By: Las Vegas Now Staff
It's a tragic conclusion to a missing persons case. The partial remains of a human body found in the Las Vegas Wash have been identified as a Henderson woman reported missing last year.
It was March of 2007 that 33-year-old Melanie Sutton was last seen alive by her boyfriend at the wash. Her family and friends have been searching for her ever since. But it was the exhaustive efforts of a volunteer search group that finally gave the Sutton family the answer they've been desperately seeking.
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“It was always in the back of my mind that something bad did happen to her,” said Melanie's mother Cindy Sutton.
Cindy now knows that her beautiful daughter won't ever be coming home again. A human skull found on a small island in the middle of the Las Vegas Wash was identified by the coroner's office as the remains of the missing 33-year-old.
Sutton and Henderson Police say Melanie disappeared during a middle of the night outing to the wash with her boyfriend, Joe Lopez. Drugs were involved and Melanie's clothing was found scattered along the wash the next day by family members and volunteer searchers.
An emotional confrontation that day between Melanie's sister and her boyfriend has always left family members wondering if Melanie's disappearance was more than just an accident.
“There is still no evidence of foul play,” said Henderson Police Officer Todd Rasmussen.
Police say Lopez was questioned extensively and even passed a lie detector's test. Lopez maintains he and Melanie had a verbal argument and that she ran off into the water where he could not find her despite searching for hours.
If not for the exhaustive efforts of volunteers from the Nevada Center for Missing Loved Ones, Melanie's whereabouts might still be a mystery today.
“We did good. We did good and it feels good,” said Frank Mahoney with Nevada Center for Missing Loved Ones.
Now, Melanie's family is hoping someone in the community will come forward with information to provide the last piece of this agonizing puzzle.
“We would like to know what happened to Melanie. Was it an accident or was it something else?” said Sutton.
Anyone with information about Melanie Sutton's disappearance is urged to call Henderson Police or CrimeStoppers at 385-5555.
Email your comments to Reporter Alyson McCarthy
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