Just one week after the corpse of a known or suspected murder victim was discovered in the fast dwindling reservoir, much more human remains have been discovered in Lake Mead.
The newest remains were discovered on Saturday and reported to park officials. A corpse was discovered in a barrel caught in the muck of the lake’s retreating coastline on May 1st.
Lake Mead, the country’s biggest reservoir, provides drinking water to 20 million people from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
As the water recedes, police predict that additional corpses will be discovered.
Lake Mead levels have been falling since 2000, and droughts have been more severe in recent years, with experts claiming that climate change is compounding the problem.
According to investigators, the corpse discovered by boaters last week belongs to a person who was tragically shot in the 1970s or 1980s.
The period was established by the victim’s clothing and shoes, which were offered at Kmart shops at the time, according to Las Vegas murder investigator Lt Ray Spencer.
Additional investigation is being done on the metal of the gun barrel in order to find more proof.
After the initial finding, Lt Spencer told CBS News in Las Vegas, “It’s going to be a very challenging case.” “I believe there is a very strong likelihood that when the water level decreases, we will uncover more human remains.”
And that forecast came true this weekend.
Witnesses reported the latest finding of “human skeleton remains” on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Park Service, which monitors Lake Mead.
“The inquiry is still underway. At this moment, no more information is available “According to a press statement from the park,
The Hoover Dam, which is located on the Nevada-Arizona state line, was built in the 1930s to create Lake Mead.
The gruesome finds actually come as the great lakes reaches its lowest point since it was initially filled.
Water levels at Lake Mead dropped low enough last month to reveal a water intake valve that has been serving consumers in the area since 1971.
Researchers found in February too that the long drought in the US desert southwest is the worst in at least a millennium.
Droughts aren’t always caused by climate change, but too much heat in the atmosphere draws more moisture from the soil, making droughts worse.
The globe it has already warmed by around 1.2 degrees Celsius since the start of the industrial age, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments throughout the world drastically reduce emissions.
