Veterinarian who went missing at Lake Mead was subject of animal cruelty investigation

A Las Vegas veterinarian who went missing Monday near Lake Mead is the subject of a Nye County Sheriff’s Office investigation into allegations of animal cruelty, according to official sources.

Authorities from multiple agencies were searching for him within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Monday afternoon, using aerial, marine and ground personnel, according to the National Park Service.

A source confirmed that the missing person is Shawn Frehner.

In an email, the National Park Service said the multi-agency effort is underway with the Metropolitan Police Department, Red Rock Search and Rescue, and the Park Service, which is leading the investigation.

News of the search emerged Monday following a criminal complaint filed last week by Pahrump resident Shawna Gonzalez, alleging Frehner mistreated her horse. Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill confirmed to the Pahrump Valley Times that the Nye County Sheriff’s Office had received received Gonzalez’s complaint of felony animal abuse and is investigating.

No arrests have been made, McGill added. It’s not immediately clear when the Sheriff’s Office will provide further detail.

Gonzalez shared a social media post Saturday about her complaint, including video of the alleged incident, which was later recirculated by an animal rights group showing a man purported to be Frehner interacting with her horse named Big Red, and at one point kicking it in the jaw when it was on the ground.

“The abuse and cruelty my horse suffered on 4/3/2025 was inhumane, disgusting, appalling, and the most hurtful thing and from the hands of a vet that I trusted,” Gonzalez posted, adding that the horse was being cared for at the Desert Pines Equine Center and that she was accepting donations to cover the cost of veterinary bills.

Those posts shared by Gonzalez include what purports to be a lengthy apology and explanation by Frehner of what happened. The post was not visible from Frehner’s personal account, but its contents were confirmed to the Review-Journal by Las Vegas resident Dania Spor-Orellana, a friend of Frehner’s and owner of the Double AA Ranch near Centennial Hills.

In the post, Frehner described Big Red as a wild horse that was dangerously aggressive and unresponsive to sedatives he’d administered to prepare him for gelding. He said the horse had fallen after the sedatives began to take effect in a way that was affecting its breathing, and he had reached out with his foot to brush its face to startle it back into awareness, but the horse turned its head and he ended up kicking it in the chin.

Spor-Orellana said she’s known Frehner for roughly 30 years, and that he regularly cared for her horses and others she takes care of at her boarding facility. She was taken aback when she saw the video of Frehner’s alleged behavior but said she believes he wouldn’t have acted that way unless the horse was being aggressive.

“I don’t agree with what’s in that video, but I also do feel like there’s a lot more to this story that’s not being told,” Spor-Orellana said during a phone interview late Monday. “I hope and pray that they find him and that he’s OK … everything else will work itself out.”

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.