Fifth Set Of Skeletal Remains Found At Lake Mead As Drought Reduces Water Levels

KEY POINTS

Multiple sets of human remains have been discovered in Lake Mead in the last few months
One of the remains appeared to be of a person fatally shot in the 1970s or 80s
The reservoir is grappling with historically low water level

A fifth set of human remains has been found at Lake Mead as the country's largest man-made reservoir continues to witness plunging water levels.

According to a statement issued by the National Parks Service on Tuesday, the skeletal remains were discovered near the Swim Beach area of the lake, located between Nevada and Arizona, on Monday night.

"Park rangers have set a perimeter to recover the remains with the support from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's dive team. The Clark County Medical Examiner has also been contacted," the statement read.

Rangers are relentlessly working to recover the remains from the reservoir, USA Today reported.

With the water levels at the reservoir deteriorating at an increasing rate, multiple sets of human remains have been discovered by the officials in the past few months.

The fourth set of remains was found at Swim Beach on Aug. 6 and the rangers were investigating to identify the body and the cause of the death.

"Park rangers responded and set a perimeter to recover the remains with the support from Las Vegas Metropolitan police department's dive team. The investigation is ongoing," the National Park Service said in a statement, as per reports.

A set of bones was discovered on July 25 in the popular Swim Beach in Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

On May 1, human remains were found in a barrel near Hemenway Harbor. After investigation, the police pointed out that the person, who was seemingly shot dead, could be from the 1970s or 80s. More remains were found by two sisters paddleboarding on the shoreline a week later.

A prominent source of water for millions of people living in the area, the lake is at its lowest level in over 80 years. The western U.S. is facing a severe drought that has prompted the government to reduce the amount of water Arizona, Nevada and the state of Mexico can draw from the Colorado River.

The Interior Department announced that cuts have been imposed in view of the 23-year drought and historic low water levels in the Colorado River Basin. In addition, Lake Mead was pushed to operate in a Tier-2a shortage for the first time in history.