Font ResizeA Las Vegas man found dead in southwestern Utah on Friday was shot several times in a July 7 confrontation in remote desert wilderness, police said.
Celso Ayala Avalos, 22, was driving a truck with his brother and cousin when they were confronted by several other Latino men in a white SUV in the mountainous Gooseberry Mesa area, said Washington County Chief Deputy Rob Tersigni.
Avalos' body was found by a motorist about three days later about 7 miles south of Rockville. He died of multiple gunshot wounds. His body was in an advanced state of decomposition.
Details are unclear, but Avalos was separated during the confrontation from his brother and cousin, who are both juveniles, police say.
"We're not saying whether he went willingly," or was forced, Tersigni said. The brother and cousin told police they were on Gooseberry Road between Rockville and Apple Valley, Tersigni said.
Police are investigating whether the encounter was random, as the two young relatives said, or planned. They told police they did not see Avalos killed, and were not hurt themselves.
They were left in the wilderness on foot. They hiked all night and came out on a major road in the morning, they told police.
The juveniles aren't sure whether it was State Road 9 or State Road 59. They got a ride back to Las Vegas on July 8 from a woman they described as 30 to 35 years old, driving a black car, police said.
Detectives
Officers are asking for anyone with information about the woman, the victim's truck, a silver 2003 Dodge crew cab with Nevada plates, and a white SUV driven by the other group of men, to contact detectives at 435-656-6500.
