Updated

Updated · abcnews.com · Aug 19

Lake Mead Reveals Possible Human Remains, Including Jaw, at Record-Low 1,040 Feet

Updated

Updated · abcnews.com · Aug 19

Lake Mead Reveals Possible Human Remains, Including Jaw, at Record-Low 1,040 Feet

Q: Could the dental fillings in the newly discovered jawbone finally solve a decades-old cold case hidden beneath Lake Mead?

Possibly, but not yet. The apparent dental fillings in the jawbone could become one of the strongest clues to identify the person, but authorities have not said the remains match any known cold case. Dental work can help investigators narrow an identity because fillings, tooth loss, extractions, crowns and jaw structure can be compared against dental records from missing persons. If the fillings are distinctive enough, forensic odontologists may be able to link the remains to a specific person more quickly than DNA alone, especially if investigators already have candidate names from older disappearances tied to Lake Mead. Still, the discovery is at an early stage. Officials have said only that skeletal remains, including a jaw with teeth attached, were found at Boulder Beach on Aug. 16 and that the case remains under investigation. A non-criminal dead body report was taken, and no identity, age of the remains, or cause of death has been released. Lake Mead has produced several major discoveries as water levels have fallen. Some remains found in 2022 were eventually identified as known drowning victims, while the barrel case near Hemenway Harbor turned out to be a homicide from the 1980s and remains unsolved. That history means this jawbone could belong either to an accident victim or to someone tied to a crime. So the fillings may help crack the case, but only after forensic testing, dental-record comparisons, and possibly DNA analysis confirm who the person was.

3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Aug 19

National Park Service rangers and Las Vegas police responded Aug. 16 after potential human remains were reported at Boulder Beach, with officials saying a jaw apparently surfaced.
Investigators are now trying to confirm whether the remains are human and whether they are tied to a crime; the case remains under investigation.
Lake Mead’s water level this month fell to a record low of 1,040 feet above sea level, with drought and climate change exposing more shoreline and submerged evidence.
The reservoir has yielded several sets of remains in recent years, including a body in a barrel long suspected to be linked to a decades-old Las Vegas mob killing.