The plunging water level in Lake Mead — the country’s largest reservoir, besieged by drought — unveiled another disturbing discovery over the weekend, police say: a body in a barrel.
A person who was spending time at the lake Sunday afternoon found the barrel, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide Lieutenant Ray Spencer. The person could see the remains in the barrel because it was corroded.
Investigators believe the body to be that of a homicide victim from the 1980s, based on the items recovered from the barrel, Spencer says.
“The lake has drained dramatically over the last 15 years,” Spencer said, noting that “it’s likely that we will find additional bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead” as the water level drops more.
“The barrel was likely dropped hundreds of yards off the shore back then,” Spencer said, “but that area is now considered the shoreline.”
Homicide investigators plan to consult with scientists at the University of Nevada Las Vegas to determine whether the rate of corrosion is consistent with the barrel being in freshwater for that long.
The body underwent an autopsy Monday morning, Spencer says. Autopsy results were not yet available Monday afternoon, according to the Clark County Coroner’s office.
Credit: cnn.com
