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BySeanMurphy The Associated Press MCALESTER, OKLA. Anap- peals court halted the exe- cution of an Oklahoma man with just hours to spare Wednesday after his attor- neys said they had uncov- ered new evidence, includ- ing a fellow inmate's claim that he overheard another man convicted in the case admit he acted alone. Richard Eugene Glossip was twice convicted of or- dering the killing of Barry Van Treese, who owned the Oklahoma City motel where Glossip worked. Mo- tel handyman Justin Sneed admitted robbing and beat- ing Van Treese with a base- ball bat, but said he did so only after Glossip promised to pay him $10,000. Prosecutors alleged Glos- sip was afraid Van Treese was about to fire him for embezzling money and poorly managing the motel. Glossip, 52, was sched- uled to be executed at 3 p.m. Wednesday, but the Okla- homa Court of Crimi- nal Appeals agreed to a d e l ay just before noon. Glos- sip's lawyers said they obtained a signed affida- vit from another inmate, Michael Scott, who claims he heard Sneed say "he set Richard Glossip up, and that Richard Glossip didn't do anything." His attorneys also argued that Glossip's trial attorneys didn't present enough evi- dence to discredit Sneed, who was sentenced to life in prison and testified against Glossip. They presented an affidavit from an admitted methamphetamine dealer who said he frequently saw Sneed use the drug and trade stolen items for it. The court said it granted the last-minute request "in order for this court to give fair consideration" to Glos- sip's new claims. The court rescheduled his execution for Sept. 30. Glossip attorney Don Knight said he was inside the prison speaking to Glos- sip when a prison official in- formed them the execution had been stayed. "It took his breath away for a second," Knight said. "We were kind of doing a fist bump through the glass. He was really joyous, truly joyous. It was a wonderful moment." Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said the Van Treese family has waited "18 agonizing years for justice to be realized," but said he was confident the court wouldn't find any evidence to overturn the two juries that convicted Glossip and sentenced him to death. Van Treese's brother, Ken Van Treese, also said the family had faith in the courts. "We appreciate the ef- forts of all those who are conversant with the case and know the facts in- volved," he said in a state- ment. Van Treese was found beaten to death in a room at the Best Budget Inn, one of several motels he co-owned in Oklahoma, on Jan. 7, 1997. VanTreesewasstayingatthe Oklahoma City motel while delivering paychecks and picking up large amounts of money for deposit. Glossipwasquestionedby police, and a day later began selling his belongings and telling people he was leav- ing town, according to in- vestigators. Police again de- tained him and found him with $1,200; court records show his net pay that week was about $430. Sneed was found with $1,700 after Van Treese's death. Glossip's case garnered international attention af- ter Hollywood actress Su- san Sarandon, who played a nun in the movie "Dead Man Walking," took up his cause. The woman Saran- don portrayed in the movie, anti-death penalty advocate Sister Helen Prejean, has served as Glossip's spiritual adviser and frequently vis- ited him in prison. HOURS TO SPARE Execution of Oklahoma man halted Glossip By P. Solomon Banda and Brady Mccombs The Associated Press ZION NATIONAL PARK, UTAH Seven hikers who entered a narrow desert canyon for a day of canyoneering be- came trapped when a flash flood filled the chasm with water, killing at least six of them in Zion National Park in southern Utah, officials said Wednesday. Known as a slot canyon, the passage is as narrow as a window in some spots and several hundred feet deep. Flooding can turn such canyons into deadly channels of fast-moving water and debris in just minutes. A sudden deluge of rain fueled the flood, which "went from a trickle to a wall" of water, park ranger Therese Picard said. Concerns about more flooding have prevented search-and-rescue teams from entering Keyhole Can- yon to look for one hiker still missing. Rescue teams with dogs were looking sev- eral miles downstream in piles of debris and in shal- low ponds of water that form in rocks. Others were wading through waist-high water in the nearby Virgin River. Park rangers commonly warn hikers about flood risks during monsoon sea- son and did the same with this group before the hik- ers entered the canyon. But there was no way to reach them in time to alert them to the violent