Body found in Lady Bird Lake identified, Austin police say

Body pulled from Lady Bird Lake near Longhorn Dam

Police say multiple people called 911 Saturday afternoon saying they saw a body in the lake.

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department (APD) has identified the body found in Lady Bird Lake near Longhorn Dam on April 15.

Police said around 1:21 p.m., officers responded to a check welfare urgent call in the 2700 block of Canterbury St. regarding a possible body in the water.

When first responders arrived, they found a body. He was later identified as 30-year-old John Christopher Hays-Clark.

While the investigation is still in the early stages, APD does not suspect foul play was involved based on the information provided at this time.

The investigation remains ongoing, and we have no further information to provide.

Family of Jason John speaks out after another body found in Lady Bird Lake

Jason John's body was found in Lady Bird Lake near Rainey Street in February; now his family is speaking out after another body was found in the lake on Saturday.

This is the fourth body to be found in the lake this year.

"We saw an officer, like, flagging people to go back the other way, and we're like, 'what's that?' I said to my friend, 'they probably found another dead body,' just joking," Paul Mason, who was walking in the area, said. "It's just very strange and kind of scary that it keeps happening. Is there going to be a fifth one next week, where does it end?"

Homicide detectives are investigating.

Longhorn Dam is about two miles from the Rainey Street area. At least four men have been found dead in the lake after going out in the Entertainment District. The last one was less than two weeks ago. The one prior to that was less than two months before.

Sister of man found dead in 2015 at Lady Bird Lake speaks out

Since 2015, 22-year-old Julio Santos III, and at least four other people, have either disappeared or been found dead in the lake near Rainey Street. This includes two recently in less than two months.

"It's kind of scary to just have a dead body show up really close to your house," Erich Hellstrom, who lives near Longhorn Dam, said.

"I don't want to buy into it, but the more bodies that rack up, the more I start to wonder. It makes it harder and harder to say it's a coincidence," Mason said.

Austin police stress there's no evidence of a crime.

"The department is very good at investigating these types of incidents, we always try to be open and transparent with the public, so if we did have any concerns, that is not something that we would be trying to hide from the public," Bullock said.