Published: 16:55 BST, 20 August 2026 | Updated: 21:34 BST, 20 August 2026
Human remains have been discovered in Nevada's Lake Mead after the vital water source reached record-low levels this month.
Las Vegas resident Dianelis Molina Cruz and her friends made the chilling find on August 16 along the shoreline of Boulder Beach, a popular spot within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, roughly 30 miles from the Vegas Strip.
Cruz told investigators that a friend's daughter was playing in shallow water when she came across the lower jawbone of a person, complete with teeth and dental fillings.
Soon after, more bones were discovered at the rapidly receding shoreline. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed in a statement that the bones did belong to a 'non-criminal, dead body' and were being taken for examination.
It was unclear how long the body had been submerged in Lake Mead, or if they were the victim of a crime. The Clark County Coroner’s Office is also involved in identifying the body.
Lake Mead is also the largest reservoir in the US, formed by the nearby Hoover Dam on the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona.
While it has been providing drinking water, household plumbing and hydroelectric power to millions in the Southwest for decades, the lake has also been in severe decline and now holds only a quarter of the water it used to 40 years ago.
As the water dries up due to severe drought and overuse, more and more bodies have been discovered in recent years – including murder victims.
Visitors to Lake Mead's Boulder Beach discovered a jawbone full of teeth and what appeared to be several ribs on August 16, 2026
Images of the human remained provided by witness Dianelis Molina Cruz revealed what appeared to be a person's lower jaw and several ribs
As of Wednesday, Lake Mead’s surface elevation was just under 1,040 feet above sea level, meaning the crucial reservoir is around 180 feet lower than it should be when the lake is completely full.
The last time Lake Mead was near its full capacity of 1,220 feet was around the year 2000. It has been steadily dropping over the last three decades due to heavy use in the Southwest, severe drought and lack of snow melting at its source in the Rocky Mountains.
This has exposed large portions of local mountains and shorelines which used to be completely submerged by the lake since it was formed in the 1930s.
Mario Lecano, who picked up the jawbone, told KVVU-TV that he was chasing his daughter into the water because she did not have a life jacket on at the time.
