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Fourth body found in Lady Bird Lake this year; no foul play suspected: APD
Austin police are investigating after another body was found in Lady Bird Lake on April 15. This is the fourth body found in Lady Bird Lake in the past two months.
AUSTIN, Texas - Austin police are investigating after another body was found in Lady Bird Lake on April 15. This comes less than a week after city leaders announced more safety measures.
The mother of one of the people found in the lake earlier this year tells FOX 7 she’s heartbroken to hear another body has been found.
This is the fourth body found in Lady Bird Lake in the past two months:
- On February 13, Jason John’s body was found
- On March 5, an unidentified body was found
- On April 1, Jonathan Honey’s body was found
- On April 15, John Christopher Hays-Clark’s body was found
"Every time I hear about a body, I feel like it's more painful. You know, when I think about another, it is heartbreaking," Jason John’s mother, Elsie John, said.
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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.
On Saturday, April 15, around 1:20 p.m., the Austin Police Department responded to the Longhorn Dam, which is the east side of Lady Bird Lake, not near the Rainey Street Entertainment District.
"Multiple people called 911 and said that a suspect appeared to be deceased and was in the water on this end of the lake," Austin Police Department Officer Michael Bullock said.
Police performed a water rescue and found 30-year-old John Christopher Hays-Clark. Investigators said they don’t suspect foul play.
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"Our initial information doesn’t show anything suspicious, but we don’t make that final determination until the Medical Examiner has been able to make their review as well," Officer Bullock said.
This comes after the city added temporary fencing and lighting to the trail near the Entertainment District and announced more Park Rangers would be stationed along the trail.
City Council also approved a resolution directing the Interim City Manager to look into a safety plan for the area including installing Halo cameras and working with bars to prevent over-serving alcohol.
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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.
"There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in Austin," John said.
These plans started after Jason John’s body was found in Lady Bird Lake in February, days after he disappeared heading home from Rainey Street. Since, three more bodies have been found in the lake.
"It is not easy for that community to hear this, you know, every, every week or every other week. Uh There is somebody's body there. But on the other hand, and the one thing I am a little happy about is after Jason's passing away, the Austin community, we were able to make the community aware that just be careful, you know, just be on the safe side," John said.
Police said they don’t know how long Hays-Clark’s body was in the lake. If you have any information, call the Austin Police Department.