Human remains discovered as water levels in Lake Mead receded were identified as 42-year-old Thomas Erndt, a Las Vegas man who drowned during a boating accident with his family 20 years ago, according to the coroner’s office.
“My dad was my everything and I was able to finally close some doors that were left open for years,” his son, who shares the same name, wrote on Facebook.
The younger Erndt, who now lives in San Francisco, explained that they’d often take trips to Lake Mead, and at midnight, their family ritual was to take a “midnight cruise, so basically, all of us would load up in the boat, we would go into the middle of the lake and we would jump off the boat, swim around and have our fun,”According to him, KVVU.
They would never forget the August 2, 2002 trip that changed their lives.
Erndt and his father took the boat out with his sister and some family members and friends at midnight. Erndt said that his father took his shirt off and jumped in when no one else was there. KSNV.
The elder Erndt was screaming in the water the next moment. “He was a big joker,” his son told KSNV, and said they didn’t initially realize that he was drowning and needed help.
KSNV reported that there had been no cellphone coverage and the water was pitch black with violent waves. Erndt drowned before they were able call for help.
The younger Erndt was only 10 years old at the time of his father’s drowning, and that was the last time anyone saw him again.
Erndt was one of five bodies that were discovered in Lake Mead after May’s water levels receded. Authorities found one set of human remains in a barrel. They were believed to belong to a victim in a mob-related shooting.
Experts believe that there will be many more bodies discovered in the months ahead.
Lake Mead’s water levels have been steadily dropping since 2000, with NASA satellite imagery confirms that the man-made reservoir’s water levels have hit their lowerst since April 1937 last month, at 27% capacity.
Due to the continuing drought in the Midwest, water levels are likely to continue to decline. Many point to the depletion of Lake Mead – a source of water for millions of people across seven states, tribal lands and northern Mexico – to be a clear sign of climate change.