HOUSTON, Texas – Houston police are investigating another series of deaths in Buffalo Bayou after four men were recovered from the water in just over two weeks, including two bodies found on consecutive days near downtown Houston. The latest discoveries are again drawing attention to the number of people found dead in Houston-area bayous, where dozens of bodies have been recovered each year since 2024.
The most recent body was found Wednesday morning, Oct. 14, near the McKee Street bridge and James Bute Park.
Houston police said officers were called to 512 McKee Street at about 9:30 a.m. after someone reported a body in the water. Houston Fire Department paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene.
Police said the victim was 23 years old. His identity has not yet been publicly confirmed by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
Investigators said there were no obvious signs of trauma on the body. An autopsy will be used to determine how he died.
The discovery came less than 24 hours after another man’s body was found in Buffalo Bayou near 625 N. York Street, east of downtown.
Emergency crews were called to that area shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday after receiving a report of a possible body in the water. Houston police homicide detectives were notified, but authorities have not announced the man’s identity or cause of death.
Police have not announced any evidence connecting the Tuesday and Wednesday deaths.
Those two cases followed the deaths of 20-year-old Carlos Tzep Ajpop and 20-year-old Oliver Ortiz, whose bodies were found in separate parts of Buffalo Bayou days apart.
Tzep Ajpop was discovered Sept. 29 near Memorial Park. Police initially reported that his body showed no obvious signs of trauma, but investigators later determined that he had been shot.
Ortiz was found Oct. 2 in the Magnolia Park area. Police said he had also suffered a gunshot wound.
Houston police believe the deaths of Tzep Ajpop and Ortiz are connected.
Investigators said the two men were last seen together Sept. 27 leaving an apartment complex on Town Park Drive. They were traveling in separate vehicles and may have been going to local car gatherings.
Both vehicles were later found near Keegan Road in southwest Houston.
Police believe the men may have been killed at the same time and place before their bodies were later found miles apart in Buffalo Bayou. No suspect or arrest has been publicly announced.
The two bodies recovered this week are being investigated separately while police wait for autopsy results.
Sgt. Michael Casso with the Houston Police Department’s Homicide Division told FOX 26 that investigators treat cases involving unidentified bodies seriously while forensic testing is completed. Wednesday’s case was being handled as a homicide investigation until investigators could determine otherwise.
The four recent deaths have again raised questions among Houston residents about why so many bodies are found in the city’s waterways.
The issue is not new.
Data obtained from the Harris County medical examiner shows 35 people were recovered from Houston-area bayous in 2024. Another 34 were recorded in 2025.
Buffalo Bayou has accounted for a significant portion of those cases.
Houston police data obtained by KPRC showed four bodies were found specifically in Buffalo Bayou during 2023. That number increased to nine in 2024.
By November 2025, at least 10 bodies had been recovered from Buffalo Bayou. The number later increased to 12 by Christmas Eve, according to reports from the Houston Police Department and Harris County Sheriffs Office.
The trend continued into 2026.
By late February, medical examiner records showed four people had already been recovered from Houston-area bayous during the first weeks of the year.
Another body was recovered from Buffalo Bayou near Buffalo Bend Nature Park on April 30. Additional bodies have been found in Houston waterways throughout the summer and fall.
The latest four Buffalo Bayou cases occurred within 16 days.
The deaths have also renewed social media speculation that a serial killer could be operating around Houston’s bayous.
Police and county officials have repeatedly said there is no evidence supporting that theory.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare addressed similar claims after a group of bayou deaths in late 2025.
“There is nothing, nothing, and I want to be crystal clear, to indicate that there is someone operating here as a serial killer,” Teare told KPRC at the time.
Officials have pointed out that people recovered from Houston waterways have died under very different circumstances.
Medical examiner data covering cases since 2017 shows drowning has been one of the most common known causes of death. Other cases have involved homicide or natural causes. A large number have remained undetermined.
As of February 2026, updated medical examiner records showed 208 bodies had been recovered from Houston-area bayous since 2017.
Of those cases, about 40 percent were classified as having an undetermined manner of death. About 23 percent were ruled accidental drownings.
Homicides accounted for less than 9 percent of the cases in those records.
Determining how someone died after being recovered from water can also be difficult.
Bodies may remain in a bayou for days before being discovered. Water exposure and decomposition can destroy evidence or make injuries harder to identify.
That is one reason a body can initially appear to have no signs of trauma before an autopsy later discovers evidence of violence.
The death of Tzep Ajpop is a recent example. Police originally reported no obvious trauma when his body was recovered, but investigators later determined he had suffered a gunshot wound.
Families of some people found in Houston’s bayous have also questioned why certain deaths remain unresolved.
The family of Kenneth Cutting Jr., 22, has publicly called for additional investigation into his death. Cutting was found in Buffalo Bayou in July 2024, and his manner of death was listed as undetermined.
His relatives have questioned parts of the autopsy documentation and have said they want additional answers about what happened before he entered the water.
The growing number of cases has led to debate over whether Houston should take additional steps to improve safety around its bayous.
Some residents have called for better lighting or additional surveillance near trails and bridges. Others have argued that the numbers point to broader problems involving homelessness, substance abuse and people experiencing mental health crises.
Teare has previously said those issues help explain some of the deaths and warned against assuming that unrelated cases are part of one criminal pattern.
At the same time, the deaths of Tzep Ajpop and Ortiz show that at least some bayou cases involve violent crime.
Houston police are asking anyone with information about their deaths to contact investigators. Detectives are particularly interested in information about the men’s movements after they were last seen together Sept. 27.
Police are also waiting for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences to determine the causes of death for the men recovered Tuesday and Wednesday.
As of Thursday, authorities had not announced evidence connecting those two men to each other or to the killings of Tzep Ajpop and Ortiz.
