鈥淲here are the bodies buried? Climate change is showing us.鈥�
If there was ever a headline that grabs you, that would be it. Bodies? Climate change? Here鈥檚 how the two are connected.
In the American West, the second-largest man-made reservoir has dropped to historic lows due to drought. Water flowing down the Colorado River fills Lake Mead, which is now drying up.
As the water recedes, dark secrets are floating to the surface after two sets of human remains were recently discovered.
Two sisters who were out paddle-boarding in the National Recreation area of Lake Mead stopped to explore a nearby sand bar when they discovered what they thought was an animal.
鈥淲e discovered more and more bones,鈥� Lindsey Melvin told a local news outlet, 鈥渁nd we found a jawbone and we realized this is definitely human.鈥�
Other human remains were found just six days earlier. Boaters enjoying a day on the lake made another grisly discovery, a decomposed body inside a rusted metal barrel.
Called in to investigate, Lt. Ray Spencer of the Las Vegas Police told CNN: 鈥淲e believe this is a homicide as a result of a gunshot wound.鈥�
The man had been shot in the back of the head, he said. As they try to identify the victim, another clue was the man鈥檚 clothing and shoes. They appear to be from the 1970s or early 1980s, and from a brand sold at K-mart.
Finding these bodies has rekindled interest in Las Vegas and its sin city past, when mobsters ruled the strip.
If anyone is an expert on all that, it鈥檚 Oscar Goodman. The former Las Vegas mayor was also a lawyer who once defended mafia figures like Anthony 鈥淭ony the Ant鈥� Spilotro.
An enforcer for the Chicago mob, Spilotro was assigned to Las Vegas in the 鈥�70s. Described as defiant and angry, actor Joe Pesci modelled his mob character in the movie 鈥淐asino鈥� on 鈥淭ony the Ant.鈥�
Goodman won鈥檛 speculate on who might be in the Lake Mead barrel but said, 鈥淚鈥檓 relatively sure it was not Jimmy Hoffa,鈥� referring to the former labour boss who disappeared in 1975.
鈥淭hey keep on calling me up asking, Oscar who did it?鈥� Goodman told The Associated Press. 鈥淎nd I said how am I supposed to know who did it? I didn鈥檛 order it; I鈥檒l tell you that,鈥� he also told NBC.
All of this has tongues wagging. Two former police officers who now co-host a Las Vegas podcast are offering a US$5,000 reward for qualified divers to find more barrels, and possibly more bodies in Lake Mead. David Kohlmeier told 麻豆传媒 his 鈥淧roblem Solver Show鈥� has received several tips from the public including two related to 鈥榤ob鈥� connections. He鈥檚 also heard from families of missing people including a father from Utah who disappeared in the 1980s.
鈥淲e just don鈥檛 truly know, there鈥檚 a lot of, you know, crazy people that do crazy things, whether it鈥檚 in Las Vegas or anywhere in the world.鈥�
Kohlmeier hopes the mystery surrounding the bodies will be solved soon to help bring closure to these cold cases. 鈥淪o I definitely want to close out any type of cases. People need justice, right? 鈥� or at least get some type of closure.鈥�
As water levels continue to drop during this mega drought, many suspect what lies beneath Lake Mead won鈥檛 stay hidden for very long.
Kohlmeier says, 鈥淢y gut says there鈥檚 probably more bodies."
