Remains found at Lake Mead linked to 1974 drowning
This photo taken Monday, April 25, 2022, by the Southern Nevada Water Authority shows the top of Lake Mead drinking water Intake No. 1 above the surface level of the Colorado River reservoir behind Hoover Dam. Photo by: Southern Nevada Water Authority via AP
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 | 3:23 p.m.
Skeletal remains found at Lake Mead in October belong to a North Las Vegas man who drowned more than four decades ago, Clark County officials said today.
But other remains found last year as the lake’s waters have receded amid a prolonged drought still have not been identified. Those include remains found in a barrel of a man who was shot to death, authorities said.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office used DNA analysis and reports from the original incident to determine the remains found in October belonged to Donald Smith, officials said.
He was 39 at the time of his reported drowning in April 1974, officials said. The death was ruled accidental, officials said.
Contractors working near a marina at Callville Bay discovered Smith’s remains on Oct. 17, officials said. Remains found two days later also belonged to Smith, officials said.
In a separate case, remains found May 7 in the Callville Bay area were identified as those of Thomas Erndt of Las Vegas, officials said. He was 42 at the time of reported drowning on Aug. 2, 2002, officials said.
The cause and manner of Erndt’s death have not been determined, officials said.
The remains found in the barrel, meanwhile, are believed to be those of a man shot to death in the mid-1970s or early 1980s, authorities said. Boaters found the barrel on May 1.
The man still has not been identified, officials said.
In yet another case, remains found on July 25, Aug. 6 and Aug. 16 near the shoreline of Boulder Beach all belong to the same person, officials said. No identification has been made in the case, officials said.