Diver finds more skeletal remains in drying Lake Mead, the sixth discovery since May
A diver found more skeletal remains in Nevada’s drying Lake Mead, marking the sixth discovery of human remains since May, according to authorities.
A recreational diver found “what appeared to be a human bone in the Callville Bay area” on Oct. 17, the Lake Mead National Park Service (NPS) said in an Oct. 27 email to McClatchy News.
The next day, the NPS dive team searched the area and “confirmed the finding of human skeletal remains,” NPS said.
“At this time, no foul play is suspected,” the email said.
NPS said it will contact the Clark County coroner’s office to confirm the identity of the remains, according to the email.
The discoveries began on May 1, McClatchy News reported. At the time, a body was found inside a barrel that officials believed was uncovered by drought.
“The water level has dropped so much over the last 30 to 40 years that, where the person was located, if a person were to drop the barrel in the water and it sinks, you are never going to find it unless the water level drops,” Las Vegas police Lt. Ray Spencer told the Review-Journal in May. “The water level has dropped and made the barrel visible.”
With the drought, the discovery was likely the first of many, officials told media outlets in May.
More human remains were found days later, McClatchy News reported. Officials identified the remains in late August as those of Thomas Erndt, a Las Vegas man who drowned in the reservoir Aug. 2, 2002.
Then, one set of human remains was found at Swim Beach in July and two more in August in the same area.
Lake Mead is the country’s largest reservoir, according to the National Park Service. It was created by the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s and includes more than 750 miles of shoreline.
The reservoir supplies water to more than 40 million people in seven states and Mexico, according to NASA. It provides water to people in some of the largest cities in the U.S., including San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
In recent years, however, it’s been shrinking due to a 22-year megadrought.
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 11:19 AM with the headline "Diver finds more skeletal remains in drying Lake Mead, the sixth discovery since May."
