Updated October 15, 2026, 8:01 p.m. ET
After a four-year investigation, Las Vegas authorities have identified the man whose body was found stuffed in a barrel in Lake Mead.
Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse said Arkansas native Edward Lelburian Jackson was in his 50s when he was killed. Jackson, who suffered a single gunshot wound to the back of the head, is believed to have been murdered in the early 1980s.
Boaters first discovered Jackson’s body near the Hemingway Harbor boat ramp in the lake in 2022, as the water receded due to ongoing drought. At the time, investigators estimated his death occurred sometime between the mid-1970s and early 1980s, because of his white and blue Traxx tennis shoes.
When Jackson’s body was first found, some questioned whether the mob was involved in his death, given Las Vegas’ notorious organized crime circuit. Lake Mead is about 20 miles from Sin City’s casino-studded strip.
Las Vegas police Lt. Robert Price said investigators “do not have any information to support these theories” at this point in the investigation, but did not rule out possible mob connections. Jackson had no apparent ties to Las Vegas, but enjoyed traveling around the country and previously lived in California and Utah, Price said.
While living in Salt Lake City, Jackson accumulated a criminal record that included aggravated arson and conspiracy to commit fraud, Price said. Jackson’s family in Arkansas said they last saw him in the early 1980s, Price added.
Police are treating the case as an unsolved murder.
Price described Jackson’s identification as a “piece of the puzzle” in his murder and urged anyone with information to submit a tip anonymously. “As we get more and more pieces, we can continue to dig deeper,” he said.
Other bodies have been found in the reservoir in recent years, including in August when the National Park Service discovered human remains floating in the water. Authorities also found the bodies of two men believed to have drowned in 2002 and 1974.
This year in August, the reservoir reached a record water level, exposing new shoreline and uncovering more hidden debris.
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