The suspected killer of Wichita Falls native Susan Miller Loper remains in intensive care in Arizona Tuesday after jumping into the Grand Canyon.
While Terrance Black recovers from his dramatic leap into America's most famous canyon, Wichita Falls Rider High School graduate Susan Miller Loper will be remembered Wednesday at 10 a.m. in a memorial service at Hope Fellowship Church in Frisco, Texas.
Black's injuries may be more serious than at first reported as he has now been fitted with a "halo" brace. This is a device normally employed by patients with serious neck injuries.
Black was arrested when he fled after park rangers asked him for his identification.
National Park Service officers described Black as being "lucky" when he dived into the canyon and landed only 25 feet further down the slope which ran below the South Rim.
One park ranger said there was a ledge below the rocks but it was pretty much straight down after that.
Wichita Falls friends and family mourned and remembered the 40-year old Miller while the investigation into her murder continues to unfold.
People in Wichita Falls recalled that Susan Miller Loper was a talented individual who had attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City.
She also spent several years starring in Off Broadway shows, full-length plays and musical performances.
Her career in fitness lasted 21 years. Sixteen of those years she was a Personal Trainer and Aerobics instructor at Gleneagles Country Club.
Black, who reportedly owns a $200,000 home and was driving a Cadillac Escalade when he attempted to evade park rangers, was ironically panhandling on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon when he was apprehended on a capital murder warrant.
His upscale home in Frisco, Texas was the subject of a search by Plano police.
Meanwhile, Texas Rangers are in Arizona awaiting an opportunity to question the now famous suspect once he is released from the Flagstaff Medical Center.
Texas authorities have announced their intention to extradite Black back to the Lone Star State once the court system swings into action in Arizona.
Instead of flowers, memorial donations can be made to a trust fund which has been established for her eight-year old son Jake.
Contributions should be made to the Jake Loper Trust c/o Ferguson Law Group; 2500 Dallas Parkway, Suite 260; Plano, Texas, 75093.
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