© Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty ImagesA rusted metal barrel, near the location of where a different barrel was found containing a human body, sits exposed on shore during low water levels due to the western drought at the Lake Mead Marina on the Colorado River in Boulder City, Nevada, on May 5, 2022.
Another set of human skeletal remains was discovered at drought-stricken Lake Mead on Monday - the fifth set of remains recovered since May and the third to be found at the lake's Swim Beach area.
National Park Service (NPS) rangers set up a perimeter in the Swim Beach area of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada to recover the remains after responding around 8 p.m. to a report of the grim finding, the NPS said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's dive team assisted in the recovery. Officials said that the Clark County Medical Examiner has also been contacted.
Lake Mead continues to shrink in the ongoing drought, August 2022
It marked the fifth time since May that remains had been uncovered as Western drought forces the shoreline to retreat at the shrinking Colorado River reservoir behind the Hoover Dam.
Human remains were last discovered earlier this month at Swim Beach.
While no details were immediately available about the fourth set of remains, investigators later said the remains may be linked to partial human remains found on July 25 at the water line of the swimming area.
"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," the coroner's office told the Las Vegas Review-Journal last week.
On May 1, the first set of human remains at the depleted lake was discovered inside a barrel near Hemenway Harbor. Police believe the remains were that of a man who died from a gunshot wound, and the body was likely dumped in the mid-1970s to early 1980s.
Six days later, authorities said human skeletal remains of another man were found at Calville Bay.
© AP Photo/John LocherA bathtub ring of light minerals shows the high water line of Lake Mead near Hoover Dam at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area near Boulder City, Nevada, on June 26, 2022.
The desert hold lots of secrets.