Body Found In Barrel May Date Back To 1980s

A drought in Nevada has led to the discovery of a barrel containing human remains which may date back to the 1980s.

The barrel was spotted by boaters on Sunday (1 May) as water levels continued to drop in Lake Mead, one of the largest reservoirs in the US, as a result of the dry spell.

The container was embedded in mud, and when the boaters took a closer look they discovered a skeleton inside.

Speaking to KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, witness Shawna Hollister said: “We were docking our boat to go home and heard a woman scream. My husband walked over and found the body. His shirt and belt were the only thing we could see over his decomposing bones.”

Rangers from the National Park Service confirmed the barrel contained the remains of a human, while investigators also found personal items which helped them estimate how long the body had been hidden.

Lieutenant Ray Spencer, of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, declined to reveal exactly what the items were in an interview with The New York Times, but said they led investigators to believe the victim was killed in the 1980s.

"It’s really odd in the sense that had the lake never receded, we would never have discovered the body,” he told the publication.

The police department has not yet released details about the victim such as a possible age, sex or specific cause of death, though Spencer said it's clear they 'died as a result of a homicide'.

The body in the barrel may not be the last human remains found in the wake of the drop in water levels. Spencer explained rangers with the National Park Service find one or two bodies at Lake Mead every year, "so it’s not uncommon to work a homicide out at the lake."

Speaking to KLAS-TV, the lieutenant expressed belief there is a 'very good chance' investigators will find additional remains as the water level drops.

Police plan to work with experts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to help them identify the remains and determine the age of the barrel’s metal. As the victim appears to have been killed in the 1980s near Las Vegas, where mob-connected casinos were located, Spencer said investigators will 'definitely not rule out' the idea that the killing may have been Mafia-related.

Investigators also plan to research missing persons cases from the 1980s in relation to the discovery, though Spencer said the investigation could take years because police are starting 'at square one'.

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