Fears serial killer on the loose in major US city - as 19 bodies pulled from lake
A major city in the US is gripped with fear over a potential serial killer after 19 bodies have been pulled from its lake in three years.
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Over three dozen bodies have been found in and around Lady Bird lake in Austin, Texas, since 2022, local outlets have reported.
Only two were teenagers, including a body found on Tuesday - which has reignited the rumours.
The causes of death have been mainly attributed to accidental drownings. Second is suicide, as well as drug overdoses, and natural causes.
Only one case has been ruled a murder, and about half a dozen of these cases remain unknown.
Austin Police have denied the rumours.
Body found on Tuesday
A body was found around 7am by a paddleboarder near Riverside Drive and South Lamar.
Police say someone called 911 to report that they saw the body near the Butler Hike and Bike Trail.
While there is currently no positive identification, Austin police believe the body is likely that of a teenage boy who went missing on Sunday.
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Austin Police Department later said: "The teenager got off his kayak to stand in shallow water. He was not wearing a life jacket at the time.
"Investigators have determined that he was unknowingly standing near an underwater shelf, which is a sudden drop-off in the lake, when he stepped or slipped off and did not resurface".
The kayak was later recovered, with his backpack and life jacket still inside.
APD Detectives are responding to reports of a deceased person in the water near the 200 block of South Lamar Boulevard. The trail is blocked off in the area where Barton Springs enters Lady Bird Lake. PIO is en route. Media briefing time and location TBD.
— Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police) June 3, 2025
Police have sought to quash rumours of the so-called ‘Rainy Street Ripper’ despite there being half a dozen deaths where the cause remains not yet known.
They have suggested the occasionally wild party scene in downtown Austin has something to do with the problem.
Lady Bird Lake - known locally as Town Lake - is a river-like reservoir on the Colorado River.
The city created the reservoir in 1960 as a cooling pond for a new city power plant.
The lake, which has a surface area of 416 acres, is now used primarily for recreation and flood control.
The reservoir is named in honor of former First Lady of the United States Lady Bird Johnson.
