I wonder what’s under the water?

Swimming in lakes always gives me a blind feeling because from the surface I can only guess what’s below me. As drought in the Southwest continues sipping away at Lake Mead, Southwesterners seem to have a similar feeling as long submerged towns, vehicles and even bodies are being revealed.

A body in a barrel made headlines two weeks ago — boaters found the remains of a man shot in the head, stuffed into a steel drum and dumped, sometime in the 70s or 80s. He was declared the victim of a mob hit by excited true crime fans and rather more levelheaded investigators.

Then last weekend, two sisters out paddleboarding discovered a skeleton on a sandbar, this one likely belonging to a drowning victim. Authorities hope to identify the bones and bring closure to the person’s family.

There are undoubtedly more human remains to be found as the vast lake continues to drop, but the region has watched a museum of Nevadan and Arizonan history creep above the water line since the water levels began falling from their 532-foot peak in 1983. For example, the town of St. Thomas was abandoned and submerged after the Hoover Dam’s construction, but periodically rises above the waterline. Parts of an ancient Pueblo settlement called “The Lost City” have reemerged. A crashed B-29, which for now can only be visited with scuba gear, may see daylight for the first time since 1948.

Archaeologists and anthropologists once raced the lake to study the Lake Mead area’s artifacts. Now it’s happening in reverse: experts and everyday people alike are waiting at the speed of water for the next discovery.

And here in Southeast Missouri we have prominent rivers, a rich history of habitation stretching back millenia, and the occasional tragedy.

I wonder what’s under the water?

Samantha Tucker is a writer for the Daily American Republic. Contact her at stucker.dar@gmail.com.