Mount Rose murder victim identified

RENO - Washoe County detectives have identified the victim of the New Year's Eve murder on Mount Rose Highway as Stephanie Ann Rivera, 43, of Florida.

She was visiting relatives in Reno at the time of her death, police said.

Family members contacted the Reno Police Department to report Rivera missing and were directed to Washoe sheriff's investigators, Lt. Douglas Gist said.

Rivera was alive when she was discovered at 5:50 p.m. by two Washoe County sheriff's deputies on a paved turnout on the Mount Rose Highway near Highway 395.

Rivera said a white male had shot her and taken her purse.

She was shot in the abdomen and there were signs she had been involved in a struggle. She was taken to Washoe Medical Center and underwent surgery, but died around 11 p.m.

Gist said detectives are continuing to pursue leads in the case.