Two LDS missionaries killed in North Dakota traffic accident

SALT LAKE CITY (KIFI) - Two missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were killed in a traffic accident Tuesday.

A statement from the church said the missionaries were serving in the North Dakota Bismarck Mission.

The missionaries were traveling on a highway outside of Beulah, North Dakota, when their vehicle struck a semitruck, which had stopped in the road due to an accident, it said.

Elder Jacob Aaron Kesler, 20, from Ely, Nevada, and Elder Robert “Tommy” Gardner, 20, from Riverton, Utah, both passed away at the scene of the collision. 

Elder Kesler has been serving since July 2022, and Elder Gardner since November 2022, it said.