Human skeletal remains found at drought-stricken Lake Mead days after body discovered in barrel

Megadrought in the West threatens energy and water security

More human remains have been found at drought-stricken Lake Mead just days after a body was discovered inside a barrel in the newly exposed bottom of the lake.

In a statement, the National Park Service said a witness reported human skeletal remains discovered at Callville Bay in Lake Mead National Recreation Area at approximately 2:00 p.m. PST on Saturday.

Park rangers responded to the scene and recovered the remains. The Clark County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death and he investigation is ongoing, officials said. 

Last week, police said the body found in the barrel at Lake Mead was a shooting victim from the mid-1970s or the early 1980s because the victim was wearing shoes that were manufactured during that period.

The barrel was found Sunday in the Lake Mead National Recreational Area by boaters who informed authorities.

Drought has dropped the water level of Lake Mead on the Colorado River in southern Nevada and northern Arizona so much that Las Vegas' uppermost water intake became visible last week.

Lake Mead and Lake Powell upstream are the largest human-made reservoirs in the U.S., part of a system that provides water to more than 40 million people, tribes, agriculture and industry in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and across the southern border in Mexico.

An aerial view of the droughts effects at the Callville Bay Resort & Marina, Lake Mead on June 29, 2001.  Allen J. Schaben via Getty
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