The people waiting for Addilyn “Addi” Smith that morning expected a young athlete preparing for another compeтιтion. Instead, her failure to appear became the first warning that something had gone seriously wrong. The 11-year-old Utah cheerleader had traveled to Las Vegas with her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, but never arrived at the event. What followed was a welfare check, a H๏τel-room search and a discovery that shocked the people who knew the child.

Addi and McGeehan arrived in Las Vegas on February 13, 2026, ahead of a cheerleading tournament. Addi was a member of Utah Xtreme Cheer and had traveled for the opportunity to compete. Her teammates and coaches expected her to be present when the event began.

She did not show up.

As the hours pᴀssed, attempts to reach the family became increasingly concerning. Addi’s father, Bradley Smith, contacted police and requested a welfare check. Officers were dispatched to the Rio H๏τel & Casino, where the mother and daughter were staying. They knocked on the room door and attempted to get a response but heard nothing.

The initial visit did not result in an entry. Officers left after determining there was insufficient information at that moment to force their way inside. H๏τel security was aware of the concern, however, and later returned to the room after additional requests for ᴀssistance.

The second attempt produced the discovery that would change the case forever.

According to newly released Clark County records, H๏τel personnel found a chair blocking the door and a handwritten note warning them to call 911 before entering. The note stated that two bodies were inside and specifically identified one as an 11-year-old.

The bodies were identified as Addi and her mother.

Authorities later determined that McGeehan had killed her daughter before taking her own life. The coroner classified Addi’s death as a homicide and McGeehan’s as a suicide. Both deaths were attributed to gunsH๏τ wounds. The official findings ended the immediate uncertainty over what had happened to the missing mother and daughter, but they also opened a much broader investigation into the circumstances surrounding their final hours.

The September records reveal that investigators found a number of medications and other substances in the H๏τel room. Toxicology testing later identified multiple substances in both mother and daughter. Records also contained a note stating that Addi had been “very medicated” before her death. The medical findings have become an important part of the newly released account because they offer investigators and the public additional information about Addi’s condition before she was killed.

The case also contains a complicated family history. McGeehan and Addi’s father had been involved in custody proceedings for years. Court records show disputes over custody and parenting arrangements, including a period when McGeehan temporarily lost custody. In 2024, the parents reached an agreement providing for joint custody. Reports have also described McGeehan as having a history of severe depression and previous suicidal thoughts.

Still, those circumstances must be separated from the question of motive. The fact that a custody dispute existed does not by itself establish why the killings occurred. Authorities have not publicly announced one definitive explanation connecting every element of McGeehan’s history to her final actions.

That uncertainty is part of what makes the case so difficult for those who knew Addi. To her teammates, she was a child who was expected to be at a compeтιтion. Her absence initially appeared to be a problem that could be explained by travel, illness or a communication issue. Instead, it became the starting point for a welfare check that revealed two deaths.

The newly released records have allowed investigators and the public to reconstruct more of that timeline. They document the failed attempts to contact the family, the H๏τel-room warning, the physical evidence, the toxicology findings and the official conclusions about the deaths.

But for the cheerleading community, the most important fact remains painfully simple: Addi was supposed to be there that morning. Her teammates were waiting. She never arrived.