South SF Man Says Receding Lake Mead Waters Unraveled 20 Year Mystery of His Dad's Disappearance

The receding waters of Lake Mead near Las Vegas have brought a glimpse of closure for Tom Erndt, 31, of South San Francisco.

Erndt said his father, Thomas Erndt, was lost in the water there back in August of 2002.

Erndt said that this week, he and his family were contacted by the Clark County Coroner's Office in Nevada, and were notified that one of the bodies found at Lake Mead this year belonged to his father. He spoke with NBC Bay Area Saturday as he continues to process this new information.

Erndt said back on that night in 2002, when he was just ten years old, he joined his dad along with friends and family for a nighttime boat ride on Lake Mead. He said his dad loved boats and would often take loved ones for outings like this. Erndt recalled it being windy out that night and that no one else wanted to jump in the water.

"My dad just decided, ‘you know what, why not?’ he takes off his shirt, jumps in the water,” Erndt recalled.

"He was a big jokester, so he would always mess around with us, next thing we know he was basically screaming for help, and it just turned into basically a nightmare form there," Erndt continued.

He recalled friends and family trying to rescue his dad unsuccessfully that night. After several unsuccessful attempts to connect to phone service, Erndt said his sister eventually reached 911 and search crews headed out to the area soon after.

Erndt said he never saw his father again. He believes his father drowned, but does not have official confirmation of that.

For the past two decades, Erndt has been holding out hope his dad is still alive.

This year, declining lake water levels have led people to discover several bodies at Lake Mead.

Erndt said the Clark County Coroner's office asked him and his sister to submit DNA tests.

"When I got my DNA sample from the coroner office, I think I sat on it for like a week just because I don’t think I was ready for the answer," he admitted, noting encouragement from his fiancé helped him to complete the test in hopes of getting the closure he'd been searching for.

This week, he said the results of those DNA tests allowed the county to finally confirm: one of those bodies belonged to Erndt's father.

"It’s nice to have the closure, its nice to know that he’s at peace, but I don’t think I’m ready for my closure yet, its just been so hard to really think of it that way,” Erndt said.

As he tried to wrap his head around this new information, Erndt said that he is remembering the hobbies he used to enjoy with his dad like working on cars and playing with remote-control boats.

"My dad was pretty much my other half, he was anything and everything I could ask for," Erndt said of his father.

He is hoping the receding lake waters may bring long-awaited answers for other families too.

Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse told NBC Bay Area that remains discovered on May 7 at Lake Mead have been identified as Thomas Erndt of Las Vegas, who was 42 years-old at the time of his reported drowning on August 2, 2002. The cause and manner of Erndt's death are undetermined, Rouse said.

The coroner's office said the remains were found at the Callville Bay area of the lake. Erndt said that was the same area where his dad took the group boating on the last day he was seen alive.

DNA analysis, investigative information, and reports from the incident back in 2002 helped identify the body of Thomas Erndt, the coroner's office explained.

The Clark County Office of the Coroner/ Medical Examiner still has ongoing investigations into other human remains found at Lake Mead including at least three separate sets of remains found this year. The coroner's office noted that the collection of DNA samples from these remains can be "greatly impacted by time and environmental conditions."