Yet another set of human remains was discovered in Nevada’s Lake Mead on Monday night, at least the fifth such discovery as the water levels continue to decrease.
The National Park Service responded to a report of the discovery around 8 p.m. local time at the Swim Beach area of the lake, saying rangers “have set a perimeter to recover the remains with the support from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s dive team.” No further information about the remains have been released, and the investigation into the individual is ongoing.
More and more human remains have been discovered as Western drought forces the shoreline to retreat at the shrinking Colorado River reservoir behind the Hoover Dam.
The fourth discovery was made just weeks ago at the beginning of August, when National Park Service officials said rangers were called to the reservoir between Nevada and Arizona around 11 a.m. on a Saturday after skeletal remains were discovered at the same Swim Beach.
On May 1, a barrel containing human remains was found near Hemenway Harbor. Police believe the remains were that of a man who died from a gunshot wound and the body was likely dumped in the mid-1970s to early 1980s.
Less than a week later, authorities say human skeletal remains were found at Calville Bay.
More recently, partial human remains were found in the Boulder Beach area on July 25.
Police have speculated that more remains may be discovered as the water level at Lake Mead continues to recede.
The discoveries have prompted speculation about long-unsolved missing person and murder cases dating back decades — to organized crime and the early days of Las Vegas, which is just a 30-minute drive from the lake.
The lake surface has dropped more than 170 feet (52 meters) since the reservoir was full in 1983.
The drop in the lake level comes while a vast majority of peer-reviewed science says the world is warming, mainly because of rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
Scientists say the U.S. West, including the Colorado River basin, has become warmer and drier in the past 30 years.
The drought has become so pronounced that federal officials announced Tuesday that Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River for the second year in a row.
Though the cuts will not result in any immediate new restrictions — like banning lawn watering or car washing — they signal that unpopular decisions about how to reduce consumption are on the horizon, including whether to prioritize growing cities or agricultural areas. Mexico will also face cuts.