Days after a decades-old body was found inside a barrel in a drought-stricken Lake Mead in Nevada, more human remains have been discovered as the shoreline continues to shrink.
The National Park Service said the remains were found Saturday afternoon in the Callville Bay area of the lake.
Lindsey Melvin told KLAS she was paddleboarding with her sister when they made the grim discovery.
"At first I thought it was a bighorn sheep and then we started digging around a little bit and as we discovered the jaw, we realized it was human remains and that's when we contacted park rangers to come and investigate," Melvin said.
Park rangers recovered the remains, which were exposed by receding water levels. The Clark County Medical Examiner is now in the process of determining the cause of death.
The investigation is ongoing.
The remains were discovered less than a week after a body was found stuffed inside a barrel near the lake's Hemenway Harbor area. The barrel only became visible because water levels at the lake continue to drop.
Police believe the victim in the barrel is a man who was shot to death sometime in the mid-1970s to early 1980s, based on the clothing he was wearing. He has not been identified.
Lake Mead, between Nevada and Arizona, is one of the largest human-made reservoirs in the United States. Drought has dropped the water level so much that Las Vegas' uppermost water intake became visible in late April, according to the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Officials say Lake Mead water levels have declined about 150 feet since 2000.
Lake Mead reached its high-water mark in July 1983 at 1,225 feet above sea level. On April 29, the level was 1,055 feet — about 30% full, according to the Associated Press.
Two retired police officers in Las Vegas are offering a $5,000 reward to divers who find any remaining bodies in Lake Mead.
"We do believe there are others out there," David Kohlmeier told FOX 5. "We believe there are cold cases that are out there or missing people in general. Since the water is so low right now there's a chance in history to recover bodies."
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