Tawnia McGeehan and her 11-year-old daughter Addi Smith traveled from West Jordan, Utah, to Las Vegas for the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship over the Valentine’s Day weekend in February 2026. The pair stayed at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, located at 3700 West Flamingo Road off the Las Vegas Strip. They attended events and competitions, blending excitement with the bright lights of the city.
Family, friends, and the Utah Xtreme Cheer team grew concerned when Tawnia and Addi failed to appear for scheduled competition activities on Sunday morning. Attempts to contact them went unanswered, prompting alerts within the cheer community. A missing persons flyer circulated, noting they were last seen around 8 p.m. on February 14, possibly near other hotels like New York-New York, but tied to their Rio reservation.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a welfare check request around 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, February 16. Officers responded to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, focusing on a specific guest room in one of the towers. Hotel staff assisted in accessing the secured room after no response from inside.
Upon entering the room at the Rio, officers discovered the bodies of Tawnia McGeehan and Addi Smith. Both had suffered fatal gunshot wounds. The scene inside the hotel suite indicated the incident occurred privately, with no signs of external forced entry or struggle extending beyond the room.
Homicide detectives processed the room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino throughout Sunday. They recovered a firearm and documented evidence consistent with a murder-suicide. Preliminary findings pointed to Tawnia shooting Addi Saturday night before turning the gun on herself in the off-Strip resort suite.
Las Vegas Metro Police confirmed the apparent murder-suicide sequence in updates, expressing condolences while ruling out foul play by others. The investigation continues at the Rio location, examining timelines and any notes or communications from the room during the cheer competition trip. The tragedy cast a shadow over the event and the West Jordan community.