Submerged human corpses rise from drought-stricken Lake Mead

The drought began. The bodies began to wash up.

Water levels in Nevada's Lake Mead, the biggest lake in Clark County, Las Vegas, and the United States, have been falling for over a decade. The metal barrel holding a corpse that had been dumped into the water more than 30 years ago was found on the shore on May 1.

The National Park Service said in a statement that there were more human remains in Callville Bay a few days later. The remains of a human were found by a witness on May 7 at 2 pm and the rangers recovered them.

They contacted the Clark County Medical Examiner to analyze the bones, but the cause of death has yet to be determined and there is no evidence to suggest foul play, police officers told KTNV Las Vegas.

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The clothes and footwear found on the body suggested that the person died in the 70s to 80s, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Lieutenant Ray Spencer of the Homicide Section of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said that they believe this is a homicide. The Clark County Coroner's Office will release the victim's identity when it becomes available, according to representatives from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

The second set of remains was found by two sisters while they were paddle-boarding on the lake.

It is formed by the Hoover Dam and fed by the Colorado River, and it is east of Las Vegas, and provides water for more than 40 million people in seven states and into northern Mexico. The NASA Earth Observatory says that Lake Mead has a maximum capacity of 33 trillion liters of water. The last time the water levels were at full capacity was in 1999, and they have been dropping ever since. The region may be experiencing its worst dry spell in more than 1,000 years because of warming temperatures caused by climate change.

In August 2020, the waters of the lake were only a third of their capacity. On May 9 of this year, the water level at Lake Mead was 1,052 feet above sea level, which is the lowest level on record.

With no end in sight for the punishing regional drought, more of the reservoir's long-hidden and grisly secrets may reappear from the depths.

There is no telling what we will find in Lake Mead.

It was originally published on Live Science.