Authorities said Sunday that more human remains were discovered at the drought-stricken Lake Mead National Recreation Area east of Las Vegas. It’s the fourth time remains have been discovered since May, as Western drought forces the shoreline of the Colorado River reservoir behind the Hoover Dam to recede.
Officials with the National Park Service said rangers were called to the reservoir between Nevada and Arizona around 11 a.m. Saturday after skeletal remains were discovered at Swim Beach. Rangers and a dive team from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department went to recover the remains. According to Park Service officials, the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office will try to determine when and how the person died while investigators review missing persons records.
A barrel containing human remains was discovered near Hemenway Harbor on May 1. Police believe the remains belonged to a man who died as a result of a gunshot wound and were likely dumped in the mid-1970s to early 1980s. Authorities say human skeletal remains were discovered at Calville Bay less than a week later. On July 25, partial human remains were discovered in the Boulder Beach area.
More remains may be discovered as Lake Mead’s water level continues to recede, according to police. The discoveries have sparked speculation about long-unsolved missing person and murder cases dating back decades — to organised crime and the early days of Las Vegas, which is only a 30-minute drive away. The lake surface has dropped more than 170 feet (52 meters) since the reservoir was full in 1983.
The drop in lake level occurs at a time when the vast majority of peer-reviewed science indicates that the world is warming, owing primarily to rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. According to scientists, the United States West, including the Colorado River basin, has become warmer and drier over the last 30 years.
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