Clothes and shoes could help identify a man found dead in a barrel in Lake Mead near Las Vegas

Clothes and shoes taken from the body of a man found dead in a barrel at Lake Mead may help identify him two years after his discovery. (NamUS)

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Clothes and shoes taken from the body of a man found dead in a barrel in Lake Mead may help identify him two years after his discovery.

On May 1, 2022, boaters discovered the man’s body in a barrel near Hemenway Harbor. County officials said the man died of a gunshot wound and the cause of death was homicide. 8 News Now Investigators first reported the discovery.

Photographs of the man’s clothing and shoes taken during the autopsy were recently added to NamU’s national registry, which contains information on missing and unidentified persons.

As 8 News Now investigators reported, Las Vegas Metro Police suspect the man was killed in the 1980s because personal items were found in the barrel. The victim was wearing clothing and shoes sold at Kmart stores in the mid- to late 1970s, police said.

The man was wearing a 2X Idletime short sleeve button-down shirt and jeans with a Vidal Sasson design on the pocket, according to NamUs. The jeans have a 46-inch waist and are 30-inch long.

The person was also wearing size 11 Trax tennis shoes and a silver Timex digital watch.

Last year, Clark County authorities released a digital composite sketch that they said captured the man’s appearance.

Homicide detectives had requested DNA data from several families to help solve the body in the barrel case, Metro Police previously told 8 News Now investigators. The families were chosen from several unsolved missing persons cases from that time.

There is no timeline or deadline for when the remains might be identified. The coroner’s office is working with an outside agency to conduct DNA testing, Rouse previously said. Although DNA can be obtained from bones, the quality of a deceased person’s remains plays a role in identification, the Clark County coroner previously told 8 News Now.

The coroner’s office has identified three other remains that have been discovered since the barrel was discovered.

Tips can be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers by calling 702-385-5555 or visiting crimestoppersofnv.com/report-a-crime. Information can also be texted by texting “CRIMENV” and then your message to “CRIMES” (274637). Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest.

The coroner’s office can be reached at 702-455-3210.

To reach investigative reporter David Charns with tips or information, email [email protected].