Body recovered at water facility, may be missing groundskeeper
A body was found at the Clark County Water Reclamation Center on Thursday afternoon that may be the male groundskeeper who was swept away during a torrential downpour Tuesday.
Las Vegas police spokesman Marcus Martin said the body was found at 2:43 p.m. at the reclamation center, on Flamingo Road near Stephanie Street.
Martin could not confirm whether the body, found unclothed and without identification, was that of Calletano Lopez, 38, who worked at the Desert Rose Golf Course in the southeast valley.
The Clark County coroner's office will identify the body.
Lopez was last heard from about 4:15 p.m. when coworkers called his cellphone and asked him to return to the clubhouse. Lopez did not know how to swim. He was driving a tractor before he went missing.
Witnesses told police floodwaters at the golf course were as high as 12 feet.
Rescuers called off the search for Lopez on Wednesday afternoon because floodwaters were too deep and the conditions simply too hazardous in the low-lying area where rainwater accumulates and empties into the Las Vegas Wash.
Throngs of city, county and flood control officials were out in force Wednesday, assessing the damage from the deluge, which over a span of a couple of hours Tuesday afternoon dumped enough rain to set a record.
Residents who live in unincorporated areas affected by flooding can report damage by calling 455-1389 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
"This is an important step in working with the state to determine whether our community may be eligible for some type of recovery assistance through state or federal programs," said Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani in a news release.
The county's building department had assessed 114 structures as of Thursday. About 31 of those properties need to be repaired before they can be reoccupied. Most of the damage involves debris cleanup and water damage to stucco, carpets, floors, drywall and personal belongings.
The valley's official weather station at McCarran International Airport logged 1.18 inches Tuesday, surpassing the 0.61 inches of rain that fell Sept. 11, 1998, according to the National Weather Service.
That is roughly a quarter of the rainfall Las Vegas traditionally receives in an entire year, weather experts said.
The drenching was the second to hit Las Vegas in less than a month.
The last storm occurred Aug. 22, dropping 1.65 inches of rain and claiming the life of 17-year-old Green Valley High School senior William Mootz. He was swept away in the Pittman Wash floodwaters in Henderson while out with a couple of friends.
Tuesday's storm was the result of an upper-level disturbance that started in south central California, then blew across Southern Nevada.
It shut down roads, closed the Las Vegas Beltway at Interstate 15 and spawned lightning so severe that fueling operations were suspended at McCarran International Airport and incoming flights were delayed for up to a half- hour.
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at
aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 383-4638.
