‘He lives in our memories’: Community commemorates 10-year anniversary of Sgt. Cory Wride’s death
Jan 30, 2024, 10:46 PM | Updated: Jan 31, 2024, 8:26 am
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Jan. 30 marks 10 years since Sgt. Cory Wride was shot and killed in the line of duty.
To commemorate the anniversary, family, coworkers and community members gathered on the side of the highway named in his honor to reflect on his life and legacy.
“Cory has indeed been gone for 10 years, but he lives in our memories,” Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith said.
On Jan. 30, 2014, Wride pulled over on state Route 73 to assist a truck with flashing blinkers. After obtaining information from the two people in the vehicle, Wride returned to his car to fill out paperwork.
That’s when the passenger in the truck, 27-year-old Jose Angel Garcia Jauregui, shot and killed Wride.
Jauregui and his girlfriend, then 17-year-old Meagan Grunwald, who was driving the truck, fled the scene. Jauregui later died during a shootout with officers. Grunwald survived and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Sgt. Spencer Cannon with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office remembers the day he informed Wride’s parents of their son’s death.
“Something like this where a member of law enforcement is taken from us violently, like Sgt. Wride, is difficult not only for his family and for us but it’s difficult for the community as well,” Cannon said.
The feeling of heartbreak among Tuesday’s crowd was tangible. But so was the feeling of togetherness.
“It does our hearts good to see how much Cory still means to our community, that they still remember him and the impact he had and the way he was doing his job the day he died,” Cannon said.
Cannon said that various members of the community donated their time, money and resources to build additions to Wride’s memorial: a flagpole, a plaque with his picture and story, and two benches with meaningful passages inscribed. One of the passages was a Bible verse, Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”
Wride’s widow, Nannette Wride-Zeeman, said she got emotional when she saw that verse.
“We had that in our farmhouse that Cory and I lived in for two years before he was killed,” she said. Wride-Zeeman said she was touched by the number of people who came to honor her late husband.
“I’m so grateful to all the people who came together to make this happen and make it a safe place to come and remember him.”
The memorial is set up on the highway where Wride died, now named the Sgt. Cory B. Wride Memorial Highway.
