MAP: Tracking deaths near Lady Bird Lake in Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) — People in Austin are questioning a series of deaths in lake waters in Austin.

Online reports have been swirling in recent weeks about a possible connection between the deaths in Lady Bird Lake.

This report aims to provide KXAN viewers with full transparency and facts.

As of now, there is no strong connection to the deaths, according to Austin Police. “There are a lot of allegations that there’s a serial killer, but there’s no proof or evidence in any of our investigations to sustain that,” APD Assistant Chief Jeff Greenwalt told KXAN in April.

APD said the "circumstances, exact locations and demographics surrounding these cases vary.”

“One common theme of the drownings in Austin this year is the combination of alcohol and easy access to Lady Bird Lake,” the department continued.

Deaths in Lady Bird Lake

So far this year, there have been at least four bodies that were found in Lady Bird Lake. Last year, there were also a number of reported bodies pulled from the lake. KXAN has requested the number of times Austin Police has investigated a body recovery from Lake Travis in the past five years.

KXAN is keeping track of the number of bodies in Lady Bird Lake in Austin.

Date Recovered	Victim	Body Found	Preliminary Findings
April 15, 2023	John Hays-Clark	Near 2700 block of Canterbury Street	APD: "No foul play or suspicious circumstances are involved"
April 1, 2023	Jonathan Honey	Near 10 Rainey St.	APD: Still under investigation
March 5, 2023	Clifton Axtell	Near 1100 W. Riverside Drive	APD: "Not suspicious at the time"
Feb. 13, 2023	Jason John	Near 30 East Avenue	Family: “There was no visible scarring or scratches on his body, so we won’t know 100 percent until the autopsy is done – but we don’t believe he was attacked."
Dec. 28, 2022		Near the Congress Avenue bridge	No preliminary findings reported
Dec. 25, 2022		Near the pedestrian bridge that runs alongside South Lamar	APD: Too early to identify the person or determine what caused their death.
Dec. 19, 2022	Josue Moren	Near 1100 block of W. Riverside Drive	Shooting/Crash. Man charged with murder
Dec. 10, 2022		Near South Pleasant Valley Road and South Lakeshore Boulevard	"The cause of death has not yet been determined," APD said at the time.
July 14, 2022		Near 9 East Ave.	APD: The body could have been in the lake for “a couple days.”

KXAN has asked Austin Police to help us identify the bodies recovered in 2022 and look for any that we might have missed.

Autopsy Reports

We have also requested autopsy reports from the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office (TCME) for all the people found in Lady Bird Lake this year. Those reports take up to 120 days to be released.

Not all bodies brought to Medical Examiner's Office for examination are autopsied. "The Medical Examiner may choose to either perform a complete autopsy or to perform an external examination only. Partial autopsies are not performed at TCME," according to the office's annual report.

If the bodies are not autopsied, the office does try to identify bodies taken in for examination. In 2022, only two bodies remain unidentified according to its latest report.

As the investigations continue, KXAN will continue to update reporting.