Two arrested in runaway teen girl’s death

By Dave Toplikar (contact)

Published Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008 | 7:08 a.m.

Updated Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008 | 1:37 p.m.

Metro police photo

Anne Osburn

Metro police photo

Gabriel Yates

UPDATE: Runaway girl found in shallow grave identified

Authorities have arrested a man and a woman on charges of kidnapping and murder in the death of a 17-year-old runaway Las Vegas girl whose body was found in a shallow grave in a remote desert area northwest of the city.

Anne Osburn, 21, and Gabriel Yates, 31, both of Las Vegas, have been booked into the Clark County Detention Center on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping, according to Metro police. They are being held without bail at the detention center, police said this morning.

The name of the victim will not be released until she is positively identified and her relatives are notified, police said.

Homicide detectives said that on July 28, they received a tip that a 17-year-old female had been killed. They said their investigation led them to an apartment at the International Villas, 4630 Koval Lane in Las Vegas, where the victim had been living.

Detectives tentatively identified the victim and determined she had been reported as a local runaway in May who had not been seen for several days.

Detectives said their investigation led them to a remote desert area south of the Snow Mountain Paiute Indian Reservation, where they found the victim's body in a shallow grave east of the intersection of U.S. 95 and State Road 157 (Kyle Canyon Road).

Officers ask for anyone with information to contact either the Homicide Section at 702-828-3521 or Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.