‘It’s very, very suspicious’: What happened to Jayna Lang?

Content warning: This article contains mention of suicide. Please take care while reading.

Like many this time of year, 46-year-old Jayna Lang, from the Denver, CO area, left her home Sunday, Nov 24, to shop at an outlet mall in Silverthorne, about 70 miles outside the city. Lang disappeared, and after a dayslong search, Park County police have an update on the case.

According to the Park County Sheriff’s Office, Lang drove a white SUV the day she vanished with a custom license plate “JAYNA.” Lang was last spotted in Littleton, a Denver suburb, en route to Silverthorne in Summit County, Denver’s 9 News reported.

Lang’s brother, Eric Horvat, told 9 News her family knew where she was headed just a few days before Thanksgiving. Lang’s work, a Littleton pet-grooming business, called him the next day and said she never showed up.

Horvat added, “We have had some hard family times the last couple of years. It has been rough on all of us,” but Lang and her family had stuck together, he said, providing no further details.

Horvat also told Denver 7 that Lang frequently contacted her family, especially her aunt, who hadn’t heard from her.

“My aunt and her talk every single day. Me and her, every couple days. So, for my aunt not to hear from her, it’s very, very suspicious,” Horvat said.

Unconfirmed sightings and winter weather

Since Lang was last seen, there were other unconfirmed sightings of her vehicle in the Denver area, and according to Park County law enforcement, she frequented Park County, especially the Indian Mountain subdivision, about 120 miles south of the city. Park County is in the opposite direction from Silverthorne, where Lang told her family she was headed.

Lang would have traveled in mountainous winter conditions no matter where she was, and that raised the possibility there was a traffic accident rather than foul play involved in Lang’s disappearance.

“Maybe her car is somewhere off of the road, somewhere that anybody traveling this weekend would have saw it,” her brother, Horvat, said.

A tragic update

Then, on Dec 1, Lang’s sister, Stacy Laigo-Horvat, shared on social media, “Sending this with broken hearts & tears!!! We were notified tonight with the not good news regarding my sister-in-law Jayna.” Laigo-Horvat thanked everyone who helped search for Lang but provided no further information. A comment on Laigo-Horvat’s post read in part, “She will be missed so incredibly much.” 

On Dec. 2, Denver news KDVR reported Lang’s body was found dead from an apparent suicide but provided no other details about what happened to her. While she was considered missing, Lang’s family called her “Very outgoing, very compassionate, very caring person … super athletic, she did triathlons, marathons. Loves the outdoors, loves dogs.”

Responding to Lang’s sister-in-law’s post, someone commented, “I am so incredibly sad to hear this — I am so thankful I got to know her and spend what time I had with her. So much love to your family during this time.”

Another social media comment noted, “I worked with Jayna and I am deeply saddened to hear this news tonight. My prayers are with your entire family as we grieve this huge loss together. “

Reports have not said if Lang was married or had any children. Our thoughts are with Lang’s family during this difficult time, and we send our condolences on their tragic loss.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. A list of international crisis resources can be found here.