Silver Springs, Nevada



From the Carson City Nevada Appeal of June 24, 2004

Daughter kills father after he shoots mother



A teenage girl shot and killed her father Wednesday morning after he kidnapped her and two sisters at gunpoint and shot their mother in the face, authorities said.



Walter Nelson Ball III, 43, was found shot to death in his Jeep Cherokee in an isolated area near Lahontan State Park. The discovery came about 8 a.m. after his three daughters, ages 13, 16 and 19, made their way to a road where they flagged down an officer.



Police had been looking for the girls since 4 a.m., when their mother, Cindy Ball, called to say she'd been shot in the face by her estranged husband and that he'd abducted the girls.



"Detectives are investigating the possibility that Ball sexually abused the victims during the kidnapping," said Lyon County sheriff's Capt. Jeff Page. ""There's no rhyme, there's no reason. This is simply the most evil thing I've ever heard of in my career."



It appears Ball eventually fell asleep at Lahontan Reservoir ,and it was then that one of the girls shot him, Page said. He declined to reveal which of the three sisters fired the gun.



"These girls were scared to death. They believed they were going to die," he said.



The Nevada Appeal is withholding the names of the daughters. No charges are pending against them, Page said.



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