Local authorities said this week that human remains uncovered in lower water levels in Lake Mead last year have finally been identified as a Las Vegas man who went missing for years.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office identified Claude Russell Bensinger, who was 52 years old when he died. Disappeared in 1998, Associated Press mentioned. His bones were discovered over the course of several days last year at the end of July and early August near the Boulder Beach swimming area.
Benssinger’s remains were one of several that were uncovered last year. Western countries were under a Historic drought, which led to a rapid shrinkage of water reservoirs in the region, including Lake Mead. The authorities are still working to Identification of the remains of a person found in a barrel who local police said had been shot in the head, reported the Associated Press. Because of the clothes and other items found in the barrel besides the skeleton, authorities believe the barrel was placed in the lake sometime in the 1980s. This particular group of bones was discovered early last May near a popular recreational area that was covered in several feet of water. Another set of bones was Found in the lake A few days after the discovery of the barrel.
The question remains, is there a possibility of finding more bodies in the largest water reservoir in the country? Things are looking relatively hopeful for the tank. Snowpack in the Colorado Basin, which melts and feeds into the Colorado River and then into Lake Mead above average this year. Nevada will experience a much smaller drought in 2023 than in 2022. According to the U.S. Drought MonitorLarge swathes of the state do not experience any dry conditions at all. This past April, nearly all of Nevada was suffering Intense and severe drought conditions. However, the country’s largest water reservoir is still seeing very low water levels, according to data from the reclamation office.
Colby Pellegrino Deputy General Manager Of resources for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, he still isn’t sure that’s enough to replenish the water in Lake Mead. Water authorities in the West are watching how melting ice will affect levels for the rest of this spring and into summer, KLAS News mentioned.
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(tags to translation) Mead