A body inside a barrel was found in May of 2022, on the newly exposed bottom of Nevada's Lake Mead, as drought depletes one of the largest US reservoirs. Officials predicted the discovery could be just the first of more grim finds. Las Vegas police Lt. Ray Spencer said, "I would say there is a very good chance as the water level drops that we are going to find additional human remains."

The lake's level has dropped so much that the uppermost water intake at drought-stricken Lake Mead became visible. The reservoir on the Colorado River behind Hoover Dam has become so depleted that Las Vegas is now pumping water from deeper within Lake Mead, which also stretches into Arizona.

Personal items found inside the barrel indicated the person died more than 40 years ago in the 1980s. Officials declined to discuss a cause of death and declined to describe the items found, saying the investigation is ongoing. Police plan to reach out to experts at the University of Nevada to analyze when the barrel started eroding. The Clark County coroner's office will try to determine the person's identity. Boaters spotted the barrel Sunday afternoon. National Park Service rangers searched an area near the lake's Hemenway Harbor and found the barrel containing skeletal remains.