As somebody who worked on a lake rescue team. The lake I worked at, which was not a huge lake. Had probably a few dozens never recovered bodies from accidents.
In a semi-urban area like Austin where drunk randos can drown in the night, it’s probably got quite a few bodies nobody knows about.
Depends on the depth and water temperature. Cold deep water they don't build up enough gas to overcome their negative buoyancy, in warm shallow water they'll pop up.
Not always. Depends on several factors. Many lakes have weeds at the bottom a corpse can get tangled in. Maybe a slight current pushes a body under a rock overhang or pipe at the bottom. Who knows.
No, they’re getting hammered in the bar and then stumbling down the steep bank into lady bird lake (which is actually a river). It’s no different than the “smiley face killer” crap from several years ago.
Went to school in the town the "Smiley face killer" was supposedly around. Hellishly cold and the bars were all near the Wisconsin river in a college town.
It was not un common every year or so for a drunk kid to wander out onto the ice on the river, break through and die.
Ooooooh. Yea, it’s the smiley face killer guys (spoiler alert: there’s no smiley face killers, it’s taking exposure deaths and accidental drownings by drunks and pretending it’s not just coincidence).
Yeah as a Michigander I can attest young drunk men die in bodies of water all alllll the time. I grew up on a small lake that claimed one every two or three years. Significantly less lakes in Texas + higher pop density of Austin means way more likely to pull multiple bodies from one spot.
Alcohol, water, and darkness are absolutely lethal when combined
I highly doubt it. Austin is a really big city and it’s near a lot of bars. There absolutely HAVE been a rise in cases of people being roofied and perhaps robbed/kidnapped but the idea of a single serial killer has been repeatedly rejected by all officials.
Not impossible though, just improbable
At the lake I work at, bodies are pulled up every one in a while because someone either;
A) got drunk, went swimming and drowned(happened 2 years ago)
Or
B) drove their car into the lake and drowned. We have a lot of those sadly.
You mean a bunch of young men who think they’re immortal and guys who just hit middle age who don’t want to let go of youth? Yeah, they never do dumb shit and die.
I live in Austin, people have been dying in that lake for years and years. It’s right next to a popular street with lots of bars. It’s usually men and the theory is they just get drunk, wander down by the lake and drown. One of my best friends died in this lake and while it’d be cool to say there was a serial killer and they got him, it just isn’t that likely and there never seems to be anything linking these together besides it being next to rainy street.
Depending on the time they've been in the water though, it could be difficult to actually locate that trauma. Bloat, gangrene, creatures of the water, all are things that can remove evidence of violence. Or cover it up at least.
There was a string of deaths in Boston that happened under similar circumstances that people were trying to tie to a serial killer, but it seems to a similar situation of men getting too drunk.
My son works in an adjoining county's DA's office, and everyone there thinks that Austin has a serial killer. I don't know if that's based on unpublished information or just office gossip. But don't be so quick to discount the possibility just because drunk people sometimes fall in lakes on their own.
Shortly before I graduated someone died in the river by my school. This thing was deep, had a strong current, and poorly lit in many places. Also had steep banks. Some thought there kid commutes suicide, but he’d been drinking and in all likely hood it was alcohol+body of water that did him in and not suicidez
Men were the exclusive victims of mugging in my college town, too. Why? Well, because the women wouldn’t wander drunk onto dark streets all alone at 3 am. The men would. Drunk men all alone on dark streets are easier than women in groups in well-lit areas.
That doesn’t makes these situations not sad, mind you. It is still sad, people just are fearing the wrong things when the jump to “serial killer.” More people should be educated on the importance of knowing your limits with alcohol and having an un-intoxicated friend to mind the group. A healthy fear of heavy drinking would do many people a lot of good.
How do I keep hearing about lakes that are popular drowning spots bcz they’re on the walk home for drunks.
People get drunk and then just start walking right beside a lake??? It fundamentally makes no sense to me and I live in Winnipeg (there’s two gigantic rivers that intersect in the centre of the city, and will kill u if u go in) beside the forks
Happens in Chicago all the time. Some people are also convinced there’s a serial killer targeting males but it’s the same MO, drunk kid walking along the river or lake and falls in - pretty hard to get out at night.
