Following a multi-year investigation, the Nevada State Police have identified the man whose remains were found in a rusted metal barrel near Las Vegas.
The police have identified the man as Edward ‘Buddy’ Lelburian Jackson.
He was found in May 2022 with a gunshot wound to the head.
The corroded barrel came to the surface of Lake Mead after a drought caused water levels to drop.
The man’s identity could not be established until investigators located his family through DNA analysis, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.
Robert Price, a detective with the department’s Homicide Division, stated that there was no evidence to suggest the death was linked to any known criminal organisation, despite public speculation about a possible connection to the mafia.
“At this stage of our investigation, we have no information to support these theories,” said Price.
According to him, it is believed that Jackson died after being shot in the head in the 1980s. He added that at the time of his death, he was probably aged between 55 and 60.
He was originally from Arkansas but is known to have travelled around the western United States.
He had previously lived in California and Utah, officials say.
The bullet that killed him has still not been found, Price said at a press conference on Thursday, adding that there was nothing in the barrel apart from the clothes he was wearing.
Jackson had previously been arrested in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Price also noted that he had no known connections to Las Vegas, and his disappearance had never been reported.
Photo credit: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
His distant relatives in Arkansas told the police that he frequently moved from place to place.
“He travelled around the country,” explained Price.
The police are continuing to work on identifying the killer and the possible motives behind the shooting.
According to Price, Jackson was not known as a “gambler”, and it may be difficult to trace people who knew him whilst he was alive.
Lake Mead, a major US reservoir, supplies drinking water to 20 million people from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
Police had previously warned that as the lake recedes due to drought, more bodies are likely to be found there.
The bodies of three other people had already been discovered there, and the authorities have identified them.
It is believed that two of them died as a result of drowning, whilst the cause of the third death remains unclear.
The water level in Lake Mead has been falling since 2000. Droughts have become more severe in recent years, and scientists say that climate change is exacerbating the situation.
Prolonged hot summer weather is causing water levels in rivers and lakes to fall in several countries, leading to unexpected discoveries.
In Hungary earlier this year, the bodies of two German soldiers from the Second World War were recovered from the River Danube in Budapest.
A virtually intact motorcycle belonging to the German Wehrmacht was also discovered alongside the remains.
Recently, other artefacts from the Second World War have also been found in the Danube, including the fragmented hull of a vessel near Prahovo in Serbia.