The remains were one of several found that summer <\/a>at Lake Mead, where water levels have been declining for decades<\/a>, but his identity remained a mystery. The man was murdered through a single gunshot wound in his head, according to police. <\/p>\n On Thursday, Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse identified the remains as Edward Lelburian \u201cBuddy\u201d Jackson, a man in his mid- to late 50s at the time of his death.<\/p>\n Robert Price, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department homicide lieutenant, said during a Thursday news conference<\/a> that Jackson was from Arkansas and lived in California during the early 1970s with his wife. He also lived in Utah, where he had a criminal history in the early 1980s. <\/p>\n \u201cWith these new developments, homicide detectives will continue to work diligently to solve his crime,\u201d Price said. \u201cI\u2019d like to take a moment to thank the coroner\u2019s office and the science professionals who brought a name to this victim.\u201d <\/p>\n Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse speaks next to a projected image of Edward Lelburian Jackson during a news conference at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Headquarters.<\/p>\n (DJ Cabanlong \/ Las Vegas Review-Journal)<\/p>\n Jackson was married for a period of time with no known children, Price said. There was also speculation that Jackson\u2019s death was linked to an organized crime group, but there hasn\u2019t been any evidence so far to support that, he added.<\/p>\n Detectives have spoken to Jackson\u2019s relatives, who confirmed he was last seen visiting them in Arkansas in the early 1980s, Price said. So far, Jackson has no known ties to the Las Vegas area. <\/p>\n Jackson\u2019s remains were found<\/a> on May 1, 2022, in a barrel near Hemenway Harbor. Homicide detectives took over the investigation and determined he had been murdered right around the time when mob organization was dying out in Sin City.<\/p>\n Jackson\u2019s remains were found with clothing and shoes that were in fashion during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Price said. The investigation then ran cold when authorities couldn\u2019t determine his identity. <\/p>\n According to Rouse, the FBI lab in Virginia created three angles of Jackson\u2019s composite face and released it to the public in late 2023. Those images and the clothing he was wearing at the time of his death were uploaded to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons database. In early 2024, a bone sample was sent to DNA Labs International for genealogy profiling. <\/p>\n A possible match was sent to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, but it wasn\u2019t considered close enough to be a compelling match, Rouse said. <\/p>\n The forensic department at Oklahoma State University then took over genealogy profiling, according to Rouse. In late 2025, a possible match was made. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reviewed the case and a DNA packet was sent to Jackson\u2019s family and then returned. Oklahoma State determined that it was a compelling match and identified the remains as Jackson. <\/p>\n At the time when Jackson\u2019s remains were found, the West was gripped in severe drought. Las Vegas police Lt. Ray Spencer told The Times in 2022 that the shoreline would have been under 100 feet of water about 40 years ago. <\/p>\n Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States, has plummeted to its lowest water level since it was filled some 90 years ago. <\/p>\n In September, the water level at Lake Mead hit 1,037.8 feet above sea level, according to federal data<\/a>.<\/p>\n The record follows a winter that produced the worst snowpack on record in the Colorado River Basin. Melting snow provides water for the river, which is relied upon by more than 40 million people across seven U.S. states, tribal nations and Mexico.<\/p>\n![\"Clark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792179495_752_.jpeg\")
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