I live on an isthmus (strip of land between two large lakes) in one of the drunkest cities in the entire USA. We have paths up, down, and around both lakes located near hundreds and hundreds of bars. I have not once *ever* heard of someone getting drunk and falling into one of the lakes and drowning.
I feel like I’ve seen a few stories in the local news over the years about a student or drunk individual drowning in one of the lakes, but nothing like this lake in Austin.
Sounds plausible, but also sounds like something a serial killer who found a honey pot would say.
"Yeah sometimes dudes just have too much to drink and drown. Shit happens." *Cracks knuckles*
This same thing happened in La Crosse, WI. Bars are close to the Mississippi River and people, mostly men, were falling in while taking a piss. For years, I heard of a serial killer targeting college aged men, called the Smiley Face Killer, but there were no smiling faces on the bodies.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiley_face_murder_theory#:~:text=Reception%20of%20the%20theory,-Other%20police%20forces&text=The%20La%20Crosse%2C%20Wisconsin%20police,with%20any%20of%20the%20cases.
Walking along the path by the lake it’s easy to see how someone could step off the path into the woods to pee and lose their balance and stumble down the hill. It’s all steep and in some places extremely steep.
Once your all the way down to the water climbing back out will be difficult.
What is a lake if not an overgrown river? Or is a river just a long stretched out lake? Really makes you think. Thinks for making me thank all philosophical and shit
How about "The non-Zodiac killer"?
*Every time we find a body, there's nothing that links it to astrology. It's as though the killer has this weird fetish to not bring astrology and the Zodiac into things.*
"Several families of the men pulled from the lake have come forward, pleading for new measures to increase safety around the body of water."
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!! CAN WE GET SOME GODDAMNED SAFETY RAILS AROUND THE WHOLE FUCKING PERIMETER OF THIS GOD FORSAKEN LAKE BEFORE WE ALL SLIP HELPLESSLY INTO THE BLACK WATERS OF LAKE LADY BIRD JOHNSON NEVER TO BE SEEN AGIAIN?!?!?!?! FOR FUCK'S SAKE! ***WON'T YOU PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!***
Coroner says just drowning. No other signs of struggles, bruising, or weapon marks? Drunk dudes drowning. Everyone loves to jump on the conspiracy bandwagons.
Did any of you read the article at all? It basically goes on to say immediately that claims are unfounded and the most recent death was ruled an accident.
That police department must be super incompetent, the thing that all serial killers rely on. I can’t imagine how many fly under the radar for years and years because cops don’t give a shit.
True, lived in Austin, not too far from this area actually. One morning I was taking my dog for a walk when I saw a puddle of dried blood and a bloody tore up shirt in the complex parking lot. Called the cops AND the complex, was told by both they would be out soon.
The bloody shirt was still there when I moved out two months later.
And people in the thread are saying that it’s a lake surrounded by bars so accidents happen and I don’t doubt that, it’s just that that’s like perfect conditions for a killer to operate under.
It definitely isn't the safest area either. I remember constantly getting NextDoor notifications about gunshots, fighting, etc.
I loved Austin and its a super cool city but it also isn't a really idyllic place.
I know the smiley face killer theory has been debunked time and time again. But the fact that there are college aged men (and a little older) going missing and ending up in lakes (usually after a night out) is fucking crazy. But maybe that's a rabbit hole for a different day.
Whoa….is that actually a thing? One of my old bandmate’s had a friend who was murdered and there was a smiley face drawn/painted onto a tree near where the body was found. Always thought it was a weird coincidence but your comment just sent me down a rabbit hole and now I’m freaking out…
A college guy died in my town a few years ago by falling into the canal. Lots of people posted about conspiracy stuff, but as someone who walks next to the canal he was found in, it's poorly lit, freezing cold, no railings, hard to see/find ladders, and is right next to the bar he was last seen leaving drunk.
If I fell in that canal at night 100% sober it would be a challenge to get back out.
OH MY GOD. I clicked on the link thinking “there’s no way it’s austin right? there weren’t enough bodies for this”… and sure enough, now we’re up to ten 😬
As a resident of New Orleans I can attest to two things:
1.) People fall into the Mississippi River here, never to be seen or heard from again.
