As environmental crises cause a Las Vegas reservoir to recede, a trail of bodies from decades past is revealed.

The remains have caused a public stir, but authorities say the falling water level due to the climate crisis is the real scandal

A bone that was initially categorized as an animal bone is now being examined as human remains after a report by the 8 News Now Investigators.

Over the past two decades, Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, has dropped 180 feet and is now less than 30 percent full, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The water levels have dropped so low, grim discoveries are being revealed, and some believe it's only the beginning.

As climate change fuels grim discoveries across the West, Las Vegas is awash in bets on the identity of a suspected murder victim dumped in a barrel.

To many observers, the grim discovery inspired a callback to a darker Las Vegas past.

A changing climate is revealing decades-old items once submerged in lakes or buried in glaciers, including human remains. For forensic anthropologists, who are tasked with retrieving them, a warming world may mean more discoveries unveiled by receding water and ice. It also means recovering victims of climate change.

The case remains, who was found in a barrel at Lake Mead?

A changing climate is revealing decades-old items once submerged in lakes or buried in glaciers, including human remains. For forensic anthropologists, who are tasked with retrieving them, a warming world may mean more discoveries unveiled by receding water and ice. It also means recovering victims of climate change.