REVEALED: Body found in Lake Mead three months ago is identified as 42-year-old Las Vegas man who drowned 20 years ago

• Thomas Erndt, 42, of Las Vegas, was identified as the body found in Lake Mead on May 7 
• His remains were found at Callville Bay, located in the northwestern side of Lake Mead and is among the five sets found in the largest reservoir in the US
• Erndt was reported at the time to have jumped off a boat and had gone missing. He was marked as have drowned in the lake at the time 
• The coroner has not released the Nevadan’s official cause of death  
• Bodies have been popping up in the lake as the lake suffers low water levels, reaching only 27 percent capacity in July 
• The lake was placed into a Tier-2a operation level, meaning water restrictions increase across Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico

A body that was found in Lake Mead three months ago was identified as a 42-year-old Las Vegas man. 

Thomas Erndt drowned in Lake Mead on August 2, 2002, according to the Clark County Coroner. 

His remains were found at Callville Bay, located in the northwestern side of Lake Mead – the largest reservoir in the US – on May 7 and is one of the five sets of bodies found there since May 1. 

Many bodies have been popping up in the lake – which is rumored to be a ‘mob-hit dumping ground’ as some of the bodies were found with gunshot wounds similar to that of mob-style – as the water level has fallen past historic lows. 

They identified Erndt through ‘investigative information, DNA analysis, and reports from the original incident,’ County spokesperson Dan Kulin said. 

‘The cause and manner of Mr. Erndt’s death is undetermined,’ Kulin said, but it is suspected the Nevadan drowned. 

Thomas Erndt, 42, of Las Vegas, was identified as the bones (pictured) found in Lake Mead on May 7

Thomas Erndt drowned in Lake Mead on August 2, 2002, according to the Clark County Coroner

His remains were found at Callville Bay, located in the northwestern side of Lake Mead – the largest reservoir in the US. They identified Erndt through ‘investigative information, DNA analysis, and reports from the original incident’ 

In an August 8, 2002, publication of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Erndt had jumped off a boat and went missing. 

The Cincinnati Enquirer – where Erndt was reportedly formerly from before living in Vegas – reported at the time that the father-of-two had died in an accident. 

On a public obituary page, his sister-in-law Tina Tolocko wrote: ‘I think of you so often as you always looked out for me and I was always welcome in your home. You painted my car…picked me up when I was stranded 150 miles away…treated me just like a sister…you made me laugh so hard.

Many bodies have been popping up in the lake (pictured) – which is rumored to be a ‘mob-hit dumping ground’ as some of the bodies were found with gunshot wounds similar to that of mob-style – as the water level has fallen past historic lows

Authorities pictured in the lake, where they discovered Erndt’s body 

‘You loved your family and loved your kids. A very gentle soul whom I was so lucky to know. Then always and forever.’   

The bones and other fragments began emerging in May – first with a male body in a barrel. The person had been shot in the head, and a homicide investigation has been opened. It is believed the man was killed in the 1970s or 80s.

On May 7, they found Erndt. 

A third set of remains was found on July 26, at Swim Beach, and on August 6 a fourth set was unearthed at the same location. 

A fifth set of bones were found in mid-August at Swim Beach, marking the third set found in that spot – although, the corner said the two sets could be the same person. 

The lake hit 27 percent capacity in July, causing authorities to restrict water to Nevada, Arizona, and Mexico 

Lake Mead has suffered from low water levels – reaching only 27 percent capacity in July – as the western part of the US has fallen into a 23-year drought, which federal officials are claiming has reached crisis level. 

The lake was placed into a Tier-2a operation level, meaning water restrictions increase across Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico. 

Source: Read Full Article