Las Vegas authorities say they have identified the suspected murder victim whose remains were discovered inside a barrel at Lake Mead four years ago, with a public announcement expected later today.
Falling water levels exposed the barrel and have also led to the discovery of other human remains in the lake, including those believed to belong to drowning victims and people who had been reported missing.
“The bad old days always resurface, don’t they?” said Randy Sutton, a retired Las Vegas police lieutenant who has followed the case.
Lake Mead Sept. 3, 2026, in Boulder City, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Sutton and other experts have speculated that the man could have been the victim of a mob killing.
“Two in the back of the head,” Sutton said, describing the style of mob murders associated with that era. “Bury them in the desert or Lake Mead if they didn’t want them found, or leave them where they lay to make a statement.”
A rusted metal barrel= near the location of where a different barrel was found containing a human body sits exposed on shore during low water levels due to the western drought at the Lake Mead Marina on the Colorado River in Boulder City, Nev., May 5, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
A group of boaters found the barrel at Hemenway Harbor on May 1, 2022, according to the Clark County Coroner and Medical Examiner’s Office.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Las Vegas Oct. 4, 2025. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Investigators suspected foul play immediately after discovering a gunshot wound on the man’s body.
Police said at the time that the victim was likely killed between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s, based on the clothing found with the remains.
New housing construction has also exposed human remains buried in locations that were once outside the Las Vegas area, Sutton said.
Las Vegas authorities said they would provide additional details during a news briefing scheduled for 3 p.m. PT, or 6 p.m. ET.