‘Really good soul;’ Family mourns loss of man who died at Salt Lake City Int’l Airport

By Mythili Gubbi

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    PARK CITY, Utah (KSTU) — Days after a Park City man died after crawling into the engine of a plane at the Salt Lake City International Airport Monday night, his family is sharing more about his struggles with mental health issues.

“The police came and knocked on our door at on o’clock at night, to give us the news that no parents ever want to hear,” shared Judd Efinger, father of Kyler Efinger.

Thirty-year-old Kyler died Monday following a disturbance inside the airport terminal that led him to escape into an unauthorized area and make his way onto the runway and into the engine of the Delta plane.

“Just a really good soul. Friendly, outgoing, and caring,” was how Judd described his son.

According to his family, Kyler loved skiing, music, his dogs and the Utah Utes, but they say he continually struggled with his mental health.

“We first found out about his bipolar disorder, probably 10 years ago,” explained Kyler’s sister, Anneke. “He had his first major manic episode and then he kind of continued to have those every two or three years, and those were always really hard.”

Kyler was scheduled to fly to Denver to see his sick grandfather, but he had an unspecified episode and breached the airport security door. His family believes the incident stemmed from another mental health crisis.

“He got held up in security, missed his flight, and those phone calls, I just knew it was coming on. They call it the manic phase. Those just don’t end well for him,” said Judd. “Obviously, this one, the worst ever.”

The family had just spent time with other over the holidays.

“On the outside, it seemed like he was as good as he’s ever been,” added Judd.

The Efinger’s hope that by sharing Kyler’s struggles, it will help raise awareness about those who suffer from poor mental health.

“Despite all of our encouragement to him to seek help and get into therapy, and try to address his disorder head on, he was always reluctant to do that because of the bullying he had endured.” explained his mother, Lisa.

The family wants everyone to know that help is out there.

“For other parents and families that are going through this, to not self-medicate,” Judd pleaded. “Seek professional doctors, seek professional therapists.”

Kyler’s family hopes to continue the dialogue around mental health, and want their lasting efforts to be his legacy.

If you think you need immediate help or need to talk to someone, you can call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

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