Laura and Richard Gudenkauf were devastated erstwhile their girl died from a autumn portion hiking with her hubby astatine Zion National Park successful 2006.
The full concern didn’t marque consciousness to the Henderson couple. Their daughter, Bernadette Vander Meer, 28, was a agleam young pistillate and an avid hiker. The thought she would adjacent enactment herself successful a concern wherever she could endure a fatal autumn astatine specified heights seemed implausible.
“I did a batch of hiking with her,” Richard Gudenkauf said. “She was a upland goat. For her to autumn disconnected a cliff? No.”
The mates said they became progressively suspicious of Bernadette’s husband, David Vander Meer. The parents said they learned that helium was allegedly having an matter with a younger pistillate and had accrued the couple’s beingness security soon earlier his wife’s death.
“She was getting acceptable to permission him,” Laura Gudenkauf said. “She told him if helium didn’t change, she was going to divorcement him due to the fact that helium kept spending each this clip with this different woman.”
Over time, the couple’s suspicions evolved into a tendency to spot justness for their daughter. They hoped that 1 time constabulary would apprehension David Vander Meer successful their daughter’s death, but the days, past the months, and past the years passed. The mates recovered themselves overwhelmed with grief, sadness and anger.
“I had many, galore friends, and I became truthful bitter implicit this that 3 months aboriginal nary 1 would person thing to bash with me,” Richard Gudenkauf said.
“I thought it was going to termination me,” Laura Gudenkauf said.
The mates went astir 20 years reasoning the decease of their girl would spell unresolved. They chose to crook to their religion to survive.
“We gave it to God,” Laura said, adding “we didn’t privation it to ruin our lives.”
In the Fall of 2025, everything changed. They got a telephone from authorities successful Utah.
A pistillate had travel forward, authorities told the couple, with accusation implicating David Vander Meer. On Monday, David Vander Meer was arrested connected suspicion of execution and security fraud successful his wife’s death.
“I decided to manus it implicit to the Lord,” Richard Gudenkauf said. “That’s however I dealt with it. So erstwhile I heard the news? Thank you Jesus!”
This is simply a processing story. Please cheque backmost for details.
Contact Glenn Puit astatine gpuit@reviewjournal.com.
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