Police ID officer killed in rescue near Vegas


July 23, 2013 at 11:18a.m.

Police ID officer killed in rescue near Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities have identified a 36-year-old Las Vegas police officer killed in a fall while trying to rescue a stranded hiker on Mt. Charleston northwest of the city.

Police say David Vanbuskirk was killed Monday night while responding to an area just above Mary Jane Falls.

Las Vegas police assistant sheriff Joseph Lombardo says the area was too difficult to access by foot, so rescuers used a helicopter to hoist the hiker to safety. Vanbuskirk became separated from the hiker at some point during the rescue and fell from a cliff.

Lombardo didn’t say how far the officer fell.

He says the National Transportation Safety Board, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the police department will investigate.