Lyon officials ask for info on dead lobbyist's car

The man who found the car of "alien" lobbyist David Solomon said Lyon County investigators may have a hard time finding out who abandoned it.

Lyon County investigators are seeking information on how Solomon's dark brown and silver 1973 Chevrolet Monte Carlo ended up at Action Automotive on Sunday.

"Anyone with information, we would appreciate a call," Lyon County investigator Cherie Rye said.

Solomon, also known as Ambassador Merlyn Merlin II, lived out of the car, which was filled with papers, Solomon's clothes and other items.

However, Rye said nothing found in the car helps investigators determine what happened to Solomon, whose body was found July 13 in Mound House. The death is being treated as suspicious, Rye said.

John Clipp, a technician at Action Automotive, found the Monte Carlo on Sunday in the automotive business' parking lot. Businesses near the Edmonds Drive shop generally close at 5 p.m. and aren't open on the weekends. Cars come and go so regularly, "even if somebody did see you, they wouldn't notice."

Even with more than 30 cars a day going through the shop, the brown car with the partially silver hood stood out, he said.

"One sitting here like that is unusual," Clipp said. "A ratty Monte Carlo full of papers and clothes with keys on the floor is kind of rare. It just didn't seem right."

Clipp said with a car like that, whoever was driving it probably didn't drive far to get rid of it.

"If you've got a car wanted statewide, are you going to take a chance of driving it 30 miles and dumping it?" he asked. "You'd drive it to the closest place you could."

Clipp said Carson City deputies were reluctant to come inspect the car when he called because it was on private property. If not for Lyon County deputies listening to the Carson dispatch, the car would have been ignored, Clipp said.

Solomon's badly decomposed body was found July 13 at the end of Kit Kat Road. He had been dead more than a month.

Due to the condition of the remains, Washoe County coroner was unable to determine a cause of death. Investigators have been searching for Solomon's missing car since his body was found.

The eccentric Solomon was known as a colorful character in the Nevada Legislature from 1995 to 1999, lobbying to rename State Route 375 in Southern Nevada the Extraterrestrial Highway.

Anyone with information on the death of David Solomon or his 1973 Chevrolet Monte Carlo is asked to call Lyon County Dispatch at 463-6620 or Secret Witness at 322-4900. Informants may remain anonymous.