Body found in barrel at Lake Mead is cold case from 1970s, more bodies expected 

When the water level dropped at Lake Mead—the largest manmade reservoir in the nation located between Arizona and Nevada—it exposed many things that had been hidden from sight in a long time. One of such object that resurfaced after decades was one of the reservoir’s original water intake valves, another was a barrel that contained the body of a man. 

According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide Lieutenant Ray Spencer, a boater at the lake found the barrel and could see the remains of a body inside because it was badly corroded. The individual proceeded to call the Las Vegas police to report the body. 

The barrel looks to have been stuck in the mud and may have been exposed due to low water levels at Lake Mead: https://t.co/Ho2ihyi5vK #8NN

📷: Shawna Hollister pic.twitter.com/1rsjoMY9BD

— David Charns (@davidcharns) May 2, 2022

Investigators believe the body belongs to a murder victim that died from a gunshot. "Detectives believe the victim was killed sometime in the mid-'70s to early '80s, based on clothing and footwear the victim was found with," added Spencer in a press release.

The investigation is still ongoing, and experts are trying to identify the victim. 

Lake Meade is one of the main water supplies for Arizona, Nevada, California, and Mexico, providing water to over 40 million people. However, the reservoir’s levels have been declining at an alarming rate. 

On Monday, the reservoir’s levels were about 160 feet below its level in the 2000s—the lowest level on record since the lake was filled with water in the 1930s. 

“The water level has dropped so much over the last 30 to 40 years that, where the person was located, if a person were to drop the barrel in the water and it sinks, you are never going to find it unless the water level drops,” Spencer said on Monday. “The water level has dropped and made the barrel visible. The barrel did not move… It was not like the barrel washed up.”

 "The barrel was likely dropped hundreds of yards off the shore back then," Spencer said, "but that area is now considered the shoreline."

"I think anybody can understand there are probably more bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead, it's just a matter of, are we able to recover those?" 

While investigating the barrel, police found a second barrel about one hundred feet away at around 3 p.m. on Sunday. However, the barrel was empty.