Recognize these items? They could help ID body found in barrel at Lake Mead

David Charns
·2 min read

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — It’s been more than two years since a body was found concealed in a barrel at Lake Mead. Investigators have yet to identify the victim, despite countless efforts. Now, they’re hoping the clothes and shoes he was wearing could help identify him.

On May 1, 2022, boaters discovered the man’s body concealed in a barrel near Hemenway Harbor. County officials said the man died from a gunshot wound, with the manner of his death being homicide. Nexstar’s KLAS first reported the discovery.

Lake Mead body: 2 years later, barrel murder victim remains unidentified

Las Vegas Metro police suspect the man was killed in the 1980s based on personal items in the barrel. The victim was wearing clothing and shoes sold at Kmart stores in the mid-to-late 1970s, police said.

<em>Clothing and shoes removed from the body of a man found inside a barrel at Lake Mead could help identify him two years after his discovery. (NamUS)</em>
Clothing and shoes removed from the body of a man found inside a barrel at Lake Mead could help identify him two years after his discovery. (NamUS)

The man was wearing a 2X Idletime button-down short-sleeve shirt and jeans with a Vidal Sasson-style design on the pocket, according to NamUs. The jeans have a 46-inch waist and are 30 inches long.

The person also had size 11 Trax tennis shoes and a silver Timex digital watch.

<em>Clothing and shoes removed from the body of a man found inside a barrel at Lake Mead could help identify him two years after his discovery. (NamUS)</em>
Clothing and shoes removed from the body of a man found inside a barrel at Lake Mead could help identify him two years after his discovery. (NamUS)

Last year, Clark County officials released a digital composite of what they believe the man looked like.

Digital composite of body found in barrel at Lake Mead released

Homicide detectives had requested DNA from multiple families to help solve the case of the body in the barrel, Metro police previously told KLAS. The families were chosen from several unsolved missing persons cases from that time.

  • <em>Clothing and shoes removed from the body of a man found inside a barrel at Lake Mead could help identify him two years after his discovery. (NamUS)</em>
    Clothing and shoes removed from the body of a man found inside a barrel at Lake Mead could help identify him two years after his discovery. (NamUS)

There is no timeline nor a deadline for when the remains could be identified. The coroner’s office works with an outside agency to test for DNA, Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse previously said.

Clothing and shoes removed from the body of a man found inside a barrel at Lake Mead could help identify him two years after his discovery. (NamUS)
Clothing and shoes removed from the body of a man found inside a barrel at Lake Mead could help identify him two years after his discovery. (NamUS)

While DNA can be pulled from bone, the quality of the remains plays a part in the identification process, the Clark County coroner previously told KLAS.

Human remains found at Lake Mead identified as missing Las Vegas man

The coroner’s office has identified three other sets of remains discovered since the barrel’s surfacing.

  • <em>On May 1, 2022, boaters discovered the man’s body concealed in a barrel near Hemenway Harbor. (Shawna Hollister/KLAS)</em>
    On May 1, 2022, boaters discovered the man’s body concealed in a barrel near Hemenway Harbor. (Shawna Hollister/KLAS)

Tips can be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers by calling 702-385-5555 or at crimestoppersofnv.com/report-a-crime. Information can also be sent via text by sending “CRIMENV” and then your message to “CRIMES” (274637). Crime Stoppers offers a reward for information that leads to an arrest.

The coroner’s office can be reached by calling 702-455-3210.

<em>Composite images of a man found dead in a barrel in Lake Mead. (Clark County coroner’s office/LVMPD/KLAS)</em>
Composite images of a man found dead in a barrel in Lake Mead. (Clark County coroner’s office/LVMPD/KLAS)

To reach investigative reporter David Charns with any tips or information, email dcharns@8newsnow.com.

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