Lake Mead: Gun Found Near Spot Barrel Body Emerged

A gun has been discovered in Lake Mead, not far from where human remains were discovered enclosed inside a barrel.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told KTNV that a journalist discovered the gun at Hemenway Harbor. According to police, is not unheard of to find firearms in the lake. However, in May, a barrel full of human remains was discovered in the same area.

It has not been confirmed whether the gun is related to the human remains, although police said previously the remains belong to a shooting victim.

Lake Mead—a reservoir in Nevada and Arizona, formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River—is evaporating due to the megadrought gripping the western U.S. The lake's water levels are the lowest they've been since 1937.

When the human remains were first discovered, police determined that the person died in a mob-related incident in the mid-1970s to 1980, the time in which the body's shoes were manufactured.

The victim's identity remains unclear and investigations are underway.

Earlier this month, Fox5 reported that a woman believes that the remains belong to her brother, Bobbi Eugene Shaw. Shaw went missing in 1977, the sister Barbara Brock told the news outlet.

According to Brock, Shaw had been a part of the Mafia—an organized American-Italian criminal society—at the time of his disappearance.

The Mafia was present in Nevada—mainly in Las Vegas—until the late 1970s, and would use casinos and resorts for money laundering purposes.

At the time the remains were found, Brock was contacted by the police and asked to provide DNA samples for her missing brother, so that they could test the remains.

Brock's nephew was also asked to provide samples. The samples are now being used for an investigation into the victim's identity.

The gun has not been the only gruesome discovery uncovered recently.

As the lake continues to dry up, more and more dark secrets are being revealed.

So far, five sets of human remains have been discovered in the lake. A cause of death has not yet been determined for the other skeletal remains, with investigations ongoing.

The most recent set of remains were discovered at the Swim Beach area of Lake Mead National Recreation Area at 8 p.m. on August 15, the National Park Service said in a statement.

It is the third set of remains to be discovered at this particular area of the lake.

Although famed for the rapid evaporation, Lake Mead's water levels have risen slightly in recent days for the first time in three years.

This was due to heavy down pours in the area. Despite this, the lake still is only at 27 percent capacity.

Newsweek has contacted Las Vegas Police for comment.