The discovery made news in the United States and abroad. At Lake Mead, a short drive from Las Vegas in the desert, the bones of a man in an old drum were found as the reservoir’s waters receded in 2022.
The identity of the man, one of several remains discovered that summer, was a mystery. But the cause of death was more certain: There was a single gunshot to the head and he was murdered, police said.
On Thursday, Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse identified the remains as those of Edward Lelburian Jackson, a man in his 50s.
But who killed him remains unknown. Police said they believe he was killed in the early 1980s, based on leftover clothing and interviews with his family.
The discovery of the body and the Las Vegas story sparked speculation that organized crime may be involved.
“At this point in our investigation, we have no information to support these theories,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police homicide Lt. Robert Price said at a news conference.
Jackson was originally from Arkansas and had no known ties to Las Vegas, but he traveled around the country, Price said. There is no information that Jackson played, he said.
He lived in Los Angeles and was married in the early 1970s. There are also records from Utah, where he had a criminal history in the early 1980s for charges of aggravated arson and conspiracy to commit fraud, officials said.
Jackson, who also went by the name “Buddy,” had no known children, Price said.
The remains were found on May 1, 2022, in what a witness’s wife described at the time as a “very deteriorated” 50-gallon drum.
Shawna Hollister told Las Vegas’ NBC affiliate KSNV at the time that her husband heard a woman screaming, went to investigate and found a drum containing mostly bones, “except for part of her shirt and belt showing.”
The identity was determined through genealogical testing, officials said. Oklahoma State University, which handled the testing, had a strong lead this year, and a packet of DNA sent to a possible relative turned out to be a match, Rouse, the coroner, said.
Price said investigators spoke to relatives, but they were several degrees removed and details about Jackson’s life were limited.
“They only knew briefly that he was Uncle Buddy,” Price said. “It was very limited information about what he did in terms of work and what kind of personality he was.”
Price said police would investigate Jackson but were asking the public for help. He said someone who knew Jackson, the kind of person he was and who he associated with, would be able to provide vital information to investigators.
“This is a cold case. It will never be closed until we solve it,” Price said. “It’s a piece of the puzzle.”
Other remains discovered in 2022 were identified as those of people who may have drowned, the coroner’s office said: Thomas Erndt, 42, of Las Vegas, in 2002, and Donald P. Smith, 39, of North Las Vegas, in 1974.
The remains of Claude Russell Pensinger, 52, of Las Vegas, who disappeared July 14, 1998, were identified in 2023, the office said, but no cause or means has been determined.
Water levels in Lake Mead, a reservoir created by the iconic Hoover Dam, have declined following a more than 25-year drought, the worst in its history, according to Nevada’s Colorado River Commission. Rising temperatures and low snowpack also played a role, the report said.
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