Has the Rainey Street ripper struck again? Fresh fears of Texas serial killer as two more bodies are found

Fears a Texas serial killer could be on the loose have been reignited following the discovery of two more bodies in the same Austin lake.

The as-yet unidentified victims were plucked from the notorious Lady Bird Lake within days of each other.

The discoveries mean a staggering 12 bodies in total have been recovered from the body of water since 2022.

Police continue to insist there is no killer at large, but rumors of a possible 'Rainey Street ripper' have continued to swirl as the bodies keep piling up.

While cops have ruled out foul play in several cases, at least one death remains unsolved. 

Fears a Texas serial killer could be on the loose have been reignited following the discovery of two more bodies in Lady Bird Lake, Austin

Cliff Axtell, 40, was found in Lady Bird Lake on March 5 after he went missing near Stubb's in downtown on February 25. His death has been ruled 'undetermined'

Four bodies were found in Austin's Lady Bird Lake in 2023 including, 33-year-old Jonathan Honey (pictured) who was found dead on April 1

Jason John, 30, was found on February 13,2023 after he was last seen on Rainey Street a week earlier. His parents believe there is more to the story behind his disappearance

The first body was found under South 1st Street Bridge on April 9 and was described as a 'cardiac-arrest' style event. However, police continue to probe the death.

Just five days later, a fisherman called in a report of another corpse near 515 S. Pleasant Valley Rd. The death was not being investigated as a homicide. 

Cops have managed to rule out foul play in some of the deaths connected to the reservoir, stating they are most likely accidental drownings due to the lake's proximity to popular nightlife spots.

These include that of Ricky Parks, 59, whose body was found first in July 2022 and who is thought to have drowned.

The deaths of Christopher Gutierrez, Kyle Thornton, 56, and Christopher Hays-Clark 30, were also not deemed suspicious.

Two of the deceased, Jason John, 30, and Jonathan Honey, 33, were deemed to have drowned accidentally. Both men were last seen on Rainey Street.

One man Josue Moreno was shot while driving and his vehicle plunged into the reservoir, cops said.

The death of Clifton Axtell, 46, who was found in March 2023 was ruled as 'undetermined'. The remaining bodies were not being investigated as homicides. 

The death of dad Christopher Hays-Clark, 30, (pictured with son) was not deemed to be suspicious

Rainey Street (above) is a vibrant area in Austin known for its night life and offerings of bars, food trucks and restaurants. Lady Bird Lake is about 1.8 miles, or 35-minute walk away from the street. There are no camera's around the lake

However, a local bar tender told the US Sun she has a hard time accepting that there is not something more sinister at play.

'The amount of people who have been found dead is huge,' she said. 'We now have police patrols on the street pretty regularly,' 

'It's an odd place for people to go, too. I find it hard to see how people could leave Rainey and end up at the lake. You have to walk blocks to get there.'

Last year, the city of Austin announced that further safety measures including lighting and fencing around the lake. 

The city is also considering stationing park rangers around the water as well as more surveillance cameras. 

Former forensic director with the Austin Police Department, Mark Gillespie, previously stressed in an interview with KVUE that the public should believe the police when they say that there is no foul play.

'They're looking for foul play, and so when APD comes out with the statement that at the current time, they don't suspect foul play, I promise you they were looking for it, and they were looking very hard for it, so I respect that,' Gillespie said.

In an interview with KXAN, Dr. Carsten Andresen of St. Edward's University, said that the rumors around the Lady Bird Lake deaths are similar to conspiracy theories being spread in cities across the country.

A memorial left by near to where Chris Hays-Clark's body was found in Lady Bird Lake

Last year, the city of Austin announced that further safety measures including lighting and fencing around the lake 

Lady Bird Lake is a popular Austin destination for water activities, including kayaking

'Human nature has always looked at things and sort of looked for patterns that may or may not exist. But also, social media and the ability to just sort of put these rumors online and sort of have them go out like wildfire,' he said.

Andresen pointed out that Austin has a reputation as a city where people go to drink and cut loose.

'I don’t think that we’ve seen anything that would lead one to conclude that there’s a serial killer out there. But we do know that people drink to excess in Austin, and that men often engage in at-risk behavior,' he added.