Killing in Death Valley lake bed is discovered when suspect calls cops, park says

A person was shot and killed in a dry lake bed in Death Valley National Park, the park said.

The National Park Service said Zachary Salyer, 34, called the Nye County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday morning to report that he had shot the victim.

“Salyer reported that the victim was on a dry lake bed in Amargosa,” the National Park Service said. “Salyer was arrested by Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, charged with first degree murder, and transported to Inyo County Jail. He is being held on $1,000,000 bail.”

The shooting happened in “a rarely-visited” part of Death Valley National Park that is near Amargosa Valley, the park said.

Death Valley, which straddles California and Nevada, is the biggest national park outside of Alaska. It stretches more than 3 million acres, according to the National Park Service.

This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Killing in Death Valley lake bed is discovered when suspect calls cops, park says."