LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Metro Police investigators told KTNV on Wednesday that they are receiving dozens of leads in a case regarding remains found in a barrel at Lake Mead. At this time, they say they are not providing any additional updates.
Scientists say they are conducting forensics tests trying to identify the remains of people including the body found in the barrel at Lake Mead.
RELATED: Decades-old barrel with human remains washes up on shore of Lake Mead
An autopsy has been performed confirming that the person is a man and was murdered around the mid-1970s to 80s. The cause of death was a gunshot wound according to police.
The coroner along with the assistance of other forensics agencies say they are working to identify who this was through the skeletal remains inside the barrel.
Because the body decomposed in water many decades ago, it may take longer to identify than normal.
"Those give you the ability to find things like fingerprints and visual identifications that can be later confirmed in situations where you have remains that have been prolonged exposed in elements," said Melanie Rouse, Clark County coroner. "It becomes a bit more challenging."
Police investigators tell KTNV the victim's clothes and shoes also provided some insight into when the death may have happened.
LVMPD says those belongings were likely made in the mid to late 1970s.
While investigators still do not know what actually happened, the case does have some people speculating it may have mob connections.
