Shutterstock / Philip Arno Photography
A body was discovered near Longhorn Dam in Austin on Saturday.
At 1:21 p.m. Saturday, authorities received a call about a body floating in the lake near Longhorn Dam, Austin police said during a press conference. The person, whose name and gender have not been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Austin Police Department's water rescue marks the fourth time a dead body has been pulled from Lady Bird Lake this year and the eighth in the past 10 months. Even so, police said they don't suspect foul play.
In a statement from earlier in the month, police officials said a "combination of alcohol and easy access to Lady Bird Lake," not a serial killer, were the common thread uniting the fatalities.
"As of right now, our homicide unit did respond to the scene and are investigating this incident," Austin Police Department Public Information Officer Michael Bullock told reporters Saturday. "As of right now, it is a very unfortunate incident, but up to this point, we have not discovered anything suspicious tied directly to this incident."
When asked by a reporter whether the public should be worried about the possibility of a serial killer, Bullock responded by saying that APD has one of the nation's top homicide investigation units.
"We definitely understand people that have concerns, and if we did have any information that there was something specific that was concerning or suspicious related to criminal activity, those are things that we try to convey to the public as soon as we possibly can," he added.
Despite the police assurances, members of the Facebook page "Lady Bird Lake Serial Killer / Rainey St Killer," whose membership has exploded to nearly 70,000 since the start of this month, are skeptical that there's no connection between the bodies found in the lake.
"As a criminal justice professional and student of criminal justice, I try to approach things from a fact-based academic standpoint," wrote one user. "I'm really trying to make this accidental drowning thing make sense in my head, but I just cannot. I think the FBI needs to step in and investigate this."
APD increased patrols and upped security measures around Lady Bird Lake near Rainey Street earlier this month after the bodies of Jonathon Honey, 33, and Jason John, 30, were discovered floating in the water mere weeks apart. Both had been out with friends on Rainey Street before disappearing.
However, the body discovered this past weekend was outside of the area where police have increased patrols, Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reports.
Saturday's discovery also comes days after Austin City Council agreed to increase security measures around Lady Bird Lake following demands from concerned citizens, MySA reports.
Anyone with information about any of the cases can contact APD's homicide unit at (512) 477-3588.
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