9-year-old sole survivor after parents and sister murdered in Iowa state park 

A 9-year-old boy was the sole survivor of his family after his mother, father, and sister were murdered in an Iowa campground on Friday. 

Police responded to a triple homicide on Friday Morning at the Maquoketa Caves State Park. When they arrived at the scene, they found the three dead bodies.

After a brief search, police also found the body of Anthony Orlando Sherwin, 23, the suspect in the killings. He allegedly shot himself after murdering the family, police said.

The couple’s 9-year-old son, Arlo, “survived the attack and is safe,” Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green posted on Facebook.  While Arlo was with the family during the trip, it is unknown where he was at the time of the attack.

The victims were identified as Tyler and Sarah Schmidt, 42, and Lula, 6, from Cedar Falls Iowa, according to Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigation. 

The state medical examiner is conducting an autopsy on the victims and the suspect to determine their exact cause of death. 

Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigation said the motive is not yet clear. The family had no connection to Sherwin and the police believe it was a “completely random attack.”

Green said the family was “regular walkers here in the Sartori Park neighborhood.” He added that Sarah was “a beloved library employee” at the Cedar Falls Public Library. 

A GoFundMe fundraiser was set up for Arlo Schmidt, drawing more than 2,5000 donations and $125,000 as of Sunday afternoon. 

“Arlo is a strong boy, surrounded by family and friends who are supporting him as best we can,” said Beth Shapiro, the fundraiser’s organizer and distant cousin of the family. 

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said she was “horrified by the shooting this morning at Maquoketa Caves State Park and devastated by the loss of three innocent lives.”