Lawyer confirms trace of drug in woman’s system

Friday, May 14, 2004 | 10:54 a.m.

An attorney for Christine Asleson confirmed that she had a trace of amphetamines in her system after she was rescued from the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area last week.

Barry Levinson, who is representing the 45-year-old stay-at-home mother of two who had been lost in the rugged area for five days, said Asleson is "on a ton of medication" for an illness he did not disclose and said some of those drugs may contain amphetamines.

He said she also had her 12-year-old son's medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with her and that she could have accidentally taken his drugs.

All of the drugs Asleson carried with her in her backpack when she left her northwest Las Vegas home at 8 a.m. May 2 were "prescription drugs," Levinson said.

Levinson said he has sent Metro Police a letter informing the department that he is representing Asleson. The woman has refused to speak to police until she has an attorney.

Levinson maintains that Asleson went out into the desert looking for a friend's lost dog and that his client simply got lost, as many hikers do at Red Rock Canyon.

Referring to reports that Asleson's disappearance may have been a hoax, Levinson said, "If she were found dead in the desert, then I suppose everything would have been OK."

Asleson was rescued May 7 from a cliff three-quarters of a mile from Bonnie Springs Ranch. The dog was found the day before.

"She was found skinny and with bruises and scratches consistent with having been climbing," Levinson said, noting that Asleson climbed to a higher elevation to get a better vantage point to look for the lost dog.

In a flier released after Asleson became a missing person, she is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall and 130 pounds.

Levinson said one of the reasons scores of would-be rescuers initially missed her is because they were concentrating on the lower elevations while she was up much higher.

Metro Police Search and Rescue officers have maintained they scoured the area extensively during four days of searching. It is estimated $50,000 was spent looking for her.

Levinson said since the rescue, there have been a number of inaccurate news reports that have painted a misleading picture in people's minds.

One report was that Asleson had no water for five days. Levinson said Asleson had taken a couple of bottles of water with her.

"You have to ask yourself, if there was nothing wrong with her why would the doctors keep her so long (three days) in the hospital?" Levinson said. "There are trauma victims who are released the same day after being treated."

Attempts to interview Asleson and members of her family today were unsuccessful. Her son, answering the phone at the family's home today, directed all inquiries to Levinson.

Attempts to reach Metro Police working on the case today were not successful.