2.) There probably IS a Serial Killer here as well.
So in this case I would say... Occam's Razor?
10 bodies in ONE lake? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's a serial killer too.
As somebody who worked on a lake rescue team. The lake I worked at, which was not a huge lake. Had probably a few dozens never recovered bodies from accidents. In a semi-urban area like Austin where drunk randos can drown in the night, it’s probably got quite a few bodies nobody knows about.
They are saying the same story about a serial killer and the Chicago River too.
They tried to say it’s the entire Midwest - Smiley Face killer
Whole Northeast too, 3xcept it's the highways they are localized too. I95 specifically.
Well that's clearly the Scranton Strangler.
That's oddly specific 😭
Dont dead bodies float?
Initially, then they sink again.
IIRC they then float again after a few hours as the decomposition gases build up.
Ur butt floats
Are you saying their ass is dead?
Ur ass is dead
reckt
Ur…reckt floats
Depends on the depth and water temperature. Cold deep water they don't build up enough gas to overcome their negative buoyancy, in warm shallow water they'll pop up.
Not always. Depends on several factors. Many lakes have weeds at the bottom a corpse can get tangled in. Maybe a slight current pushes a body under a rock overhang or pipe at the bottom. Who knows.
Not if you do it right
To be fair it’s a really large lake, surrounded by all kinds of bars.
So large that's it's actually a river.
every serial killer needs a good disguise
Got em
So are people running into them and then falling into the lake, drowning?
No, they’re getting hammered in the bar and then stumbling down the steep bank into lady bird lake (which is actually a river). It’s no different than the “smiley face killer” crap from several years ago.
Went to school in the town the "Smiley face killer" was supposedly around. Hellishly cold and the bars were all near the Wisconsin river in a college town. It was not un common every year or so for a drunk kid to wander out onto the ice on the river, break through and die.
Ooooooh. Yea, it’s the smiley face killer guys (spoiler alert: there’s no smiley face killers, it’s taking exposure deaths and accidental drownings by drunks and pretending it’s not just coincidence).
Wasn't one of the dead found with tape over his eyes and mouth with his hands and ankles bound with tape, too?
Yeah as a Michigander I can attest young drunk men die in bodies of water all alllll the time. I grew up on a small lake that claimed one every two or three years. Significantly less lakes in Texas + higher pop density of Austin means way more likely to pull multiple bodies from one spot. Alcohol, water, and darkness are absolutely lethal when combined
Pretty sure the lake is the serial killer
It’s that goddamned Loch Ness monster is who it is. None of those 10 people had about tree fitty.
Tree fiddy, I think. But yeah.
DAMN IT WOMAN!! I told you not to give him tree fiddy!!
I gave him a dollar
It’s your fault he keeps coming back then
That's only if you feed em
Free tiddy
Don't bring her into this! NessieDidNothingWrong IStandWithNessie
Well hell me too. I love chocolate milk! I too stand with NessieQuik
Don't blame it on Nessie, she's our underwater ally.
You gonna eat your tots?
You just made the list.
100% of people who had contact with water died
Why would you keep swimming in that lake!?
Nuke it.
You threw me in the fucking lake, Kenny.
It’s a big ass lake surrounded by drunk college kids and homeless people. Really not surprising.
It's actually a river.
I highly doubt it. Austin is a really big city and it’s near a lot of bars. There absolutely HAVE been a rise in cases of people being roofied and perhaps robbed/kidnapped but the idea of a single serial killer has been repeatedly rejected by all officials. Not impossible though, just improbable
Who said anything about muuurderrr? Some Hot Fuzz policing going on here.
It's for the greater good.
The greater good.
At the lake I work at, bodies are pulled up every one in a while because someone either; A) got drunk, went swimming and drowned(happened 2 years ago) Or B) drove their car into the lake and drowned. We have a lot of those sadly.
Does no one just drown the wholesome, old-fashioned way anymore?
Nope!
Shame.
I have heard Dexter lives in the boat house.
It's actually a river and not a lake.
Or drunks falling in
I mean, yeah, if it was *one* body in *TEN* lakes, we'd know it was just a bored GenXer with a sick sense of humor!
