More skeletal remains discovered at Lake Mead

Another set of human skeletal remains have been found at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The remains were found at Swim Beach at 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15.

The Clark County coroner’s office has been contacted to determine the cause of death. The Metropolitan Police Department dive team from Las Vegas assisted in recovering the body.

“Park rangers have set a perimeter to recover the remains with the support from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s dive team. The Clark County medical examiner has also been contacted,” a release by the National Park Service stated.

This is the fifth body that has been found at Lake Mead this summer, thanks to the decreasing water levels brought upon by the drought. In July 2022, the Bureau of Reclamation reported Lake Mead’s water elevation to be 1040.92 feet.

Remains were found at Swim Beach on Aug. 6 and July 25, and officials were looking into the possibility that they were from the same person. On May 1, a body was found in a barrel near Hemenway Harbor, and on May 7, additional remains were found in Callville Bay.

These bodies have been linked to the history of the Las Vegas Valley and its connection to organized crime. Police believe the body found in the barrel in May was a man who died from a gunshot wound in the 1970s or 1980s based on clothing found on the body.

In July, the National Park Service issued the following statement:

“Lake Mead NRA has a storied history in its 90 years as a National Park Unit with a variety of cultural and historical artifacts: from plane crashes and Hoover Dam construction equipment to Native American artifacts that tell the story of the Southwest. As water levels recede and fluctuate, it is possible that artifacts that we do and don’t know about may emerge; including human remains from previous missing person reports.”

Contact reporter Owen Krepps at okrepps@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow him on Twitter @OKrepps85.