Police are investigating the deaths of a mother and her preteen daughter found inside a room at the Rio Hotel and Casino after the pair missed a cheer or dance competition and relatives asked authorities and hotel staff to check on them Sunday.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said the case is being treated as a homicide investigation based on preliminary information that the mother shot her daughter Saturday night and then shot herself. Detectives said a note was left in the room, but officials did not release details. Police also did not release the names of the two people, saying the family had been notified.
Officers were first asked to conduct a welfare check at about 10:45 a.m. Sunday, according to police. The request came after family and friends could not reach the mother and daughter and they failed to show up for an event tied to a cheerleading and or dance competition. Police went to the Rio, in the 3700 block of West Flamingo Road near South Valley View Boulevard, and met hotel security, authorities said. Officers and security knocked on the room door and tried calling, but no one answered. Police said they did not have enough information at that point to enter the room without permission and were cleared from the call.
Family and friends continued contacting the hotel and asked staff to keep trying to locate the pair, police said. Rio security returned to the room at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday and again knocked and tried calling. When there was still no response, security entered and found two females dead inside, police said. Security backed out of the room and called 911. Officers returned to the hotel, secured the scene and notified homicide detectives, who remained on site as the investigation began.
Police described the mother as being in her mid-30s and the girl as a preteen. Officials said the two had traveled to Las Vegas for a cheer or dance competition, but they did not say what organization or event they were attending. Investigators said the evidence they had reviewed so far suggested the fatal shooting happened sometime Saturday night. Detectives did not describe the weapon involved or say whether anyone nearby reported hearing gunfire. The Clark County coroner was expected to handle official determinations of cause and manner of death, and police said additional details would be released when available.
The deaths came after a Utah cheer organization posted urgent messages online earlier Sunday seeking help locating a missing mother and daughter in Las Vegas. News reports tied to that effort said the two were believed to have been last seen Saturday at the New York-New York hotel and casino. Las Vegas police said they could not confirm whether the people found at the Rio were the same mother and daughter referenced in the missing posts, and officers said they were not yet releasing identities in the homicide case.
Later Sunday, the Utah cheer organization posted an update saying the athlete had died. In a statement shared online, Utah Xtreme Cheer said it was “completely heartbroken” and added, “No words do the situation justice.” The group described the girl as “so beyond loved” and said she would remain part of the program’s community. The organization asked for privacy for the family as they grieve. Police did not dispute that the mother and daughter had come to the city for a competition weekend, but they said identifications would come through official channels.
Investigators said the note found in the room is being treated as part of the evidence in the case. Police did not describe what it said, whether it explained a motive, or whether it referenced anyone else. Detectives also did not say whether there had been prior calls for help connected to the room or whether hotel staff had reported earlier concerns. The Rio, an off-Strip resort west of the Las Vegas Strip, was busy with weekend guests when police arrived, and officers worked with hotel staff to keep the area around the room closed off while they processed the scene.
As of Monday, police said the investigation remained active and that the information released so far was preliminary. Officials said detectives would continue interviewing witnesses and collecting records as they work to confirm timelines and circumstances. Police said any formal identification would be made after notification procedures and coroner processing are completed, and they did not give a specific time for the next public briefing.
Author note: Last updated February 16, 2026.