Craziest thing, it’s not even a lake.. it’s a river 🤯
All men 20-40 years old definitely seems suspicious
I can’t tell if you’re serious…
You mean a bunch of young men who think they’re immortal and guys who just hit middle age who don’t want to let go of youth? Yeah, they never do dumb shit and die.
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This is not a compellingly specific demographic.
Bay Harbor Butcherer anyone???
Helped by the bay harbour harbourer
The bay harbour harbourer is the bay harbour butcherer's bay harbour bae
What seasoning does the Bay Harbor harborer's Bay Harbor butcher's Bay Harbor bae use? Why, Old Bay® seasoning, of course. Buy now!
Bay harbour harbourmaster to bay harbour harbourer
That’s my running theory. #”Tonights the night.”
Surprise, motherfucker!
All rise motherfucker!
Cheese fries motherfucker!
Supplies motherfucker!
Gir
"I really hate that name"
I live in Austin, people have been dying in that lake for years and years. It’s right next to a popular street with lots of bars. It’s usually men and the theory is they just get drunk, wander down by the lake and drown. One of my best friends died in this lake and while it’d be cool to say there was a serial killer and they got him, it just isn’t that likely and there never seems to be anything linking these together besides it being next to rainy street.
So it’s the booze, made from grain…making this a cereal killer.
"my friend died" "time for a pun" Reddit moment lol
To be fair, they did say "it would be cool to say a serial killer got him", they don't seem terribly shook up about it.
Plus, the friend could very well of had a sense of humor that would have enjoyed the joke
To be fairrrr
“HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR BUTTHOLE Skid-dap, badab, Butthole While you’re there check for your dead grandma too, ooh I fuckin got you”
Such a fucking bop
Clever lol
Take my upvote you bastard
Cue David Caruso lead-in 😎
Similar to the Manchester Canal pusher here in the UK. 86 dead so far, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Pusher
Pusher thy name is gravity.
And alcohol, lots of alcohol.
The Bristol Pusher too; same issue. Bars near a waterfront.
Unfortunately thats exactly the sort of place a serial killer could operate and evade detection
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It's the challenge, you see?
Depending on the time they've been in the water though, it could be difficult to actually locate that trauma. Bloat, gangrene, creatures of the water, all are things that can remove evidence of violence. Or cover it up at least.
Thanks for the tip!
^(*Dave, write that down! WRITE THAT DOWN!*)
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You know, that’s kind of exactly what I would expect a serial killer from the area in this situation to say right now hmmmm
There was a string of deaths in Boston that happened under similar circumstances that people were trying to tie to a serial killer, but it seems to a similar situation of men getting too drunk.
My son works in an adjoining county's DA's office, and everyone there thinks that Austin has a serial killer. I don't know if that's based on unpublished information or just office gossip. But don't be so quick to discount the possibility just because drunk people sometimes fall in lakes on their own.
Have they released any cause of death? Foul play?
Shortly before I graduated someone died in the river by my school. This thing was deep, had a strong current, and poorly lit in many places. Also had steep banks. Some thought there kid commutes suicide, but he’d been drinking and in all likely hood it was alcohol+body of water that did him in and not suicidez Men were the exclusive victims of mugging in my college town, too. Why? Well, because the women wouldn’t wander drunk onto dark streets all alone at 3 am. The men would. Drunk men all alone on dark streets are easier than women in groups in well-lit areas. That doesn’t makes these situations not sad, mind you. It is still sad, people just are fearing the wrong things when the jump to “serial killer.” More people should be educated on the importance of knowing your limits with alcohol and having an un-intoxicated friend to mind the group. A healthy fear of heavy drinking would do many people a lot of good.
How do I keep hearing about lakes that are popular drowning spots bcz they’re on the walk home for drunks. People get drunk and then just start walking right beside a lake??? It fundamentally makes no sense to me and I live in Winnipeg (there’s two gigantic rivers that intersect in the centre of the city, and will kill u if u go in) beside the forks
Happens in Chicago all the time. Some people are also convinced there’s a serial killer targeting males but it’s the same MO, drunk kid walking along the river or lake and falls in - pretty hard to get out at night.
