LAS VEGAS (KLAS)– A bone that was found at Lake Mead in July of last year, has been identified as a human bone, according to the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s office.
The bone was investigated as human remains after the 8 News Now Investigators exposed that it was likely a human femur. It had previously been categorized as an animal bone by the National Park Service.
The bone was likely from a male body, according to John Hassett who heads the office. Additional information “suggests several months in a wet environment,” he wrote in a text to the Investigators.
As of Nov. 30, there was no positive identification and the investigation was at a standstill, according to Hassett. “Now we wait for a law enforcement agency or private investigator who may have further details to come forward,” he wrote.
In August, the Investigators reported that the bone was likely a human femur but was not being investigated as human remains. A public records request later revealed that the bone had been categorized as an animal bone and that the National Park Service had placed the bone in storage.
It appeared that there had been a miscommunication between the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s office and the National Park Service after the bone was turned over to the park service.
The Barker family said that they found the bone in July of 2021 near South Cove in Arizona, where the Colorado River begins to form Lake Mead. “I was like ‘oooh, look at that!’ And then I went off to my grandpa and I go ‘Grandpa, look what I found!” Kimmee Barker said. Her grandfather, Bruce later contacted the National Park Service with hopes that a possible identification could help bring another family closure.
“People need closure. We’ve seen the bodies here now at Lake Mead and it’s bringing families closure,” Bruce Barker said.