Fourth body pulled from Texas lake amid serial killer fears

A fourth dead body was pulled from a Texas lake in the latest disturbing find Saturday, sparking rumors that a serial killer could be on the loose.

John Christopher Hays-Clark, 30, was found floating in Austin’s Lady Bird Lake just before 1:30 p.m., Austin Police Officer Michael Bullock said during a press conference.

“Our homicide unit did respond to the scene and are investigating this incident. As of right now, it is a very unfortunate incident but up to this point, we have not discovered anything suspicious tied directly to this incident,” Bullock said.

The statement did little to quell the city’s concerns that a repeat murderer is on the loose — targeting young men around the age of 30.

Jason John, 30, was the first this year to be found dead in the Austin lake — his body was rescued from the water in February, one week after he was last seen on Rainey Street, a popular bar and restaurant strip about a mile from the lake.

One month later, an unidentified man was pulled from the water.

In April, 33-year-old Johnathan Honey was found dead in the lake just one day after he was reported missing.

Though the cause of Hays-Clark’s death is still not clear, police said the other three men died from a “combination of alcohol and easy access to Lady Bird Lake” and did not show signs of trauma.

The medical examiner will make the final determination, but Bullock said the police’s initial investigation “doesn’t show anything suspicious.”

Community members pushed the city council for answers last week before Hays-Clark was found dead, Fox News reported.

Christopher Pugh, whose son mysteriously went missing in 2019 after a night out on Rainey Street and was found days later with “serious” injuries by the lake, said the trend is too dangerous to ignore.

“There are too many people that have gone missing,” Pugh said during a council meeting. “There are too many people that have been injured. There are too many people that can walk off, and we still have absolutely no answers as to what has happened to any of those folks.”

The department has repeatedly thwarted rumors and fears that a serial killer has hit the city, mainly targeting young men who passed through the area.

“We definitely understand people that have concerns,” Bullock said.

“One thing to keep in mind is that Austin has thousands of acres of green space and waterways. It’s a very nature-focused large metropolitan area. So we would just encourage people to always be aware of your surroundings and if you can go with friends, keep yourself safe so that way we don’t have unfortunate incidents that can occur.”

“If we did have any concerns, that is not something we would try to be hiding from the public,” he added.

All four cases are still under investigation.