News briefs for April 8, 2003

Tuesday, April 8, 2003 | 11:24 a.m.

Suspect sought in sex assault case

Henderson Police are searching for a 38-year-old man wanted for allegedly tying up a woman he once dated and sexually assaulting her for two days.

Police have issued an arrest warrant for Daniel Myrick on six counts of sexual assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping with a deadly weapon and battery with intent to commit a crime.

Police say the assaults took place from March 25 to 27 at Myrick's home in the 100 block of Metropolitan Drive. The woman freed herself and ran to a neighbor's house, Officer Shane Lewis said.

Myrick had dated the victim, a woman in her 20s, for seven or eight months prior to the assault. She had broken off the relationship, Lewis said.

Myrick has been known to dress as a woman, or he could have grown a beard, police said. He should be considered armed and dangerous, and may be suicidal, police said.

Anyone with information on Myrick's whereabouts is asked to call Henderson Police at 565-8933, Detective Brian Dunaway at 429-2885 or Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.

Blaze strikes fire station

An electrical malfunction sparked a blaze in the Cal Nev Ari fire station about 6:30 p.m. Monday, damaging three of the four fire engines, authorities said.

Firefighters from Laughlin and Searchlight responded and extinguished the fire, Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

County firefighters are assisting with fire coverage until the Cal Nev Ari station is back in operation, Leinbach said.

The small community is on U.S. 95 south of Searchlight.

Mother faces trial in girl's death

An Elko woman will face trial for involuntary manslaughter for a car wreck that killed her 4-year-old daughter.

Elko Justice of the Peace Molly Leddy last week determined there is enough evidence for Bridget Whalen, 23, to stand trial for the Nov. 18 death of her daughter, Mikayla.

Authorities said the little girl was kneeling or standing on the front seat of her mother's moving car when it rear-ended another vehicle that had stopped to make a left turn in downtown Elko.

The child was not restrained as required by law and was thrown into the windshield.

Medical experts said the girl's skull was separated from her neck by the impact.

Wash tamarisk to be burned

Trained wildland firefighters from the Nevada Division of Forestry will conduct a series of controlled burns near Las Vegas Wash Wednesday through Friday.

The project will include burning 12 piles of uprooted tamarisk totaling about 1,500 cubic yards. The project is designed to reduce dry fuel in the wash before warmer temperatures increase the potential for wildfires.

In March 2002 a wildfire burned more than 300 acres of dry marshlands in the wash.

Tamarisk, also known as salt cedar, is considered a nuisance plant in the wash. Clark County and other federal, state and local agencies are trying to restore 2,500 acres of wetlands.

Goldfield area hit with quakes

A series of small earthquakes rattled the Nevada desert near Goldfield over the weekend.

About three dozen jolts were recorded by the seismology lab at the University of Nevada, Reno. All were of a magnitude of about 3.3.

No damage or injuries were reported in the sparsely populated region.

Seismologist David Vonseggern said the small temblors were aftershocks from the 1999 Scotty's Junction earthquake that measured 5.4 in magnitude.

Vonseggern said the cluster of aftershocks is a little unusual, but nothing noteworthy.

"I think this is non-news," he said Monday.