North Las Vegas Woman, 53, Found Dead at Lake Mead, Police Seek Tips

Homicide detectives are asking the public for help identifying who killed Kareamah Bey, a 53-year-old woman whose body was discovered at Lake Mead National Recreation Area after she vanished from a North Las Vegas neighborhood. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department says Bey was last seen in the 3100 block of Thomas Avenue before she was found near Mile Marker 15, and investigators believe she had been dead for roughly two weeks by the time she was located.

LVMPD homicide detectives responded to Lake Mead National Recreation Area on July 1, according to KSNV, after Bey's body was discovered there. The Clark County Coroner's Office estimated that Bey was murdered and left at the location about two weeks before she was found, though the exact cause of death has not been made public. Detectives are asking anyone who knew Bey, or who has information about her whereabouts and activities before her death, to come forward.

Where Bey Was Last Seen

Bey frequented the area of Belmont Street and Carey Avenue in North Las Vegas, and she was last seen in the 3100 block of Thomas Avenue, according to the same report. That stretch of Thomas Avenue has drawn police attention before; the corridor between the 3300 and 3600 blocks was tied to a fatal drive-by shooting in February 2017 and the recovery of a murder suspect's vehicle in February 2015, per the Las Vegas Sun. It remains unknown how Bey traveled from North Las Vegas to the remote shoreline area near Mile Marker 15, and detectives have not identified any vehicles or persons of interest tied to that location.

Detectives are specifically seeking witnesses who may have seen suspicious activity near Mile Marker 15 or who were present at Lake Mead National Recreation Area in mid-to-late June. Bey had experienced homelessness prior to her death, a detail authorities documented as part of the investigation.

A Growing Unsheltered Population Countywide

Bey's case surfaces amid a sharp rise in unsheltered homelessness across Clark County. The 2026 Point-in-Time count recorded 8,859 people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January, a 12 percent increase since 2024, with 57 percent of that population living unsheltered, according to the Las Vegas Sun. In response, Clark County has committed more than $252 million through 2027 to build ten non-congregate temporary shelters and 31 rapid rehousing programs, alongside expanded street medicine outreach teams, the outlet reports.

Because Lake Mead National Recreation Area is federal land, the case is being handled under concurrent criminal jurisdiction that allows LVMPD homicide detectives to lead or assist investigations alongside National Park Service rangers, a structure established under Nevada law. That arrangement is why Metro detectives, rather than park rangers alone, are fielding tips and leading the public appeal in Bey's case.

Lake Mead's Shrinking Shoreline Keeps Yielding Discoveries

Bey's death adds to a documented pattern of human remains surfacing as Lake Mead's water levels recede during prolonged drought. In 2022, receding waters at Hemenway Harbor exposed a gunshot homicide victim sealed inside a corroded metal barrel, a discovery detailed by the LA Times. Federal hydrological projections released this month forecast the reservoir's elevation could drop toward 1,015 feet by July 2027, further reshaping shoreline access near remote corridors like Mile Marker 15, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Hoodline previously reported on a related trend when houseboaters found remains at Lake Powell as that reservoir also sank to a record low.

Bey's homicide comes even as LVMPD reported a 22 percent drop in murders across its jurisdiction from 2024 to 2025 following targeted enforcement efforts, per the Review-Journal. By early February, the department had recorded seven homicides year-to-date, a pace slightly below the same period in 2025, according to KSNV. Under Nevada Revised Statute 200.010 and 200.030, murder is defined as an unlawful killing committed with malice aforethought, and a first-degree conviction can carry a sentence ranging from 20 years to life in prison or the death penalty, per the Nevada Legislature.

How to Submit a Tip

Anyone with information about Bey's death is asked to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section at 702-828-3521 or by email at [email protected]. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Nevada at 702-385-5555, and tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward if their information leads to an arrest or indictment.