Houston, 2025-12-26 01:19:00 — Authorities in Houston have recovered a body from Buffalo Bayou, marking the third such discovery in the city’s waterways this week and the 34th this year.
The latest recovery adds to a growing number of bodies found in Houston bayous, raising concerns and prompting investigations.
- A male body was found in Buffalo Bayou on Wednesday, Dec. 24.
- This follows the discovery of two bodies in separate bayous on Monday, Dec. 22.
- A total of 34 bodies have been found in Houston-area bayous in 2024 and 2025.
The Houston Police Department announced via X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday afternoon that authorities, including a dive team, responded to reports of a body in Buffalo Bayou. The City of Houston confirmed in a news release that a pedestrian first noticed the body, and the HPD Dive Team recovered it from the water.
Police are awaiting autopsy results from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences to determine the victim’s identity and cause of death. The discovery comes after two bodies were found on Monday, Dec. 22, in separate bayous, according to reports from Houston Public Media, KHOU and Click2Houston.
The Harris County medical examiner’s office is also conducting autopsies on the two victims found earlier this week to establish their identities, Houston Public Media reported.
Background and Context
The recent discoveries contribute to a disturbing trend. Local media outlets report that a total of 34 bodies have been discovered in Houston-area bayous this year. A Dec. 10 investigative report by the Houston Chronicle revealed that more than 200 bodies have been found along the city’s bayous since 2017, with 2024 and 2025 being the deadliest years on record. The Chronicle’s analysis found that drownings account for nearly 40% of the fatalities, while suicides, homicides, and blunt force injuries account for over 40% of the cases.
This past fall, Houston authorities denied rumors circulating that the deaths were the work of a serial killer. “We do not have any evidence that there is a serial killer loose in Houston, Texas,” Mayor John Whitmire said in September.
“It’s incredibly sad,” Jesse Bellow, a nearby resident, told KPRC in response to Wednesday’s discovery. “There’s the sensationalized side of a serial killer which people purport as a possibility, but it could also be the incompetence of our leaders in taking care of the lowest members of our society who are still human and deserve respect.”
PEOPLE contacted the Houston Police Department and the mayor’s office on Thursday, Dec. 25, for additional information.
Time.news based this report in part on reporting by Houston Public Media, KHOU, Click2Houston, the Houston Chronicle, and PEOPLE and added independent analysis and context.
