Clark County Office Identifies Remains Found in Callville Bay Near Lake Mead

The Clark County Office Identified the Remains Found in Callville Bay Near Lake Mead on May 7

Author: Nevada Globe Staff

NEVADA – The remains discovered on May 7 in the Callville Bay area at Lake Mead have been identified by the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner as Thomas Erndt of Las Vegas. Mr. Erndt was 42 years old at the time of his reported drowning on Aug. 2, 2002.

The identification was based on investigative information, DNA analysis and reports from the original incident.

The cause and manner of Mr. Erndt’s death is undetermined.

As you know, the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner has ongoing investigations into other human remains found recently at Lake Mead.

On Aug. 16, partial skeletal remains were discovered in the Boulder Beach area. The remains were found by a park visitor in the water. No additional information about these remains is available at this time.

On Aug. 6, visitors to the Boulder Beach area discovered partial skeletal remains near the shoreline. These were located in the same area as partial remains that were discovered on July 25. At this time, the investigation into these remains includes working to determine whether the two sets of remains are from the same person or not.

On May 1, remains were discovered in a barrel at Hemenway Harbor. The decedent was a male who died from a gunshot would. The manner of his death was homicide.

The process for identifying the remains discovered at the lake includes examinations to determine the gender and approximate age, height and weight of each decedent; the collection of DNA samples, the quality of which can be greatly affected by time and environmental conditions; and comparing findings to information about people who have been reported missing over the years.

Credits: Dan Kulin / Clark County Office of Communications & Strategy