Remains Found In Lake Mead Identified As Man Who Drowned In 1974

According to officials, the skeletal remains discovered in the desiccated Lake Mead near Las Vegas last year have been identified as those of a man who went missing in the 1970s. The Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner's news release revealed that the individual was Donald P. Smith, who resided in North Las Vegas and was 39 years old at the time of his reported drowning in April 1974.

A formerly sunken boat sits along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada in May 2022. (AP/John Locher)

"The identification was based on DNA analysis and reports from the original incident," the office said. "The cause and manner of Mr. Smith’s death were determined to be drowning and accidental." 

According to a statement from the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner, contractors working in the vicinity of the Callville Bay marina found the skeletal remains of Donald P. Smith on October 17, 2022, in the Lake Mead area.

"Additional remains were found on Oct. 19, 2022, which were determined to belong to the same person as those remains found on Oct. 17," it added. 

Last year, six sets of human remains were found in Lake Mead, one of which belonged to Donald P. Smith who went missing in 1974. The remains of Thomas Erndt, a Las Vegas resident who was reported drowned in 2002 at the age of 42, were also found in the Callville Bay area of the lake on May 7. Officials confirmed the identities of both individuals.

Officials announced that human remains found by park visitors in the same area of Boulder Beach on July 25 and August 6 of last year have been identified as belonging to a single person. However, the individual's identity has yet to be determined. The authorities are continuing their investigation.
 

Last year, on May 1, human remains were discovered inside a barrel at Hemenway Harbor. According to officials, the deceased was a man who had died from a gunshot wound, and the incident is being treated as a homicide.

"We believe this is a homicide as a result of a gunshot wound," Las Vegas homicide Lt. Ray Spencer said in a statement at the time.  

Boaters found a barrel along the shore of Lake Mead National Recreation Area last year, and police suspect it contains the remains of a man who was murdered between the mid-1970s and the early 1980s. The barrel became visible due to drought conditions, and the individuals who discovered it reported it to the authorities.