The harrowing efforts of family members to locate a Utah mother and her daughter, who tragically lost their lives in a Las Vegas hotel room, have been brought to light through dispatch logs. These records reveal the family’s desperate 911 calls as they sought to find Tawnia McGeehan, 38, and her 11-year-old daughter, Addi Smith.
According to 8 News Now, the family made multiple calls to authorities on Sunday afternoon, attempting to confirm the whereabouts of McGeehan and her daughter at the Rio Hotel and Casino. The pair were in Las Vegas to attend a cheerleading competition.
In one call, a family member pleaded, “I need someone there looking in that room,” underscoring the urgency and desperation of the situation.
During another call to a Utah dispatcher, a family member mentioned, “There was a room check done around 3 o’clock,” expressing confusion and concern. They continued, “We really don’t know where to start with all of this. They drove down for a cheerleading competition, and we believe they checked in because there was a room number assigned.”
Despite their efforts, dispatchers could only confirm that officers were present at the hotel, but they were unable to provide further details over the 911 call, leaving the family in distress.
The dispatchers informed the family that cops were at the hotel and said they couldn’t provide additional information over the 911 call.
McGeehan and her daughter were reported missing after they failed to show up for the Utah Xtreme Cheer competition — the event that brought them to Sin City. The duo hadn’t been seen since Friday, when they were spotted at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino.
After they were reported missing, cops went to the hotel at 10:45 a.m. and contacted hotel security before knocking on their room numerous times to no avail, authorities said at a press conference Sunday.
Then, at 2:30 p.m., security, still failing to find the pair, decided to go inside the room where they found the two dead, cops said.
At roughly the same time, 911 calls started pouring in from concerned family, following up on their earlier missing persons report.
Police have said they believe the duo was killed Saturday night. A note was left at the scene, but officials haven’t released it to the public.
Records from McGeehan’s custody battle with ex-Brad Smith show they bitterly fought for nine years over child support and their shared custody of Addi.
There was a period in 2021 when a court took custody away from McGeehan, finding she committed domestic abuse in front of Addi and that she showed questionable parenting judgment.
But by four years later, in 2024, a custody order split custody equally between McGeehan and Smith while giving McGeehan first say over major life decisions for Addi.
