Search begins for Las Vegas man's killer

Washington County detectives are on the hunt for a Las Vegas man's killer.

A passing motorist found the badly decomposed body of Celso Ayala Avalos, 22, about seven miles south of Rockville on Friday. They determined he was shot multiple times July 7 during a fight in a remote corner of southwestern Utah.

The night he died, Avalos was driving in a truck with his brother and cousin, both 16 years old. Things turned sour when several men in a white SUV confronted them on Gooseberry Road, which cuts through mountains and wilderness, said Washington County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Rob Tersigni.

A fight broke out.

"During the confrontation, the victim became separated from his brother and cousin," Tersigni said. The teens, who said the confrontation was random and not planned, told the sheriff's department that they did not see Avalos die.

The teens said they hiked out of the wilderness all night and came out on a major road in the morning. A woman, about 30- to 35-years-old, who understood some Spanish, stopped and gave them a ride back to Las Vegas. The boys were unsure if she picked them up on state Route 9 or state Route 59.

Detectives are asking the woman to contact them, so they can determine where the boys came out of the wilderness.

"She is not considered a suspect in this case," Tersigni said. "Detectives just need her assistance."

Officers are also asking anyone who may have seen the white SUV, occupied by several Hispanic males, Avalos' silver 2003 Dodge truck with Nevada plates, or has information about the woman to call detectives at 435-656-6500.