Police seeking theft suspect

Las Vegas police have released a composite sketch of a man whom victims accuse of stealing thousands of dollars in donations from a memorial service of an iron worker last weekend.

Police have identified the man as a "person of interest" in the investigation of the theft of $5,000 to $14,000 that had been collected for the family of 30-year-old David Rabun.

Rabun fell to his death on Nov. 27 at the Cosmopolitan construction Site on the Strip near Tropicana Avenue.

The money disappeared from a memorial service held at Palm Mortuary on Main Street near Washington Avenue on Sunday.

None of the hundreds people who were at the service actually saw the man take the bag that had the donations in it, police have said. But Rabun's family members said he was acting suspicious during the service, and nobody who knew Rabun recognized him.

He also appeared to create a diversion during the service by announcing that a wreck had occurred in front of the building, witnesses said.

After the theft, the bag was found nearby with some items still in it, but the money was gone.

Witnesses described the man as white, 35 to 42, about 5 feet 7 inches tall with a thin build, a reddish weathered face and decaying teeth, police said.

Rabun's life insurance policy was only for $20,000, but the theft of the donated money wound up being a blessing in disguise, according to Rabun's mother, Sandra Alton.

She said everyone was devastated after the theft, but since it became public, a local radio station has raised $32,000, while the Polo Towers has donated another $7,000 for Rabun's widow, Jessica, and Rabun's 4-year-old son, Dylan.

Alton also said the Ironworkers Local 433, which had raised a majority of the money that was stolen, is now raising more money for Rabun's family. "The outpour from the community in Las Vegas was amazing," Alton said.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-4638.