Man held in girl’s abduction

Jace Radke

Monday, Feb. 28, 2000 | 11:10 a.m.

A 23-year-old man charged in connection with the Friday afternoon abduction of a 15-year-old Clark High School student was held this morning without bail in the Clark County Detention Center.

Romoane Shelby was charged with kidnapping and two counts of sexual assault Sunday afternoon after a phone call led Metro Police to a North Las Vegas home where the missing student was found.

"The victim's brother got a call at his house from an anonymous female who said she had seen the victim and gave him an address," missing persons unit Detective Gary Sayre said. "The victim's mother then called police."

The phone call came about 2:30 p.m., a little more than 50 hours since Shawnta Causey had last been seen.

The teen, who attends special education classes at Clark and has the mental capacity of a fourth grader, was last seen by friends getting into an older model blue Cadillac about 12:15 p.m. Friday near the high school at 4291 Pennwood Ave.

By 4 p.m. Sunday police had Shelby in custody at the home in the 1000 block of Stone River, near Bruce Street and Carey Avenue, and Causey back with her family.

Shelby had been renting a room in the North Las Vegas house, Sayre said.

The girl was taken to a hospital to be checked out, but Sayre said she didn't have any obvious injuries.

Shelby did not have a prior relationship with Causey and apparently was "cruising" around the high school Friday afternoon, Sayre said.

Supervision of special education students in area schools depends on the student. While some special education students are allowed to leave school on their own like other students, others are more closely supervised, said Mary Stanley-Larsen, Clark County School District spokeswoman.

Stanley-Larsen said she could not talk specifically about any special education student.