LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — New details are being revealed by Clark County officials after at least six sets of human remains were found at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area over the last year.
The first set was found on May 1 when a barrel containing human remains was located at Hemenway Harbor. The county said the victim was a man who died from a gunshot wound and they have ruled his death a homicide. However, the remains still haven't been identified.
Just days later, two sisters paddle-boarding at the lake discovered skeletal remains near Callville Bay. Clark County officials said those are the remains of 42-year-old Thomas Erndt from Las Vegas, who had reportedly drowned on Aug. 2, 2002.
According to the county, they used investigative information, DNA analysis, and reports from the original incident to identify Erndt. However, his cause of death is undetermined.
Additional human remains were found near Boulder Beach on July 25, Aug. 6, and Aug. 15. County officials said those three sets of remains all belong to the same person, and the coroner's office said they're still working on identifying who that person is.
The sixth set of remains was found on Oct. 17 in Callville Bay by contractors who were doing work near the marina. The remains were later identified as 39-year-old Donald Smith from North Las Vegas, who was reported missing or had possibly drowned in April 1974.
The county said additional remains were found on Oct. 19 and they belonged to the same set. County officials said they identified him through DNA analysis and original reports of the incident, though the cause of his death was determined to be an accidental drowning.
RELATED LINK: Clark County coroner Melanie Rouse talks about the unique challenge of identifying remains recently found at Lake Mead.
