‘This was completely random’: Brother of Maquoketa victims speaks out about tragedy

But even with the unimaginably shocking news came a little bit of good news for the Morehouse and Schmidt families. They found out Sarah and Tyler’s nine-year-old son, Arlo, who was camping with them, survived the attack without injury.

 

Just like that, their grief suddenly came with a goal: Shower Arlo in as much love as possible.

“We’re able to basically deal with it however we possibly can moving forward with the family,” Morehouse said. “But at the same time, (we’re) ensuring that Arlo has the maximum amount of love and support that he can get while we’re here.”

The day after the murders, Morehouse and his extended family created a GoFundMe page for Arlo to give people a way to help if they wanted to do so. In the three days since, the fund has accrued over $200,000 from more than 4,000 donors, giving the family a little bit of light in the darkness.

“The overwhelming support has just been incredible from friends and family throughout the country, on social media platforms, in person,” Morehouse said. “The Cedar Falls area and the authorities here in the community have been incredible as well.”

“The support that we’ve got has definitely helped and created a blanket of comfort for us,” Morehouse said.

Now, Morehouse says the two families will continue taking time to grieve together, while also waiting for more answers from investigators. Morehouse says agents with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations told him they hope to have a final report later this week.