Lady Bird Lake is a placid-looking, river-like reservoir that stretches for six miles along the Colorado River in downtown Austin, Texas. But its gentle surface belies a tragic history — in the past 18 months alone, 10 bodies have been pulled from the waters, most recently a man found there Monday.
That man’s identity and cause of death have not been released, but the other nine, beginning in July 2022, have all been identified, and Austin Police dismiss any speculation of a connection between the deaths.
All 10 of the lake’s victims have been men. The most recent before Monday was Mogga Dogale, whose body was found on June 27, 2023, on the same side of the lake and just a few blocks from where Monday’s remains were located. Austin Police said Dogale’s death was “not being investigated as a homicide,” according to KXAN.
In fact, only one of the deaths was considered a homicide. Josue Moreno, 45, was found dead in his truck after it crashed into the lake on December 19, 2022. He had been shot in the head before the crash, and Joel Santiago Gonzalez-Paron, 18, was charged with his death.
Of the other seven, two — in February and April 2023 — were ruled accidental drownings, three — one in July 2022 and two in December 2022 were closed with no foul play suspected, the medical examiner was unable to determine a cause of death for one in March 2023, and Austin Police said no foul play was suspected for one in April 2023.
A common theme, police said, was “the combination of alcohol and easy access to Lady Bird Lake.”
But not everyone is satisfied with the official word on the deaths. The family of Chris Clark, whose body was pulled from the lake on April 15, 2023, was one of five people found dead in the reservoir last year.
“They are not trying to do anything, they just close the cases, and they just deem the death undetermined or a drowning, and then they just move on with no answers, nothing for the families,” Reegan Aparicio, mother of Clark’s child, told KVUE.
Aparicio pointed out that the trails along the lake aren’t well-lit.
“They need to just have lots of barriers around that lake and there needs to be 24-hour patrol around that lake,” she said. “There is so much going on where Chris was found. I actually go there often. I have been there in the nighttime and there is nothing that is being done, it is very dark, and you can’t see anything once you enter the trails.”
The city has budgeted more money for safety improvements, but residents are still concerned there is a connection between the deaths, despite the pronouncements of Austin Police.
Abdul Tabbakha, who lives nearby, told KVUE that he’s seen more police presence but the discovery of another body on Monday “definitely does concern me that they are not able to find out who is doing this.”
Aparicio agrees..
“I feel like there is a connection and there is something going on at Lady Bird Lake and the police are choosing not to do anything about it,” she siad. “They need to take action. People are hurting out here. My son is 12. He is never going to get his dad back ever. These families that have lost their loved ones are never going to get their loved ones back.”
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Featured image: Lady Bird Lake and Austin skyline/Michael Barera/WikiCommons]
