Richard William Ward, 40, split his time between Las Vegas and a property he was developing in rural Golden Valley, Arizona, about 100 miles away between Bullhead City and Kingman. He and his wife, Jessica Cottrill, had been married 22 years and he was the father of two adult children; family described him as a dedicated husband and father who spent days at a time working on the house he was building.

On the evening of February 25, 2024, at about 8 p.m., a 911 call brought Mohave County Sheriff’s deputies to Naco Road, a dirt road in Golden Valley. Deputies found Ward unconscious with a gunshot wound; emergency responders were unable to revive him and he died at the scene. His wife believes he was shot multiple times. The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death as a homicide, and as of March 2024 no arrests or suspects had been publicly identified.

Ward’s family has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, supplemented by $1,500 from the Mohave County Silent Witness program. If anyone was in or near Golden Valley on February 25, 2024, or has information about Ward’s trips to the property, please come forward.