by

True Crime Girl

Within the past two years, the Austin, Texas Police Department has found 13 dead bodies in Lady Bird Lake. Of the 13 individuals found, 11 were confirmed males between the ages of 30 and 60, one was an unidentified female and one of the more recent victims has yet to be identified. Despite these shocking statistics, APD continually downplays any suggestion of a potential serial killer at work, attributing these occurrences to the lake’s proximity to numerous bars, rather than looking towards a missing factor to potentially explain interconnectedness between the cases.

In an article to The Independent, one devastated family, having lost two of their children to the Lady Bird Lake drownings, shared their grief and heartache. “You try to cope with the loss and push forward and then there’s another death and then another death,” Mitchell Gutierrez says. “It just rips off the band-aid of all the therapies I’ve gone to….”

Lady Bird Lake is a section of the Colorado River that runs six miles through Austin, Texas. The lake is 18 feet deep and is largely used for recreational purposes; no swimming is allowed. The lake is accessible from various streets in Austin, including Rainey Street and 6th Street, which are home to numerous bars and are popular tourist attractions.

The first occurrence in this series of deaths was on July 14, 2022, with 59-year-old Ricky Parks. After finding his body, APD reported that Parks had likely been in the lake for several days, but there seemed to be no foul play, and the case was closed. 

Similar to Parks’ case, seven other victims had almost the exact same story. They were found in Lady Bird Lake, their deaths were attributed to accidental drownings, likely caused by intoxication, and the cases were closed. Those victims include: 

• Christopher Gutierrez, age unknown – December 10, 2022 
• Kyle Thorton, 56 – December 28, 2022
• Jason John, 30 – February 13, 2023 
• Clifton Axtell, 40 – March 5, 2023
• Jonathan Honey, 33 – April 1, 2023
• Christopher Hays-Clark, 30 – April 15, 2023 
• Mogga Dogale, age unknown – June 27, 2023 

In addition to these cases, there is a case that alters the fact pattern.  On December 19, 2022, 45-year-old Josue Moreno was driving along Lady Bird Lake when he was shot in the head, sending him and his truck through a guardrail and into the lake. Shortly after being found, 18-year-old Joel Gonzalez-Paron confessed to Moreno’s murder, claiming he thought Moreno was someone else. Although not an excuse, this case was then marked as resolved and thereby closed.

In 2023, APD claims to have installed additional precautions around the lake, including fences and lights to hopefully avoid additional drownings. They even stated in a Spectrum News article that they were planning to install cameras by Lady Bird Lake and reach out to local bars about over-serving customers; however it is unclear if these actions were ever put into place. 

Unfortunately, this year has seen yet another string of deaths in or around Lady Bird Lake. On February 5, 2024, APD discovered the body of a woman in her 60’s in the lake. Once again, the case was ruled not a homicide.

Then in April — two additional deaths, both deemed isolated incidents. The first involved a body found just outside the lake as a result of what is suspected to be cardiac arrest. The second, on April 13, was an unidentified male discovered by a local fisherman. Although he was pronounced dead that morning, his death is not being investigated as a homicide.

The most recent death occurred on August 6, when the body of an unidentified male in his 60’s was discovered. After multiple bystanders reported his body floating in the water, APD arrived at the scene and determined that his death was caused by self-inflicted wounds. The investigation remains ongoing.  

Although we would love to believe that this is the last Lady Bird Lake victim, it seems safe to say that if similar occurrences happen in the near future, few would be surprised.  The Austin Police Department’s official position remains that the deaths are not suspicious.

As a result of the continuous deaths in and around the lake, concerned citizens have created a petition to draw more attention to the issue. The petition is asking for more answers, increased safety surrounding the lake and acknowledgement from the APD that the Austin drownings may not be accidents. 

Reflecting on my own experience at a college where the bars are situated directly next to the Hudson River, I can attest that swimming is not typically the first instinct of many intoxicated individuals. The frequency of these incidents should be a red flag to the APD and there are too many questions for which local residents, visitors, and families still don’t have answers. 

The quick turnaround of these cases, and lack of autopsies done on eight of the victims, certainly invites questions.  Were local bar cameras checked for recurring faces on the nights of each death? Were cameras actually put into place by the lake? If so, is there video footage of the most recent victim by the lake?  Have any of the victims’ financial accounts since been accessed?  Their identities stolen?  

Those are only a few of the questions that come to mind.  But there’s another: Shouldn’t the Austin Police Department have issued a full and detailed report to the public by now? 

 Thanks for reading The Ops Desk. Stay Safe!