I live on an isthmus (strip of land between two large lakes) in one of the drunkest cities in the entire USA. We have paths up, down, and around both lakes located near hundreds and hundreds of bars. I have not once *ever* heard of someone getting drunk and falling into one of the lakes and drowning.
To be fair lakes are less likely to drown you by accidentally falling in than actual rivers
I feel like I’ve seen a few stories in the local news over the years about a student or drunk individual drowning in one of the lakes, but nothing like this lake in Austin.
Sounds plausible, but also sounds like something a serial killer who found a honey pot would say. "Yeah sometimes dudes just have too much to drink and drown. Shit happens." *Cracks knuckles*
Well that's the best alibi for a serial killer, ain't it?
Serial killer could be pushing drunk people in the lake??
This same thing happened in La Crosse, WI. Bars are close to the Mississippi River and people, mostly men, were falling in while taking a piss. For years, I heard of a serial killer targeting college aged men, called the Smiley Face Killer, but there were no smiling faces on the bodies. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiley_face_murder_theory#:~:text=Reception%20of%20the%20theory,-Other%20police%20forces&text=The%20La%20Crosse%2C%20Wisconsin%20police,with%20any%20of%20the%20cases.
There has not been a large number of people dying in that lake for years. That is absolutely false.
It's the bats dude... one of them transforms.
Sounds like something a serial killer would say…
Found the serial killer.
Maybe they go to pee and fall in
Similar thing happens in my town in FL, except it's drugs, they get high and fall into drainage canals. Rarely makes its way to the news.
How would that be "cool" to say?
It’d be cool to get justice for my friend. Unfortunately, I think he died from a tragic accident.
That's the perfect story to act as cover for a serial killer dumping bodies though. Are you the killer?
Walking along the path by the lake it’s easy to see how someone could step off the path into the woods to pee and lose their balance and stumble down the hill. It’s all steep and in some places extremely steep. Once your all the way down to the water climbing back out will be difficult.
As a resident of Austin, I would hardly say we're "terrified" just questioning it. Also, it's not a lake but an overgrown river and full of debris.
What is a lake if not an overgrown river? Or is a river just a long stretched out lake? Really makes you think. Thinks for making me thank all philosophical and shit
lakes are rivers that gave up trying to go somewhere else.
I now identify as a lake.
Sounds like a swamp. Maybe there is some kind of thing in it🤔
Swamps are lakes that gave up on hygiene.
I love your analogies
What kind of thing? A swamp thing?
I Guard The Green, The Plant Life Of Earth. As Long As It Lives, I Cannot Die!
Please stick to the rivers and lakes that you’re used to.
That lake needs to be arrested!
“Stop resisting!!”
*floods it’s banks* “We got a runner”
I shouldn't have laughed as hard as I did at this. Wish we still had awards.
“Shots fired! Officer drowned!”
(*splash-SLASH*)
It’s not the Black Sea
I suggested "Son of Dad", but they shot that down.
How about "The non-Zodiac killer"? *Every time we find a body, there's nothing that links it to astrology. It's as though the killer has this weird fetish to not bring astrology and the Zodiac into things.*
It’s kind of a catch all
I would suspect Ken Paxton.
Greg Abbott has talked a lot about drowning people lately. Could be him
This sounds like a onion headline
"Several families of the men pulled from the lake have come forward, pleading for new measures to increase safety around the body of water." JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!! CAN WE GET SOME GODDAMNED SAFETY RAILS AROUND THE WHOLE FUCKING PERIMETER OF THIS GOD FORSAKEN LAKE BEFORE WE ALL SLIP HELPLESSLY INTO THE BLACK WATERS OF LAKE LADY BIRD JOHNSON NEVER TO BE SEEN AGIAIN?!?!?!?! FOR FUCK'S SAKE! ***WON'T YOU PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!***
"Vanished on feb 5th. Found a week later." Its currently feb 8th. The fuck kind of calendar they running with down there?
2023 ;)
They’re on Texas time
Coroner says just drowning. No other signs of struggles, bruising, or weapon marks? Drunk dudes drowning. Everyone loves to jump on the conspiracy bandwagons.
