For the sixth time in less than two weeks, a dead body has been discovered in a Houston-area bayou.
A spokesperson for the Houston Police Department (HPD) said Friday that it received a call at about 11:35 p.m. Thursday from someone who reported seeing a body in Buffalo Bayou near the downtown intersection of Commerce and Milam streets. The body police recovered from the bayou is believed to be that of a girl or woman, according to HPD spokesperson Shay Awosiyan.
Five other bodies were pulled from local bayous between Sept. 15-20, including 20-year-old University of Houston student Jade McKissic, and the body recovered late Thursday marks the 15th this year. The string of bayou-related deaths has fueled speculation and concerns about a potential serial killer, but that has been repeatedly refuted by Houston police and Mayor John Whitmire, who on Tuesday said 26 bodies were recovered from bayous last year.
“There’s no indication any of these are connected,” Awosiyan said Friday.
On Thursday, the Harris County medical examiner’s office released the identities of the people whose bodies were found in bayous between Sept. 15-20. In addition to McKissic, who was found in Brays Bayou, Rodney Riccardo Chatman was found Sept. 15 in Greens Bayou. Seth Joseph Hansen was found Sept. 16 in White Oak Bayou. Arnulfo Alvarado was found Sept. 18 in Buffalo Bayou, where Michael Andrea Rice was found Sept. 20.
The medical examiner’s office has not yet determined the cause of death of any of the six people discovered in bayous during the last two weeks. Houston police said foul play is not suspected in the death of McKissic.
The recent deaths have prompted questions about safety measures near bayous in the Houston area, where there are more than 2,500 miles of waterways, according to the Houston Parks Board. The nonprofit manages hike-and-bike trails along many of the bayous, which are controlled by the Harris County Flood Control District.
City of Houston leaders discussed the issue during a city council meeting this week, but expressed skepticism about the need and potential effectiveness of physical barriers such as fencing. They said alcohol, mental health and homelessness could be contributing factors to the recent deaths.
“I’m always willing to listen to the solutions that may be available, but I just don’t know how we can stop people’s bodies ending up in the bayou, or people being killed on a daily basis, other than trying to get a mindset of people to change those behaviors,” Houston City Council member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz said earlier this week.
Houston Public Media’s Michael Adkison contributed to this report.
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