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The cause of death for a 19-year-old Utah Mormon missionary in Wisconsin over the weekend remains a mystery.
LDS Church spokesman Eric Hawkins said Monday that "Elder Jeremy McCauley [of Payson] died during the night from unknown causes."
"We mourn with his family and loved ones and pray that they may be comforted as they deal with this tragic loss," Hawkins stated.
While the missionary reportedly died in Kenosha, 40 miles south of Milwaukee, no other information was released about the circumstances.
McCauley had been serving in the Wisconsin Milwaukee Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since November.
His parents, Scott and Marni McCauley, asked for privacy during their period of mourning.
"Our family is so very sad at the passing of our dear son. We have been so pleased with his service as a missionary and for his love and dedication to Jesus Christ," they said in a statement released Monday. "While this loss is devastating, we take faith in what we know about the gospel of Jesus Christ and we know that we will be with him again, as a family forever; which is the essence of the beautiful message he was so excited to share with the people of Wisconsin."
The family's regional LDS leader, Wayne G. Pullan, president of McCauley's home Payson South Stake, also expressed sympathy on the stake's Facebook page:
"He was, and continues to be, a kind and pure-hearted man with a deep desire to serve the Lord and his fellow man, Pullan stated. "Whenever he met with me, he brought a ray of sunshine into my office."
Funeral arrangements were pending, he said.
Twitter: @remims