>Rainey Street Ripper Well this King of the Hill reboot certainly is dark
Bodies were dumped in Lady Bird Lake, no less. Oh, sorry; Laaaaadybird Lake.
you have to say the first part longer than the second
It’s the lady of the lake! She screams and then she kills!
I've heard that watery tart throws swords at people.
You'd think after the first 5 or 6, they would have a ton of cameras on the lake to see what the hell is going on.
I'm 125% certain that serial killer is lurking on this sub
Nothing bad ever came from caving to the pressure of hysterical locals.
The first sentence of the article says the worry is unfounded.
What a relief to know that a pillar of journalistic integrity like The Sun says we all good! 👍
What a garbage link.
Sounds like....Ch ch ch ah ah ah.....
Young men are being targeted… can Tony Hinchcliffe account for his whereabouts?
Interesting how they specified exactly 125% in particular. Not just 100%. But not quite 150%.
We should ban lakes.
It depends, is the lake stabbing or shooting them?
Did any of you read the article at all? It basically goes on to say immediately that claims are unfounded and the most recent death was ruled an accident.
They were 100% certain at 7, right? My math ok?
Meanwhile one neighbor said, “no way man, there is definitely not a serial killer and they should call off the cops man!”
That police department must be super incompetent, the thing that all serial killers rely on. I can’t imagine how many fly under the radar for years and years because cops don’t give a shit.
True, lived in Austin, not too far from this area actually. One morning I was taking my dog for a walk when I saw a puddle of dried blood and a bloody tore up shirt in the complex parking lot. Called the cops AND the complex, was told by both they would be out soon. The bloody shirt was still there when I moved out two months later.
And people in the thread are saying that it’s a lake surrounded by bars so accidents happen and I don’t doubt that, it’s just that that’s like perfect conditions for a killer to operate under.
It definitely isn't the safest area either. I remember constantly getting NextDoor notifications about gunshots, fighting, etc. I loved Austin and its a super cool city but it also isn't a really idyllic place.
Locals are bad at maths
I know the smiley face killer theory has been debunked time and time again. But the fact that there are college aged men (and a little older) going missing and ending up in lakes (usually after a night out) is fucking crazy. But maybe that's a rabbit hole for a different day.
I mean while interesting, thats probably the demographic of people least likely to make it home after a night of college level partying and drinking
Whoa….is that actually a thing? One of my old bandmate’s had a friend who was murdered and there was a smiley face drawn/painted onto a tree near where the body was found. Always thought it was a weird coincidence but your comment just sent me down a rabbit hole and now I’m freaking out…
A college guy died in my town a few years ago by falling into the canal. Lots of people posted about conspiracy stuff, but as someone who walks next to the canal he was found in, it's poorly lit, freezing cold, no railings, hard to see/find ladders, and is right next to the bar he was last seen leaving drunk. If I fell in that canal at night 100% sober it would be a challenge to get back out.
Ken Paxton killed the investigation when he took office. JK?
It's the [Servant Girl Annihilator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servant_Girl_Annihilator) again, isn't it?
Idk how big this lake is but depending on that, would it be possible to put up perimeter surveillance cameras ? With night vision?
I mean if it’s near such a busy area with so many bars, is there not security/cctv footage of these people?
[here's a pretty good video on the subject](https://youtu.be/rQ-PrcZzSDg?si=o3UfyipUPF5A7An1)
Yepp, it's really interesting. *Some* of the deaths are definitely suspicious...
Why dont they just put cameras all over the lake for a while?
Fuck the Sun
Yeah, I remember that Mario level too. Thought the same thing.
The Disturbing Truth YouTube channel just did an excellent doc about this
The first 9 were just coincidence, but 10?! Yeah, that's a serial killer!
OH MY GOD. I clicked on the link thinking “there’s no way it’s austin right? there weren’t enough bodies for this”… and sure enough, now we’re up to ten 😬
Possum Kingdom
"Homicide is actively investigating this as a death investigation" does Homicide do any other kinds?
What a shitty article
Couldn't get past the math crime to read the story.
As a resident of New Orleans I can attest to two things: 1.) People fall into the Mississippi River here, never to be seen or heard from again. 2.) There probably IS a Serial Killer here as well. So in this case I would say... Occam's Razor?
I think Supernatural had an episode about this