Police release composite images of man found dead inside barrel at Lake Mead

LAS VEGAS – Law enforcement officials in Nevada released composite images of a man who was found dead inside a barrel in Lake Mead about 18 months ago with hopes of identifying him.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Section and the Clark County Coroner/Medical Examiner are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the victim who they believed died from a gunshot wound, according to a Clark County news release. 

The unidentified man’s remains were found on May 1, 2022, inside a barrel at Hemenway Harbor in Lake Mead, which is about 30-40 minutes southeast of Las Vegas. Recreational boaters at the lake discovered the barrel and reported it to authorities, Law Officer reported at the time.

LVMPD Homicide Bureau Lt. Ray Spencer said in 2022, “It’s a unique homicide investigation.”

The lieutenant said they’ve recovered remains in the lake before, but never like this.

“Even identifying the person is going to be an extensive challenge at this point,” he said at the time.

Detectives said the murder likely occurred between the mid-1970s and the early 1980s since the victim was wearing shoes that were manufactured during that era, said Spencer, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The images released on Wednesday show three different angles of a composite face which was created by the FBI’s lab in Quantico, Virginia, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles.

This homicide case was one of four cases involving several sets of remains found at Lake Mead in 2022. To date, the Coroner’s Office has been able to successfully identify decedents in three of the four cases, the Clark County press release said.

The process for identifying remains includes examinations to determine the gender and approximate age, height and weight of each decedent; the collection of DNA samples; and comparing findings to information about people who have been reported missing over the years. Below is a summary of the four cases.

• On July 25, Aug. 6 and Aug. 16, 2022, skeletal remains were discovered by park visitors near the shoreline of Boulder Beach at Lake Mead, all in the same general area. During the course of its investigation, the Clark County Office of Coroner/Medical Examiner confirmed that the three sets of remains belonged to the same person. The remains in this case have now been identified by the Coroner’s Office as Claude Russell Pensinger of Las Vegas. Mr. Pensinger disappeared July, 14, 1998. He was 52 years old at the time of his disappearance. The identification was based on DNA analysis. The cause and manner of Mr. Pensinger’s death is undetermined.
• On Oct. 17, 2022, skeletal remains were discovered in the Callville Bay area at Lake Mead by contractors doing work near the marina. Additional remains were found on Oct. 19, 2022, which were determined to belong to the same person as those remains found on Oct. 17. The remains in this case have been identified by the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner as Donald P. Smith of North Las Vegas. Mr. Smith was 39 years old at the time of his reported drowning in April 1974. The identification was based on DNA analysis and reports from the original incident. The cause and manner of Mr. Smith’s death was determined to be drowning and accidental.
• On May 7, 2022, skeletal remains were discovered in the Callville Bay area. Those remains 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.
• On May 1, 2022, 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 decedent is unidentified at this time.

Anyone with any information about the homicide is urged to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section by phone at 702-828-3521, or by email at [email protected]. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at (702) 385-5555, or on the internet at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.

Source: www.lawofficer.com