Woman’s body dragged from motel near downtown Las Vegas

Police are investigating after witnesses reported a man dragging a body out of a motel room near downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday afternoon.

The body remained uncovered and visible from the street outside the motel room Tuesday evening at Desert Star Motel, 1210 Las Vegas Boulevard South, near Charleston Boulevard.

Police think the body belonged to a woman, but they hadn’t confirmed that as of Tuesday night.

It’s not clear how she died, but homicide detectives are investigating because of the suspicious circumstances of her death.

“We’re nowhere close to calling this a homicide,” Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said.

Witnesses reported seeing a man leave the body on the sidewalk in front of another room, Spencer said. Detectives were speaking with him.

Initial reports were she had injuries to her face, but Spencer said the injuries didn’t appear to be major, if she had them at all.

It appeared the woman was staying at the hotel, he said.

Police also found a loaded crossbow on the motel room bed, Metro Lt. Grant Rogers said. Spencer later said the crossbow didn’t cause the woman’s injuries.

The Clark County coroner’s office will release the woman’s identity and her cause and manner of death once her family is notified.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.