Once again, the sinking level of Lake Mead near Las Vegas reveals the remains of a skeleton. Attempts are now being made to determine the cause of death. In an earlier find, the diagnosis was murder.
Human remains have been found in Lake Mead reservoir near the US metropolis Las Vegas for the fourth time since May of this year. After an emergency call, parts of a human skeleton were found on Saturday, the national park administration NPS said. They were discovered on a beach in the lake’s recreation area, the water level of which has dropped sharply as a result of the drought. Police divers recovered the remains. The coroner is now trying to determine the cause of death. The skeletal remains of a human were discovered in the same area on July 25.
Lake Mead, located on the border between the states of Nevada and Arizona, is one of the most important reservoirs in the USA and supplies around 40 million people with water. It was created in the 1930s as part of the Hoover Dam project. In view of the continuing severe drought in the west of the country, however, water levels have fallen sharply – to their lowest level since 1937. The water level has fallen by almost 52 meters since 1983 alone, local media reported. The lake is currently only filled to around 27 percent of its maximum capacity, citing satellite images from the space agency NASA.
The first human remains in the reservoir were discovered on May 1: the body showed a gunshot wound and had been dumped in a barrel in the lake, believed to be between the mid-1970s and early 1980s. It was without a doubt a murder, the broadcaster CNN quoted an investigator as saying. According to the current status of the investigation, it is pure speculation that the mafia could have been involved, he emphasized. More remains were found on May 7 and matched to a 23 to 37 year old individual. The other dead are probably people who drowned in the lake years ago, a spokeswoman for the national park administration told the broadcaster.