10 bodies pulled from Texas lake in 20 months, cops say. Now a family wants answers
A dead woman was pulled from Lady Bird Lake in Austin, cops say. Texas police said the case was not a homicide, but her case was far from the first for the lake.
Over the last 20 months, over 10 bodies have been pulled from the same lake, according to Austin police records. The first recorded death in this string was Ricky Parks in July 2022, according to Austin EMS and reporting from multiple news outlets.
KXAN reported the death investigation for 59-year-old Parks closed the next month after no foul play was detected.
According to Inside Edition and KXAN, police came to the same conclusion for three other cases between 2022 and 2023 — Christopher Gutierrez, Kyle Thornton and Christopher Hays-Clark.
“(Police) 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, the mother of Hays-Clark, told Fox 7.
The family of Hays-Clark is calling on local police to take action as the death toll in the lake continues to rise, Fox 7 reported.
Austin police said they are aware of the numerous drownings at Lady Bird Lake.
“While each incident has occurred at the lake, the circumstances, exact locations and demographics surrounding these cases vary,” according to a statement sent to Inside Edition.
The statement attributed alcohol and the lake’s easy access points to some of the drownings.
In addition to the four cases with no foul play found, Austin police said two people — Jason John and Johnathan Honey — drowned accidentally, news outlets and police reports show.
Just one death of the 10 was confirmed as a homicide: Josue Moreno was shot while driving and his truck ended up in the water, according to police records. In another case, Clifton Axtell’s cause of death could not be determined, according to KXAN.
Austin police said most of the incidents occurred after 10 p.m.
Swimming is illegal at Lady Bird Lake, according to the city. The lake is a dammed part of the Colorado River.
Bodies found in Lady Bird Lake
Ricky Parks, July 2022
Christopher Gutierrez, December 2022
Josue Moreno, December 2022
Kyle Thornton, December 2022
Jason John, February 2023
Clifton Axtell, March 2023
Christopher Hays-Clark, April 2023
Johnathan Honey, April 2023
Mogga Dogale, June 2023
Unidentified female, February 2024
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