Body found in Lady Bird Lake not ruled as a homicide: APD
AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department is investigating after a body was found in Lady Bird Lake on Monday.
According to Austin-Travis County EMS, around 1:31 p.m., a 911 caller reported seeing a body in Lady Bird Lake in the 300 block of W Cesar Chavez.
On Wednesday, Feb. 7, APD said the body was identified as a female and is not being investigated as a homicide. A toxicology report is still pending.
"Our initial thoughts were hopefully it was not our friend, you know we just don't want it to be our friend," says Jaydon Wolf, who is searching for his missing friend.
Jaydon Wolf and a group of friends were drawn to Lady Bird Lake, after hearing Austin police recovered a body from the water while they were searching for their friend.
"He went missing on Saturday night around 11:30 p.m. on 6th Street. We were all at the bars. We thought he had gone home with someone else, and he didn’t end up coming home, so that is what drew us out here," said Wolf.
Around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 5, Austin police received a check welfare urgent call.
"A caller stated on the north side of Lady Bird Lake, 20 feet in the water, he thought he had found a dead body," says Officer Ariel Crumes, with Austin Police Department.
According to police, they arrived at the scene to find a body in the lake along Cesar Chavez between South First Street and Congress, bringing fear to the group of friends and those that frequent the trail along the lake.
"It is not saying whether it is a male or female, so we are kind of hoping to figure out a little more information and get the word out that our friend is missing. We are from Utah. We are here from work, so there is no reason he should be missing at all. We all got here on Friday night, we were here for work, and then he went missing Saturday night," said Wolf.
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"It would be hard to see how this could be an accident. There is pretty shallow water here. You have signs everywhere, so I don’t know, it would be hard to see. An accident, I think if that was the reason given, it would be hard to believe. It has to be something going on with all the previous bodies found," says Abdul Tabbakha, a biker at Lady Bird Lake.
Abdul Tabbakha rides his bike on the trail daily and says this is not the first time a body has been found in the lake. Last year, there were multiple bodies found, renewing fears of a serial killer.
Last year, the City of Austin pledged a million dollars for cameras and lighting near Rainey Street. Those improvements are set to be installed this summer, less than a mile away from where this body was found.
"I know we have no details here, yet, but if it is the same person, the same story, it is kind of crazy," says Abdul Tabbakha.