[imagesource:flickr]

The American West is experiencing a devastating ‘megadrought’ in the last few years, with water levels at Lake Mead on the Arizona & Nevada border reaching their lowest point since the reservoir was filled in 1930. But the receding water has been exposing some surprising secrets that have been submerged for a long time.

The lake stood at around 1,042 feet above sea level on Monday, down about 25 feet from the same time last year and 44 feet below its 2020 depth

A World War II landing craft was recently exposed as the water levels dropped, but with the interesting finds, there are also a few grim discoveries being made. Authorities have been alerted several times now to the discoveries of human remains, including a body sealed in a barrel, with a bullet wound to the skull.

“Anytime you have a body in a barrel, clearly there was somebody else involved.”

An unfortunate visitor to the lake last week found a corroded barrel exposed by the waterline, and on further inspection made the grisly discovery. Authorities were called and confirmed that it was indeed human remains with a bullet wound that was stuffed inside the barrel. Whether this is tied to organised crime in the area was not confirmed, but a body in a barrel sounds like a mob hit to us.

“The barrel was likely dropped hundreds of yards off the shore back then, it’s likely that we will find additional bodies that have been dumped in Lake Mead.”

According to CNN, Police believe the victim, dubbed Hemenway Harbor Doe, was likely killed in the 70’s or 80’s based on the clothing they were wearing, but more tests will reveal a possible identity.

A body has potentially been found at Lake Mead. pic.twitter.com/6qoXU8Anso

— Las Vegas Issues (@VegasIssues) May 2, 2022

With the drought not letting up anytime soon based on predicted weather patterns, Lake Mead is sure to expose more of it’s macabre secrets in the future. To date there have been four different sets of remains found, including several human bones not attached to skeletons. Although not all suspected of being homicide victims, the bodies are being analysed to determine the identities of the poor souls who found a final resting place at the bottom of a reservoir that provides water to 25 million people.

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Lake Mead is the closest large water body to Las Vegas, and we have seen enough Joe Pesci movies to know that the possibility of finding more ‘barrel bodies’ in the future are high.

Some secrets don’t stay buried.

[source:cnn]