6, I'm not going to do that," Johnson said. "There's a very clear distinction between the two. People who broke the law and destroyed property [on January 6] were met with the proper consequences on that." He added that the government has to be "consistent" on that issue in L.A., before turning to walk away. The protests in Los Angeles erupted after ICE raided a number of downtown neighborhoods with high immigrant populations and labor-intensive industries. More than 50 people have been arrested as a result of the raids and five Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers have been injured, officials said. Senator Majority Leader John Thune was also asked about Trump's "inconsistency" on the L.A. demonstrations and January 6 siege. "Do you see any inconsistency when the president criticizes or condemns the violent Los Angeles protesters but then pardons the violent January 6 protesters?" a reporter asked the South Dakota Republican. Thune dodged the question, saying, "I think the issue that's in front of us right now is the chaos in L.A." "And clearly the local officials there, for whatever reason, didn't seem up to the task of getting the job done there," he added. California Governor Gavin Newsom, local officials and the LAPD have all rebuffed that claim, saying they had the protests under control until Trump deployed the National Guard and mobilized the Marines to crack down on the demonstrations, which led to more unrest. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
UNFI services disrupted by cyberattack
This story was originally published on Grocery Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Grocery Dive newsletter. United Natural Foods, Inc. is dealing with 'temporary disruptions' to its operations stemming from 'unauthorized activity' involving its information technology systems, the grocery retailer and wholesaler disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday. UNFI said in the filing that it took some of its systems offline as it investigates the breach, which it discovered Thursday, but did not provide details about which of its services or capabilities have been impacted. UNFI said in a statement released Monday morning that the disruption is continuing. 'As soon as we discovered the activity, an investigation was initiated with the help of leading forensics experts and we have notified law enforcement. We are assessing the unauthorized activity and working to restore our systems to safely bring them back online,' UNFI said in a statement. UNFI said in the regulatory filing that it has implemented workarounds to continue providing services 'where possible,' but did not provide additional information. The company said it is working with third-party cybersecurity experts as it looks into the cause of the incident and develops a solution. UNFI distributes groceries and nonfood products to customers at about 30,000 locations, according to its latest annual report. The company has a primary distribution arrangement with Whole Foods Market under an agreement that extends through May 2032. UNFI also runs supermarkets under banners including Cub Foods and Shoppers. The breach follows an online attack last fall that targeted systems run in the U.S. by Dutch grocery company Ahold Delhaize. That breach forced Ahold Delhaize to take e-commerce services at its Hannaford banner down for several days in addition to disrupting online operations at other chains the company runs. Recommended Reading Ahold Delhaize confirms data stolen after threat group claims credit for November attack
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
German chancellor accuses Russia of "serious war crimes" amid latest attacks
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has accused Moscow of "serious war crimes" following the latest Russian large-scale attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Source: German TV news service Tagesschau, as reported by European Pravda Details: Russia has "purposefully and ruthlessly" attacked the civilian population of Ukraine with numerous drones and cruise missiles in recent days, Merz said at a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof. The large-scale Russian attacks constitute "terror against civilians" and "by no means a proportionate response" to Ukraine's "very precise" attacks on Russian military airfields, the chancellor added. Background: On 10 June, Russia attacked Ukraine with 322 aerial assets. Ukraine's air defences managed to shoot down 284 of them. It was reported that a building near the EU Delegation to Ukraine had been damaged as a result of the Russian strikes on Kyiv. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called for no delay in imposing powerful new sanctions against Russia following the large-scale airstrikes. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!