Human remains found at Lake Mead for 5th time since May
By Glenn Puit and David Wilson Las Vegas Review-Journal
Divers leave the water as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
A National Park Ranger takes a photo of items on a tarp as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
The shoreline is active as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
A diver leaves the water as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
A tarp with items on it is folded as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Search and rescue personnel work the shallows as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Authorities begin to break down the site while assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Search and rescue personnel dive near the shoreline as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Divers are seen at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, near Boulder City. Authorities at Lake Mead National Recreation Area were assessing what were described as skeletal remains found on Tuesday. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
An officer looks down at items own a tarp as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Divers are in the water as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
A search and rescue diver leaves the water as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
A search and rescue diver works the shallows as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Search and rescue personnel are busy as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Clothing and a dive mask are some of the things left behind along the shoreline as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found nearby at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Search and rescue personnel are busy as authorities are assessing what were described as skeletal remains found at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, in near Boulder City. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Authorities at Lake Mead National Recreation Area found human skeletal remains Monday night.
Park rangers responded around 8 p.m. to the Swim Beach area.
“Lake Mead NRA has set a perimeter to assess the discovery of skeletal remains found in the area,” the National Park Service said in an email.
The Metropolitan Police Department dive team responded to the area. No further information was available.
It marked the fifth time since May 1 that human remains have been found at Lake Mead. The most recent discovery was made in the Swim Beach area on Aug. 6, when park rangers and the Metropolitan Police Department dive team recovered remains.
On July 25, partial human remains were found encased in mud at Swim Beach.
Within one week at the beginning of May, two sets of remains were discovered.
The first was a the body of a man found in a barrel on May 1 who appeared to have been killed by a gunshot, police said. The barrel was found near Hemenway Harbor. Based on the clothing and shoes on the body, Las Vegas police said the body was likely dumped in the 1970s or 1980s.
On May 7, human skeletal remains turned up at Callville Bay.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said on Tuesday that Lake Mead would go into 2023 under a federal water shortage for the second straight year.
As of Tuesday, the lake was at 1,042.40 feet in elevation, 27 percent capacity, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
