Less than one week ago as of this writing, three members of a family of four from Cedar Falls were shot and killed on a camping trip at Maquoketa Caves.  They were Tyler (42), Sarah (42), and Lulu (6) Schmidt. The lone survivor of the attack on their family was 9-year-old Arlo.

Since then, tributes to the family and ways of helping young Arlo have come about, as has the identity of the shooter, who KCCI names as  23-year-old Anthony Sherwin, of La Vista, Nebraska who also reportedly killed himself.

To be perfectly clear, the campground area of Maquoketa Caves, where this family perished, remains closed until further notice. But, according to the KWWL, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has announced that the state park will be reopening on Thursday, July 28.

Near the entrance is a temporary memorial to the Schmidt Family that is open to the public and a GoFundMe page to support Arlo has now raised over $200,000. Other emotional tributes have also been seen over the past week, including one from the Cedar Falls Public Library. Sarah Schmidt was a library assistant there and they closed last Saturday to mourn the loss.

The Mayor of Cedar Falls, Rob Green also announced a "Celebration of Life" for the family to take place on August 2nd. The Cedar Falls Public Library posted information on Facebook about the Celebration of Life.

According to Iowa's News Now, the park will open to daytime visitors at 10 a.m. on Thursday, and a press release from the DNR stated:

Iowa DNR appreciates the continued collaborative work between local law enforcement, the Department of Public Safety, and the DNR State Parks staff and conservation officers on this investigation.

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