News briefs for May 15, 2001

Tuesday, May 15, 2001 | 10:19 a.m.

Body of LV boy, 10, found

Authorities on Monday identified a Las Vegas boy killed when a thunderstorm washed him into a canyon at Zion National Park, Utah.

The body of 10-year-old Michael C. Munoz was recovered late Sunday from the Pine Creek canyon, said Peter Kuhlman, spokesman for the Washington County sheriff's office.

Ron Terry, a park spokesman, said the boy was hiking with his mother, brother, sister and two other families Sunday when a trio of thunderstorms caused flash floods on the Canyon Overlook Trail.

Park officials said the boy and his younger brother ran through the water and were swept over the edge. The younger boy grabbed a tree, but his brother fell 50 to 100 feet into a slot canyon.

Zion National Park is about 160 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

Girl, 5, dies in backyard pool

A 5-year-old girl drowned Sunday night in a backyard swimming pool, Las Vegas Fire Department officials said.

When firefighters and paramedics arrived at a home in the 8200 block of Lake Isle Court, near Alta and Durango drives, the girl's father had pulled the girl from the pool and was attempting to revive her, officials said.

The girl, Ammacyn Aban, was taken to Summerlin Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, fire officials said.

Victims might be able to get money

The state Consumer Affairs Division has some advice for those who lost money when Lasik Vision Corp. closed its doors in Las Vegas.

The division said it has received complaints from consumers who paid for laser correction surgery but failed to receive a refund when the clinic shut down after its parent Canadian-based company entered bankruptcy.

The division says consumers who can provide a credit card bill or other documentation showing their payments were processed in Canada should enter the bankruptcy filing as a creditor. Deadline for filing a proof of claim is June 30. The claim form is available from the Consumer Affairs office or in the bankruptcy trustee's website (www.bankruptcy.deloitte.ca).

Consumers not eligible to join the bankruptcy should submit their requests for refund to either Lasik Vision or its new corporate owners, ICON. Their addresses are Lasik Vision USA, Inc. 1500 W. Georgia Street, Suite 2000, Vancouver, British Columbia V6G2Z, or ICON Laser Eye Centres, Inc., 1 Yonge St., Toronto, Ontario M5E1E5.

31-year-old victim identified

A pedestrian killed in a hit-and-run accident was identified as 31-year-old Margarito Reyes-Sotelo of Las Vegas.

Reyes-Sotelo was killed Sunday about 12:45 a.m. as he was walking on Valley View Boulevard south of Sahara Avenue and was struck by a car. The car hit Reyes-Sotelo, hit a tree and careened back into Reyes-Sotelo, Metro Police said.

The driver and passengers fled from the scene on foot. Police later arrested Jose Mercedes Lemus-Mejia, 24, on charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving death or injury and failure to use due care.

Cabinet member to visit Las Vegas

Education Secretary Roderick Paige plans to visit Las Vegas May 30 to tour several schools with Clark County Superintendent Carlos Garcia and state Superintendent Jack McLaughlin, aides for Sens. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., said today.

Paige wants an up-close look at the Clark County School District, which has made national headlines for its rapid growth, Reid spokesman Nathan Naylor said. Paige will tour several innovative school programs with Reid and Ensign, but those sites have not been selected yet, Ensign spokeswoman Traci Scott said. The trip has been in the planning for two months, Naylor said.

Paige is expected to examine challenges schools in high-growth districts face, among them school construction and teacher recruiting, during the "bipartisan tour," Naylor said.

Las Vegas has played host to growth-conscious Cabinet members before: President Clinton's Education Secretary Richard Riley visited Southern Nevada in 1998 and 2000.