LORENA, Texas — More than 20 years after his drowning in Lake Mead a Central Texas woman spreads the ashes of her father at the lake he considered his "happy place."
25 News has exclusive photos from Tina Bushman of Lorena just outside Waco, decades after her dad Thomas Erndt drowned at the lake.
The drought uncovered his body in 2022.
Thanks to a DNA match from Bushman, the family would finally get the closure they were desperate for.
"He really was in his favorite place," Bushman told 25 News. "He wanted to be cremated and thrown in the lake which is kind of ironic."
Water levels are going back up again after recent rainfall out west.
Out of the four sets of human remains found at the lake last year three have been identified, all except for the man found dead in a barrel.
Investigators say he was shot.
Thursday, May 4 at 9 p.m., catch a special edition of 20/20, for a deep dive into the investigation, followed by 25 News at 10.
