The body of Thomas Erndt, who died in the lake in 2002, has now been identified. The local mob museum described the killing as having all the makings of a gangland hit because the victim was shot in the head, execution-style, and crammed into the drum which they say was historically a mob method for disposing of bodies. The newly exposed stretch of shore near Boulder Beach was the site of a shocking discovery early this year when the body of a decades-old homicide victim was found inside an eroding barrel, likely tossed far offshore in the 70s or 80s. The National Park Service confirmed on Wednesday that a human bone discovered by a diver directed a park dive team to an area where the skeletal remains were found. Wooden pallets mark the location, originally 100ft underwater, where a barrel was found containing human remains at Lake Mead. On Saturday the National Park Service (NPS) announced its rangers. Barb Markoff, Christine Tressel and Ross Weidner. The imperiled lake was created by the Hoover Dam at the border between Arizona and Nevada. That's because the cooler temperatures underwater cause a body to decompose more slowly, she said. Barb Markoff, Christine Tressel and Ross Weidner. The condition of the body is essential in the examination process, she said, because more degraded remains may not be able to be fingerprinted or provide dental information. One set of remains, discovered in the Callville Bay area, were subsequently identified by medical examiners as those of Thomas Erndt, a 42-year-old father who drowned in 2002. Las Vegas Metro Police officials said there is nothing new in their investigation of the Lake Mead bodies. Of the three sets of remains discovered, only one is currently deemed a homicide investigation. Several other relics from the past have also emerged this year, including a sunken second world war-era vessel designed to carry troops into beachfront battles during deployment at Normandy. LAS VEGAS (KTNV) Three sets of human remains found at Lake Mead in recent weeks offer three new mysteries to be solved by the Clark County coroner. Investigators collect any items they can, Rouse said, and try to glean details from things like clothing and the body itself, including any identifying features. The identity of the remains and the cause of death are not currently known. back then wouldn't it?" A B-29 plane, still shadowed by the depths, is becoming visible for the first time in decades. "Anytime you have a body in a barrel, clearly there was somebody else involved," he said. More remains found at Lake Mead over the weekend. I truly feel we had the golden years of boating out there. 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The Clark county coroners work starts at the shore of the busy lake, which received more than 7 million visitors last year. But even with these huge and costly adjustments, the park has been forced to close all but one ramp. CHICAGO (WLS) -- It's one of the most famous slogans of any American city: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." The office is investigating at least five other cases of human remains found in or around the lake since May. Lake Mead: shrinking waters uncover buried secrets and grisly finds, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Record low water levels in Lake Mead are revealing human remains all over this popular Michigan tourist destination. In California's Folsom Lake, about 500 miles to the north and west of Lake Mead, a small airplane that officials believe crashed in 1986 was found last June. And now the water supply is dropping so the bodies are bobbing up," said Michael Green, University of Nevada Las Vegas history professor. Mystery remains discovered in shrinking lake could have Chicago mob connections. Now there are questions about whether Spilotro is tied to these mystery bodies. Homicide detectives initially estimated the person found in the. As water levels drop at this major lake, bodies begin to appear. When police arrived at the lake's Hemenway Harbor on May 1 to investigate the discovery of a set of remains in a barrel, investigators immediately treated it as a homicide investigation, not waiting to get a confirmation from the coroner, Lt. Jason Johansson of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police homicide unit told CNN. But all that work still requires a missing persons report so authorities have someone to compare the data with. Examiners then compare the dental information to a dental records database, she said, so it's especially important to investigators that a person's dental records were submitted to the database. Former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has speculated that bodies of people whacked by the mob may eventually turn up in the lake which is only a 30-minute drive from the Strip that was founded on organized crime. Rouse told CNN she preliminarily determined the person was between 23 and 37 years old at the time of their death. Shes hopeful the lake will avoid reaching crisis levels, but she doubts it will ever live up to the lively scene she remembers. We've received your submission. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. It was also immediately obvious that the person's death was the result of a homicide, Johansson told CNN. An apparent gunshot wound to the body was immediately noticed by investigators. The remains, found May 7 at Callville Bay, on the Nevada side of the lake, are one of several that have been uncovered in the lake since May 1, when human remains were found in a barrel. The first case involved a victim who was shot and placed in a barrel, a homicide. But after water levels at the site fell around 100 feet, the park restricted diving there altogether this year while it determines how to preserve the historic relic in increasingly shallow waters. What complicates this investigation is that these are only partial remains, unlike the other two. 'ITS A DIFFERENT LAKE EVERY TIME: SUNKEN BOATS EMERGE FROM DWINDLING LAKE MEAD. People could have gone missing upriver and then their bodies were initially deposited as their final resting place within the lake, Byrnes said. More human remains have been discovered in Lake Mead bringing the tally to four since May as water levels hit record lows amid a severe drought, according to a report. The bodies -- one of which was found in a corroding barrel with a gunshot wound -- could have been submerged in the lake's depths decades ago, leaving the three sets of remains in advanced stages of decomposition and making it increasingly difficult to extract DNA. The National Park. On July 6, the body of a woman was found near the Boulder Islands, where a woman went missing after falling off a jet ski on June 30, Lake Mead officials said at the time. We thought it would be damn near impossible for the lake to get to the level it is now.. Now it's evaporating and causing water levels to fall more than 150 feet. Homicide detectives initially estimated the person found in the barrel was killed sometime in the mid-'70s to early 1980s, based on clothes and shoes the victim was wearing. A handful appear untouched as their glossy paints glint in the sun, seemingly unscathed by years of soaking underwater. For some, the larger environmental problem