Mother Nature is beautiful, but she can also be deadly in an unassuming way. It may surprise you to know that one national park sees more deaths every year than the Grand Canyon or Yosemite.
You may be surprised to learn that Lake Mead is quite deadly. Although it lacks the heat of Yosemite or the jaw-dropping height of the Grand Canyon, it's racked up a number of deaths over the years.
"You'd be amazed by the number of people who show up asking where are all the bodies," said Emily Montague, park worker, to Daily Mail. Over a period of 10 years, 2013 to 2023, an average of 21 people have died at the national park. This outranks both the Grand Canyon and Yosemite, making Lake Mead the deadliest park in America.
Deadly National Park
It seems everyone just goes a bit crazy at the lake. There's cases of missing reports at Lake Mead every year as well as corpses that make their way to the surface after years as cold cases. Drownings and suicides as well as reckless behavior, play a factor in many of these deaths. It's a question that tourists themselves ask when seeing the lake. How many people have jumped to their deaths from the bridge and dam?
Meanwhile, homicide has played a factor in some deaths. Investigators found one body stuffed in a metal barrel, a homicide victim from the 1970s.
"Every time we come, we joke that we'll find a barrel," said Sheena Hernandez, a visitor to the national park. Another visitor told the outlet, "I don't normally believe in that stuff like things being haunted. But the bodies have me spooked."
Over the years, more than 300 people have drowned at the national park. The reason for the drownings may relate to the lake of resources, according to the family of victims. Serena Bell, widow of Gregory Bell, said it took rescue team two hours to arrive after her husband drowned.
"There's not enough resources out there, not enough processes in place. That's why it's the deadliest national park in the country," she said.
Meanwhile, others blame a lack of common sense on visitors at the national park.
"If you want to see how absolutely stupid people can get, come on down to the lake," said Kendal Bennett-Jordan, a server at the marina's Boat House Bar and Grill.
