After 20 Years, Missing Man Finally Identified Through DNA as One of Lake Mead Corpses

DNA analysis have proven that a missing man from more than 20 years ago is one of the Lake Mead corpses.

Five sets of human corpses or remains were discovered on the Lake Mead shoreline, and the second set of remains has now been identified.

The Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner has confirmed that the remains discovered on May 7 near Callville Bay are those of Thomas Erndt, according to a statement made by a representative of the Clark County Office of Communications & Strategy.

In a press release, Dan Kulin, a Clark County Office of Public Communications - Public Information Administrator, stated that when his reported drowning occurred on August 2, 2002, Mr. Erndt was 42 years old.

DNA Analysis

Paddle boarders discovered his body after discovering Erndt's skeleton in the mud, and it was recognized by DNA testing. The victim's cause of death is yet to be determined.

When conducting a DNA test, reference samples taken from the subject's home or close family members are compared to any residual DNA discovered in the subject's remains.

Lake Mead

The Hoover Dam was built in the 1930s, creating Lake Mead, a reservoir of the Colorado River. Water levels there have dramatically decreased as a result of the Southwest's current megadrought.

According to the US Drought Monitor, the counties of Clark in Nevada and Mohave in Arizona, the location of Lake Mead, is presently suffering from "exceptional drought." As of August 21, Lake Mead's water was 1,043.29 feet above sea level, according to data from the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR).

Only 27% of the lake's total water capacity was present as of August 15.

Lake Mead Corpses

The identification of Erndt is significant because it is the first official naming of one of the bodies that have been discovered on Lake Mead's shoreline as a result of the summer's declining water levels. Officials suspected homicide after the first remains, discovered on May 1, were found in a barrel filled with bullet holes.

The third and fourth sets of corpses, discovered on July 25 and August 6, respectively, in the Boulder Beach region of the lake, are thought to belong to the same individual. It has been speculated that this was retired army soldier Kenneth Funk, who seems to have drowned on June 16, 2004, while trying to save his wife.

The fifth and most recent body was also found on August 16 close to Boulder Beach, but no additional details about this body have been made public.

Read also: Lake Mead Nearing Dead Pool Status, Water Level Dramatically Drops by 27% Due To Drought 

Tommy Beaudreau, the Deputy Secretary of the Interior, said that the escalating drought crisis affecting the Colorado River Basin is being caused by climate change's effects, such as high temperatures and little precipitation.

As the effects of climate change worsen, Lake Mead's water levels are predicted to decline over the coming years. Longer-term predictions by the USBR suggest the water level will drop to 1,019 feet by August 2023 and then down to 1,013 feet in July 2024.

This could lead to the discovery of numerous additional bodies that have been lying undiscovered for years.

Steve Schafer, a resident and the owner of environmental services company Earth Resource Group, said that There are a lot of bodies that have still not been found at the bottom of Lake Mead.

Most are just legitimately drowning victims but Schafer is sure there are some nefarious ones out there, such as the previously reported body in a barrel. He added that surely, there are going to be more, Newsweek reports.

Related article: 5th Set of Human Remains Found as Water Levels in Lake Mead Continues to Drop