Fourth set of human remains found at Lake Mead amid drought
FILE – A formerly sunken boat sits on cracked earth hundreds of feet from the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on May 10, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. Another body has surfaced at Lake Mead, this time in a swimming area where water levels have dropped as the Colorado River reservoir behind Hoover Dam recedes due to drought and climate change. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
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UPDATED 2:00 PM PT – Sunday, July 31, 2022
Nevada’s receding Lake Mead waters uncovered human remains and a historical relic. This week, a body was found lodged in mud at the lake’s shoreline as water levels in the reservoir hits an all-time low. The body is the third to be found following two others earlier this year which prompted officials to investigate their origins. However, many speculate the finds were mob-related hits as the first body was analyzed to be over a decade old. A fourth body was also found Thursday which officials said is from a 31-year-old male kayaker who was reported missing and is believed to have drowned.
“Park rangers are on scene and have set a perimeter to recover the remains,” the National Park Service said in a statement. “The Clark County Medical Examiner has been contacted to determine the cause of death. The investigation is ongoing.”
We are out at Lake Mead where more human remains were found just yesterday. This is the third discovery of remains since beginning of May. The barrel with a body in it was just about a half of a mile from yesterday’s location. @KTNV pic.twitter.com/CtYVLK4HZi
— Joe Moeller (@joemoeller44) July 26, 2022
It is not yet known whether the person was male or female, but Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse said that the body was found lodged in mud at the receding shoreline just north of the Hemenway Harbor Marina.
A crashed B-29 plane has been in the water since 1948. It’s still far below the surface, but as the water levels fall light is reaching the plane for the first time in decades, 8NewsNow reported.
Lake Mead is a not natural body of water. It was formed with the creation of the Hoover Dam which submerged St. Thomas, a Mormon settlement founded in 1865. One of the town’s final residents left in 1938 when waters reached his front door, according to the Deseret News. Declining lake levels which have exposed St. Thomas several times over the years have kept the settlement visible for the last 10 years.
Additionally, a World War II era boat also emerged from the shrinking reservoir.