Social media rumors spark after 3 bodies found in Houston’s Bayou, experts say rumors are false

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Authorities recovered three bodies from local bayous this week, and back in September, as ABC13 reported, police recovered five bodies in less than a week.

Now the question is swirling on social media once again: Is there a serial killer? Experts say the answer is no.

However, some people tell ABC13 it’s difficult to be convinced otherwise.

“The math isn’t mathing, I think there’s a serial killer,” said Juan Sandoval, visiting Houston. “I get Nevada’s ‘for you’ page now, and even in Nevada, they’re talking about Buffalo Bayou, so it’s that bad, it’s reaching another state, across state lines.”

His friend, who lives in Houston, said he still believes someone is responsible.

“There must be someone out there, no? Because it’s ridiculous that so many people are dying in the bayou, I think it’s unfortunate that they haven’t found the person,” said Erick Cortez.

According to our partners at the Houston Chronicle, last year officials recovered 35 bodies from the bayous, and so far, this year, it’s close to about 34.

“For us as an agency, rumors stir fear and anxiety in our communities,” said Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz, in a September news conference.

While experts understand the worry, they’ve said earlier this year, people should not be concerned. There’s no evidence that a single person is responsible for the deaths. Instead, each case, while tragic, has its own separate set of circumstances that point to other causes of death.

“Because a lot of times people think, ‘Oh they’re in the bayou, they are dumping the body to get rid of evidence,’ because that’s what we see in those shows, that the water will wash away the evidence’ people could have just had an accident, people could’ve done this to themselves, people could’ve been intoxicated,” said University of Houston Criminal Justice Professor Krista Gehring.

Both criminal justice professor Dr. Krista Gehring and retired HPD Captain Greg Fremin say it’s important not to jump to conclusions and be vigilant.

“I tell the citizens of Houston, we have a relatively safe city for the most part, but it’s just like any other big city, there is crime, you have to be vigilant, have situational awareness of what’s going on but this is not anything to be concerned about,” said retired Houston Police Captain Greg Fremin.

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