A sunken boat is re-emerged as unprecedented drought reduces Colorado River and Lake Mead to critical water levels on September 18, 2022 in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) Skeletal remains found in a severely dry Lake Mead near Las Vegas last year have been identified as those of a man who vanished from the area in the 1970s, officials say.
Donald P. Smith of North Las Vegas was 39 at the time of his reported drowning in April 1974, according to a news release from the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner."The identification was based on DNA analysis and reports from the original incident," the office said. "The cause and manner of Mr.
Smith’s death was determined to be drowning and accidental." The office said skeletal remains belonging to Smith first were discovered in the Callville Bay area of Lake Mead on Oct.
17, 2022, by contractors doing work near the marina there. LAKE MEAD BODY IN BARREL IS VICTIM WHO WAS LIKELY SHOT DECADES AGO, POLICE SAY"Additional remains were found on Oct.