Another Body Found In Lake Mead As Water Levels Remain At Record Lows

Another body was discovered in Lake Mead this week as water levels in the reservoir remain at all-time lows. 

The discovery of the body follows that of two others earlier this year, prompting speculation into the origins of the bodies as officials continue to investigate.

On July 25, the third body was found around Swim Beach, where many park visitors go to swim. Park officials closed the area and began investigating after finding out about the body. 

“Park rangers are on scene and have set a perimeter to recover the remains,” the National Park Service said in a statement. “The Clark County Medical Examiner has been contacted to determine the cause of death. The investigation is ongoing.”

It is not yet known whether the person was male or female, but Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse said that the body was found lodged in mud at the receding shoreline just north of the Hemenway Harbor Marina. 

On Thursday, authorities located the body of a kayaker who went missing this week and is believed to have drowned. The 31-year-old male lost control of his kayak while on the lake and then appeared to go under the water on Wednesday.

After a search involving scuba divers and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, the body was found, and the incident is still under investigation. 

While the lake itself has been known to be hazardous to swimmers, the first body found this summer is decades old, and some think it could be connected to a possible mob killing. The FBI has also began investigation into this body to help local authorities. 

Earlier this month, shrinking water levels also unveiled a World War II-era boat that had been submerged.

A Higgins landing craft surfaced near Hemenway Harbor and the Lake Mead Marina, and the National Park Service (NPS) hoped that its emergence would have educational purposes. The Higgins craft found in Lake Mead was used to explore the Colorado River and later by a local diving company. 

Similar boats were used by American forces during the invasion of Normandy during World War II, and Higgins, a New Orleans based company, manufactured the craft from about 1942-1945.

“There are relatively few working or museum examples of the LCVP Higgins craft like the one currently emerging from Lake Mead,” NPS said, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.