A group of boaters on Lake Mead in Nevada made a gruesome discovery on Sunday (May 1) when they stumbled upon a barrel with what appeared to be human remains inside.
The Las Vegas Police Department said that the remains were from the 1980s based on the items inside. The barrel had been submerged for years but was uncovered as water levels at the country's largest reservoir have dropped to historically low levels amid a decades-long drought.
When the barrel was dumped into the water, the suspect likely traveled hundreds of yards into the lake. Now, the area is exposed and accessible to people walking along the shoreline.
Las Vegas Metro police homicide Lt. Ray Spencer told KLAS that more human remains are likely to turn up as the water levels continue to recede.
"I would say there is a very good chance as the water level drops that we are going to find additional human remains," Spencer told the news station.
"I think anybody can understand there are probably more bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead, it's just a matter of, are we able to recover those?" Spencer added.
Spencer said that investigators are awaiting the results of the autopsy report and are hoping it will provide more information about the victim and their cause of death.