After a four-year investigation, Las Vegas authorities identified the man whose body was found stuffed inside a barrel in Lake Mead.
Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse said Arkansas native Edward Lelburian Jackson was in his mid-50s when he was killed. Jackson, who suffered a single gunshot wound to the back of his head, is believed to have been murdered in the early 1980s.
Boaters first discovered Jackson’s body near the Hemingway Harbor launch ramp in the lake in 2022, as the water receded due to ongoing drought. At the time, investigators estimated that his death occurred sometime between the mid-1970s and early 1980s based on his white and blue Traxx tennis shoes.
When Jackson’s body was initially found, some questioned whether the mob was involved
with his death, given Las Vegas’ notorious organized crime circuit. Lake Mead is about 20 miles from Sin City’s casino-dotted strip.
Las Vegas Police Lt. Robert Price said investigators "don't have any information to support those theories" at this point in the investigation, but have not ruled out possible mob ties. Jackson had no apparent ties to Las Vegas, but enjoyed traveling the country and previously lived in California and Utah, Price said.
While living in Salt Lake City, Jackson racked up a criminal record that included aggravated arson and a conspiracy to commit fraud case, Price said. Jackson's family in Arkansas said they last saw him sometime in the early 1980s, Price added.
Police are treating the case as an unsolved murder.
Price described the identification of Jackson as a "piece of the puzzle" in his murder and urged anyone with information to submit a tip anonymously. "As more as we get more and more pieces, we'll be able to keep on digging deeper," he said.
Other bodies have been recovered from the reservoir in recent years, including in August when the National Park Service found human remains floating in the water. Authorities have also retrieved the bodies of two men who reportedly drowned in 2002 and 1974.
This year in August, the reservoir hit a record-low water level, exposing new shoreline and uncovering more hidden debris.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Piece of the puzzle.' Police identify man stuffed in Lake Mead barrel