floodwaters coming their way. Officials say the group got a permit to hike the canyon at 7:40 a.m. Mon- day, before the canyons were closed because of flood warnings issued at 2:22 p.m. Six of the hikers were from California and one from Nevada. All were in their 40s and 50s. The deadly events hap- pened at the same time flash floods tore through a small community on the Utah-Arizona border just south of the park, leaving at least 12 people dead. The Utah National Guard and a team of searchers who once combed through the World Trade Center towers af- ter Sept. 11 are still look- ing for a missing boy who was among the 16 peo- ple in two cars that were swept up Monday by swift water, mud and debris in a canyon. Three children sur- vived, including a boy who told Utah Lt. Gov. Spen- cer Cox that he escaped by cutting through an air bag, climbing out a window and jumping off the roof of the vehicle. Cox told The Associated Press that the boy was about 9 or 10 years old and lost his mother and several siblings, who were also in the cars. Bodies recovered Tues- day were found as far as several miles away in the sister towns of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ar- izona — the home base of Warren Jeffs' polygamous sect. Officials have not re- leased the identities of the dead. At Zion National Park, 20 miles north of Hildale, the group of seven had ar- rived to climb, rappel and swim through a half-mile canyon route that takes from one to four hours to complete. Hikers use climbing equipment to lower them- selves into the canyon. There are more steep de- scents on the course, as far as 30 feet down sand- stone walls. Some rappel- ling routes end in pools of water where canyoneers unhook their equipment and swim out. The can- yon walls go as far as the eye can see, and it's deep enough to stay cool even in July, Picard said. "It is a water course. You have slick rock that has been eroded. It is dark and cold. Even in July it's chilly," she said. Only 80 people are al- lowed in per day. SUDDEN RAIN Utah park floods trap 7 people in canyon RICKBOWMER—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A woman walks across mud and debris in a road following a flash flood, Tuesday in Colorado City, Arizona. Officials say the bodies of two people killed in flash flooding in southern Utah were recovered in Arizona a few miles downstream, while the bodies of six others were recovered in Utah. MICHAEL CHOW — THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC VIA AP Utah National Guardsmen climb out of Short Creek while searching for a missing person. Floodwaters swept away multiple vehicles in the Utah-Arizona border town, killing several people and leaving others missing. SCOTT G WINTERTON — THE DESERET NEWS Searchers continue looking for 6-year-old Tyson Lucas Black in Zion National Park, Utah, on Wednesday. 1/8 Pg.................$199.00 1/4 Pg.................$325.00 Half Pg...............$485.00 Full Pg................$765.00 Inside Front........................$1150.00 Inside Back........................$1015.00 Back Cover........................$1275.00 Center Double Truck..........$2175.00 New features on the wonders of fall, winter and spring in "the Tehama Country," for residents and visitors. Things to do, see . . . and experience." Advertising deadline: Monday, October 5, 2015 Format : Glossy full-color magazine high-quality stock, with high-weight cover. Published twice yearly. Print Distribution : 10,000 distribution through pre-promoted insertion in the full run Daily News edition of Thursday, October 29, 2015. 3,000 copies distributed through Spring of 2016 through Chambers of Commerce, hotels and visitor information centers. Published online for 12 months on www.redbluffdailynews.com. Tehama County's most visited local website receives between 30,000 and 60,000 visits per month from internet users from outside the Shasta-Tehama- Butte County region. Visitors can click through directly from ads in the digital edition to advertisers' own websites. This is the only home delivered magazine dedicated to supporting pride in place on the part of local residents, while promoting visitors from near and far to come taste, climb, ride, explore, fish, hunt, float and "Reach their Peak the in Tehama Country." Be a part of it! Ask about 10% discount for commitment to advertise in the magazine's next edition, published May, 2016 "Base Camp Red Bluff" Gayla Eckels: (530) 737-5044 geckels@redbluffdailynews.com Suzy Noble: (530) 737-5056 snoble@redbluffdailynews.com Whypaymoreforlessdistribution? | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 4 B