For more than a decade, the disappearance of Timothy Blackwood was one of Las Vegas’s most enduring mysteries. The 19-year-old son of prominent casino owner Vincent Blackwood vanished during a private party in September 1996, leaving behind no trace. Police scoured the city, private investigators chased countless leads, and the Blackwood family poured resources into the search. Every effort ended in frustration—until an unexpected discovery reignited the case.
On the morning of March 15, 2007, Rosa Martinez was doing what she had done for 23 years: cleaning rooms at the Golden Desert Casino Hotel. Room 2847 seemed like any other after a high-roller weekend—bed made, curtains drawn, minibar locked. But Rosa’s meticulous habit of moving furniture during her routine would soon uncover something no one had expected.
Pushing the heavy dresser away from the wall to vacuum behind it, Rosa spotted a worn leather wallet wedged tightly between the furniture leg and the wall. It looked as though it had been deliberately hidden there, beyond the reach of standard cleaning.
Opening it carefully, she found a Nevada driver’s license issued in 1995. The name on it stopped her cold: Timothy Blackwood. The photograph showed the fresh-faced young man she remembered seeing around the casino with his father years earlier. Inside the wallet was also a business card for Desert Investments LLC with a handwritten phone number, and a hotel key card—not for the Golden Desert, but for the Mirage Casino across town.
Rosa immediately called her supervisor, Maria Santos. Within minutes, Maria was at the door. One glance at the ID and she gave Rosa a firm instruction: “You need to call the police immediately.”
Detective Frank Morrison arrived shortly after. Morrison, now a senior investigator in the cold case division, had been a junior detective during the original search for Timothy. Carefully photographing and bagging the wallet, he asked Rosa to show him exactly where she had found it.
“This wasn’t left here by accident,” Morrison observed. “Someone knew it wouldn’t be found in routine cleanings.”
He then requested booking records for Room 2847 dating back to September 1996. Unfortunately, the hotel’s policy was to keep such records for only seven years. However, Maria confirmed that the room had always been reserved for VIP guests—high-profile, deep-pocketed patrons who booked weeks in advance.
The wallet’s appearance after 11 years immediately raised Morrison’s suspicions. “This is no coincidence,” he told colleagues. “It’s either a clue left behind or something someone tried to keep hidden.”
When Morrison called Vincent Blackwood to deliver the news, the casino owner’s voice was steady, but the weight of the moment was clear. At 68, Vincent still oversaw daily operations of the Golden Desert, yet the loss of his son remained a wound that never closed.
“I remember you from the original investigation, Detective,” Vincent said quietly. “I’ve waited a long time for a call like this.”
The discovery of Timothy’s wallet has breathed new life into a case that many feared would never be solved. Detectives are now working to trace the origins of the Mirage Casino key card and the handwritten number on the business card. Both could point to new leads—or reveal hidden connections that were overlooked in the frenzy of the original search.
For Rosa Martinez, it was just another day at work—until it wasn’t. Her keen eye and diligence may have uncovered the first tangible link to Timothy Blackwood in over a decade.
As investigators dig deeper, Las Vegas waits to see whether this long-buried wallet will finally unlock the truth behind one of its darkest unsolved mysteries.
