Mom on cheer competition trip with daughter gunned down the 'pre-teen' inside hotel room then took her own life in 'devastating' murder-suicide: Officials

A mother and daughter who were in Las Vegas for a cheer competition were found dead in a hotel room, with cops saying the mom gunned down her child then took her own life in a murder-suicide. The pair was reported missing after they failed to show up for an event, according to family and cheer officials.

"There was a note left," according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lt. Robert Price, who held a press conference on Sunday night to announce the deaths. "The mother shot her daughter and then shot herself," Price said.

Police found the bodies of the mother and "pre-teen" — whose age was not immediately provided — while conducting a welfare check to try to locate a Utah woman identified in missing persons fliers as Tawnia McGeehan and her daughter Addi Smith, local CBS affiliate KLAS reports. Smith's cheerleading team, Utah Xtreme Cheer, identified her on Facebook as being the daughter who was found dead.

"With the heaviest hearts, we share the devastating news that our sweet athlete Addi has passed away," the team said in a post. "We are completely heartbroken. No words do the situation justice. … Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers and continue to send them love as they navigate this unimaginable loss."

Cheer officials from across the country who are close with the Utah Xtreme Cheer team also shared their condolences on Facebook, with one team owner saying, "There are no words that can make sense of a loss like this. Please know that your entire gym family is being lifted up in prayer by all of us here at Elevation Athletics."

Price told reporters that police received a welfare check call around 10:45 a.m. Sunday for McGeehan and Smith at a hotel room in the Rio Hotel & Casino located at 3700 W. Flamingo Road. Officers and security went up to the room and "knocked several times," along with calling the hotel phone, but didn't get any answer.

Police "cleared from the call" as nothing seemed "suspicious" at the time, according to Price, but security continued to get information from family and friends asking them to attempt to locate McGeehan and Smith.

"At approximately 2:30 p.m., security went back up to the room to attempt to locate the mother and child again," Price explained. "They knocked several times. They also called into the room without success. At that point of time, security decided to make entry into the room, [and] when they entered the room, they located two deceased females."

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Before being found, missing persons fliers showing McGeehan and Smith smiling in a photo together were shared online by family and cheer officials.

"It appears that the mother and daughter came here … for a dance competition," Price said, noting how they arrived on Saturday. Facebook posts by Utah Xtreme Cheer show Smith's team competing Saturday on "Day 1" of the competition.

Price said that nobody in adjacent hotel rooms heard "any arguing or fighting" leading up to the discovery of the bodies. Asked about a possible motive, Price told reporters, "That's still part of our investigation."