Another body found in Lake Mead amid plunging water levels

Authored by us.cnn.com and submitted by reqnin

Hong Kongs former chief secretary John Lee introduces his election manifesto at an event in Hong Kong on April 29, 2022. (Photo by ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP) (Photo by ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. first lady Jill Biden meets with Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, outside a public school in Uzhhorod, Slovakia, May 8, 2022.

Images show the aftermath of a bombing in Bilohorivka, a village in the Luhansk region of Ukraine. Sixty people are feared dead following the airstrike, according to Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 04: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young (L) and Assistant to the President & Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Cecilia Rouse (R) listen during an event at the Roosevelt Room of the White House May 4, 2022 in Washington, DC. President Biden delivered remarks on economic growth, jobs, and deficit reduction.

Candidate for governor tries to deny press entry to his event, but CNN got access

Russian President Vladimir Putin waves while walking along Red Square after a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 76th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in central Moscow, Russia May 9, 2021. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

More human remains were found at Lake Mead over the weekend, less than a week after a body in a barrel was discovered at the reservoir.

National Park Service rangers responded to a call on Saturday afternoon that reported the remains in Callville Bay. The Clark County Medical Examiner is assisting with determining the cause of death, according to NPS, which said there is “no further information is available at this time.”

It was the second set of human remains found at Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir, as water levels plunge. The first body, discovered on May 1, was likely a murder victim who died from a gunshot wound “some time in the mid ’70s to early ‘80s, based on clothing and footwear the victim was found with,” according to a new released from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.

“The lake has drained dramatically over the last 15 years,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide Lieutenant Ray Spencer said at the time, noting “it’s likely that we will find additional bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead” as the water level drops more.

Around 40 million people in the West rely on water from the Colorado River and its two largest reservoirs — Lake Mead and Lake Power — where levels have fallen at an alarming rate over the past few years, amid a climate change-fueled megadrought.

As of Monday, Lake Mead’s water level was around 1,052 feet above sea level — roughly 162 feet below its 2000 level, when it was last considered full. It’s the lowest level on record for the reservoir since it was filled in the 1930s.

The lake’s low water level exposed one of the reservoir’s original water intake valves in April for the first time. The valve had been in service since 1971, but it can no longer draw water, according to the Southern Nevada Water Authority. That agency is responsible for managing water resources for 2.2 million people in southern Nevada, including Las Vegas.

Upstream at Lake Powell, federal officials announced unprecedented, emergency steps last week to keep more water in that reservoir — and preserve the Glen Canyon Dam’s ability to generate hydropower — rather than sending it downstream to Lake Mead.

“We have never taken this step before, but the potential risk on the horizon demands prompt action,” Assistant Secretary of Water and Science Tanya Trujillo told reporters last week. “We need to work together to stabilize the reservoir before we face a larger crisis.”

bunney_rabbit on May 9th, 2022 at 20:24 UTC »

I’ve lived in vegas my entire life and growing up everyone always joked but not joked about the lake being filled with bodies. Literally it’s Pandoras Box. If they ever did a full search of the lake, I cannot imagine how many they would find.

MillionEyesOfSumuru on May 9th, 2022 at 18:00 UTC »

What happens in Vegas, stays at the bottom of Lake Mead.

Riptide360 on May 9th, 2022 at 14:47 UTC »

Lots of cold cases going to have new decade old clues.