(Related Video) Another Body Found in Lake Mead 0:42
(CNN)
Human remains discovered in Lake Mead more than three months ago have been identified as Thomas Erndt, who is believed to have drowned two decades ago, Nevada authorities said Wednesday.
Erndt's remains, found May 7 in the area of the lake known as Callville Bay, were identified through investigative information, DNA analysis and reports from the original incident, according to a news release from the Office of Communications and Clark County Strategy.
The 42-year-old man from Las Vegas apparently drowned on Aug. 2, 2002, authorities said.
However, the official cause and manner of death were not determined on Wednesday.
Boats docked at the marina in Callville Bay, Nevada, on June 21, 2021, behind an area that was once underwater.
What has been found in Lake Mead
Erndt's human remains are among at least three bodies found since May in the lake, whose water levels have plummeted to record lows as drought sweeps the west.
The other human remains found include a body inside a corroded barrel with a gunshot wound, authorities previously said.
That case is being investigated as a homicide.
Those remains, which the coroner's office refers to as the Hemenway Harbor Doe, were from someone who died in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, according to police.
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The National Park Service claims it found a third set of human remains in Lake Mead amid drought
In mid-August, authorities recovered partial human remains on the Boulder Swim Beach portion of Lake Mead.
This was the third time officials have found remains in that area, though it is not yet clear if the three finds at Boulder Swim Beach all belong to one person or to different individuals.
The Clark County coroner is working to determine if the first two discoveries in that area, which were partial remains, are from the same person, a county spokesperson previously told CNN.
Identification challenges
The process to identify the human remains discovered in the lake represents a great challenge due to the advanced stages of decomposition.
This makes it difficult to extract DNA for identification.
The Clark County coroner's office uses X-rays, fingerprints, forensic dentistry and analysis by forensic anthropologists to extract information from a body, Melanie Rouse, a police officer and Clark County coroner, previously told CNN.
NASA releases new satellite images of Lake Mead, showing it has lost vast amounts of water since 2000
Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States, straddling the Nevada-Arizona border and serving about 25 million people in Arizona, Nevada, California, and Mexico.
Lake levels have recently dropped to record lows amid a mega-drought that has been exacerbated by the impacts of climate change.
At its height in 1983, Lake Mead was 373 meters above sea level.
But since this summer, the level has been around 316 meters feet, around 27% of its full capacity.
Megadrought affecting Lake Mead
The drop in water levels has revealed other things in the lake, including a sunken World War II-era ship.
Also the reservoir's original 1971 intake valve.
A WWII-era landing craft emerges in Lake Mead as water levels continue to drop due to drought
Elsewhere, declining water levels led to dinosaur footprints from about 113 million years ago being found in a Texas park, after parts of a riverbed dried up completely as the state grappled with harsh conditions. extreme drought and heat waves this summer.
Elizabeth Wolfe, Kaylene Chassie, Rachel Ramirez and Jenn Selva, all of CNN, contributed to this report.
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