Mob hit? Las Vegas police plan to release the ID of a man found in a barrel in Lake Mead

Las Vegas police are set to reveal the identity of a man discovered in a barrel at Lake Mead on Thursday, resolving a mystery that has lingered since his body was found in 2022. The revelation comes as the body of an unidentified victim has rekindled memories of Las Vegas' mob era, which officially concluded in the 1980s. Organized crime played a significant role in the city's development, and a body wrapped in a barrel was considered a classic mark of a mob hit.

Police scheduled a press conference for Thursday afternoon to disclose the man's identity. According to authorities, the victim was shot and likely died between the mid-1970s and early 1980s, as determined by the type of shoes found with him. He was dressed in a button-down short-sleeve shirt, light blue jeans, a silver wristwatch, and blue-and-white tennis shoes.

Lake Mead is currently at a historic low due to years of overuse, ongoing drought, and rising temperatures. The water level of this 90-year-old reservoir has steadily declined, exposing areas that were once submerged and sparking predictions of more bodies being discovered in the future. Just a few days after the initial discovery, a second, empty barrel was found close to the first. Shortly thereafter, paddleboarders uncovered human remains on a newly exposed sand bar, but officials determined no foul play was involved.

Additional human remains were discovered in August, but police again concluded there was no evidence of foul play. The Las Vegas Strip and upstream Lake Powell comprise the largest artificial reservoirs in the United States, supplying water to over 40 million people, tribes, agriculture, and industries across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and parts of Mexico.

In 2022, the lowering lake level exposed Las Vegas' uppermost drinking water intake, necessitating the switch to a deep-lake intake completed in 2020 to ensure the city's 2.4 million residents and visitors, casinos, and suburbs continued to have access to water.