Sixth set of human remains found in vanishing Lake Mead

Yet another set of human remains was pulled from the shallows of Lake Mead this week, marking the sixth time this year the receding water levels uncovered bodies from the past.

The National Park Service confirmed on Wednesday that a human bone discovered by a diver directed a park dive team to an area where the skeletal remains were found.

One set of remains, discovered in the Callville Bay area, were subsequently identified by medical examiners as those of Thomas Erndt, a 42-year-old father who drowned in 2002. Several other relics from the past have also emerged this year, including a sunken second world war-era vessel designed to carry troops into beachfront battles during deployment at Normandy. A B-29 plane, still shadowed by the depths, is becoming visible for the first time in decades. More artifacts and bones are expected to surface as water levels continue to wane.

But even with the finds, the drought has wrought more destruction than opportunity for discovery. The findings are symptoms of extreme drought conditions plaguing the American west that are only expected to intensify in the coming years.