of a major lake drying up is more significant than a body count, but for law enforcement identifying victims, motives and killers is the only focus. The US Department of Interior is making preparations to take its own actions, which may include limiting downstream water releases from the reservoir to prevent it from nearing dead pool levels. The clothing was so well-preserved that investigators were still able to read the labels, Lt. Jason Johansson with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's homicide unit told CNN. They were never, they were never found. While DNA samples were taken from the Callville Bay remains, Kolod says hes eager to give a DNA sample himself to reveal if his theory is true. "In cases where we are limited [on identification methods], we would also conduct DNA analysis," she said, noting that method may not be ideal for some extremely decomposed remains. A stock image of a sign showing where Lake Mead water levels were in 2002. The first body was discovered in early May, and police believe it dates back to the late 1970s to early 1980s and are investigating it as a homicide, according to CNN. Unlike the other two, these are only partial remains and Rouse is still processing them to determine what can even be examined based on their condition, she said. The coroner's office is sharing its findings with law enforcement, she said, including the FBI in the case of the homicide victim. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way, How to get 13 Action News on your Alexa devices, Lake Mead human remains give hope to Tennessee family in search for fathers killer, Sisters find human remains while paddleboarding at Lake Mead, Lowering water levels at Lake Mead could lead to new discoveries. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or Its inevitable, Michael Green, an associate professor of history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told the Guardian this summer, noting that the area flooded by the man-made lake had an abundance of archeological sites. Police said the remains were found in a barrel that was exposed to low water levels and likely belonged to a homicide victim from the 1970s. Its not a bad place to dump a body., 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Man drops human jawbone off at California police station and then leaves, Missing rappers, friend found dead days after canceled performance in Detroit: report, Missing 15-year-old girl found dead near Michigan high school, Man stole funeral home van with corpse in back, dumped body on Chicago street, Former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has speculated. But as the climate crisis fuels a prolonged mega-drought in the West, the lake, which serves as the nation's largest reservoir . But as the climate crisis fuels a prolonged mega-drought in the West, the lake, which serves as the nation's largest reservoir, has plummeted to sobering levels. Six skeletons have surfaced so far and so have stories of missing mob victims from. All 1:55 More human remains have been found at Lake Mead less than a week after authorities discovered the remains of a man in a barrel amid a drought that has dropped the reservoir's water. The gunshot wound was obvious, he said, and the circumstances clearly suspicious. With the lake at its lowest level since it was filled in the 1930s, it's possible more discoveries will surface. New information has also come to light regarding a second set of remains discovered at Calville Bay a week after Hemenway Harbor Doe. "I mean, that was the general idea about many of the hits that Spilotro was said to be involved in, as we know not convicted of them, but associated with them.". Once more than 200 feet below the surface, the spot has been an extraordinary excursion for divers. The final remains were found at the lake's Swim Beach on July 25 and the examination is still at an early stage, Rouse said. In May, one body was found in a barrel with a bullet hole in the skull with clothing from the 1970s or 1980s. The largest man-made reservoir in the United States is in serious trouble. California will likely soon follow. The remains are undergoing toxicology and other testing before a cause and manner of death can be determined, the coroner said. Johnnie Pappas being another," said Smith. The Clark County Medical Examiner was called to determine the cause of death. The discovery of the Hemenway Harbor Doe's remains led to speculation about possible mob involvement, since the remains were dated to a time when organized crime had a strong foothold in Las Vegas. Officials were able to determine, due to the clothes and sneakers still intact, they belonged to a man who was shot between the mid-1970s and the early 1980s. But for nowand with each passing yearLake Meads underwater curiosities creep closer to the surface. No, she says. The first discovered remains -- a body in a barrel with all the signs of a mob hit, happened upon by boaters in May -- continues to mystify investigators after a woman came forward saying she. They then saw the body, which also had a. The amphibious landing craft was designed to deliver US troops from ships to open beaches, but the boats have long been used around the park. The remains, dubbed Hemenway Harbor Doe by the coroner's office, are one of at least three sets uncovered due to the dramatically receding water levels at Lake Mead, which has plunged to unprecedented lows amid a critical water crisis in the West. The first body was discovered in early May, and police believe it dates back to the late 1970s to early 1980s and are investigating it as a homicide, according to CNN. Then investigators still have to try to determine what happened to the people whose remains were found. The skeletal remains found in a barrel at Lake Mead earlier this month have captivated and horrified two distinct groups that typically do not have much in common: mob . Skeletal remains are the 6th found since the lake has dwindled. The entire world is in trouble, and its weird that most people are focusing on the bodies themselves instead of the situation were in., US fails to give money promised for developing countries to ease climate impacts, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The discovery came a week after the decayed body of a man was found stuffed in a steel barrel near the reservoir's Hemenway Fishing Pier, over 20 miles from Callville Bay, according to Las Vegas police. Who ordered the lake murders? "A couple of key figures in Las Vegas organized crime history disappeared, one of them being Jay Vandermark, the former slot manager at the Stardust, and the other being a fellow that I was actually was acquainted with," he said. ROBBING LAKE MEAD OF WATER: THE EMERGENCY PLAN AIMED AT KEEPING WATER FLOWING TO THE WEST. But the lake has receded to its lowest levels ever dropping more than 170 feet since 1983 amid a mega-drought in the western US that has been exacerbated by global warming. Police are not investigating the other two sets of remains because there is so far no sign of foul play or suspicious circumstances in the deaths, Johansson said, but he has no doubt the circumstances of the Hemenway Harbor Doe's death are nefarious. 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