Beneath the Waterline: The Houston Bayou Deaths

Houston’s bayous are the lifeblood of the city, winding through neighborhoods and downtown alike. But recently, these waterways have become the center of a grim and troubling mystery. Since the beginning of 2025, a series of bodies have been discovered in the Buffalo Bayou and other connected waterways. Are these independent tragedies — or is there something deeper, something more sinister, at work?

Officials currently say there is no evidence of a serial killer or common perpetrator. But the fact remains: many questions remain unanswered. Here’s a breakdown of what was found, plus the mysteries and investigative leads that need follow-up.

This article is not just a list of names. It’s an investigative deep dive. We’re going to look at the victims, the timeline, and the evidence to piece together what we know. Our goal is to keep the spotlight on these cases and help, in any way we can, towards finding the truth.

The Victims: Remembering the Names

Behind every headline is a person. To understand the mystery, we must first honor and remember those who were lost. These are the individuals whose lives were tragically cut short, as confirmed by Houston authorities and local reports.

Date	Name	Age	Cause or Status of Death	Notes
2025-01-11	Douglas Swearingen	44	Drowning, with acute methamphetamine toxicity	White Oak Bayou area
2025-02-14	Carl Newton	24	Sudden cardiac death (hypertensive CV disease + KCNQ1 variant + hypothermia)	Unspecified bayou
2025-03-22	Rodolfo Salas Sosa	56	Drowning with blunt force trauma	Status public record
2025-03-30	Anthony Azua	33	Pending	Unspecified bayou
2025-03-31	Juan Garcia Loredo	69	Pending	Brays Bayou, SE Houston
2025-05-07	Kenneth Jones	34	Undetermined
2025-05-09	George Grays	54	Pending
2025-05-09	Culcois Racius	39	Pending
2025-05-17	Anthony Curry	35	Drowning, PCP + ethanol toxicity
2025-05-30	Shannon Davis	14	Drowning	Accidental?
2025-06-09	Ernest Armstrong	62	Undetermined
2025-06-12	Brent Brown	28	Undetermined
2025-07-07	Raymond Hatten	30	Pending
2025-08-21	Latrecia Amos	57	Pending
2025-08-27	Jamal Alexander	31	Pending
2025-09-15	Jade McKissic	20	Pending (UH student)
2025-09-15	Rodney Chatman	43	Pending
2025-09-16	Unknown	55	Pending
2025-09-18	Unknown	41	Pending
2025-09-20	Michael Rice	47	Pending
2025-09-25	Unknown	—	Pending

Note: Several victims remain unidentified in the public record; some names withheld.

The red flags & why this is being treated like a mystery

Why is the public alarm high — and why does it merit an investigative tone? Consider these points:

• A surge of recoveries: For example, five bodies found in approximately one week across different bayous.
• Some victims are young (teenage, 20s) like Jade McKissic, which is unusual in typical water-drowning statistics.
• Several cases remain pending — meaning cause of death, manner of death are still under investigation. That leaves a wide field for speculation.
• The possibility of vulnerability: some victims may be homeless, intoxicated, or mentally ill, which raises the risk of unnoticed foul play or exploitation.
• Large watersheds and many access points mean these bayous are complex zones to monitor and investigate thoroughly.

Investigative questions worth probing

Here are the key questions — each of which could help determine if there is a pattern (or dismiss the pattern) and lead toward a solution.

1. Victim profiles: Do the victims share common traits (age range, gender, race, housing status, recent activity) that could suggest a “type” of target?
2. Access mode and timeline: How and when did each victim enter the water (voluntary vs accidental vs forced)? What was the time between death and discovery?
3. Waterway locations: Are the deaths clustered in specific bayous or access points? Are certain stretches more dangerous (e.g., after storms, less lighting, near homeless encampments)?
4. Toxicology and medical conditions: How many victims had drugs/alcohol, underlying health issues, or were in mental-health crisis? E.g., Douglas Swearingen’s meth toxicity.
5. Signs of foul play: Any trauma, binding, evidence of assault that’s inconsistent with accidental drowning? Several cases list blunt force trauma (e.g., Rodolfo Salas Sosa).
6. Patterns over time: Is there an uptick (e.g., more in September) compared to previous years? Is it driven by seasonal/weather conditions (storms raising currents/debris)?
7. Investigative resources: Are police/dive teams able to recover bodies quickly? Are autopsies/timelines consistent? Are there any leads being pursued for suspects, locations, clustering?
8. Community context: What is the role of homelessness, substance abuse, urban infrastructure in these deaths? For instance: homeless individuals living near bayous, and if their deaths go unreported until bodies are found in water.

The “murder-mystery” angle: what we should follow up

Since some cases remain unresolved, here are investigative steps (as if we’re treating this like a cold-case or conspiracy investigation) that could help unearth deeper truths:

• Obtain autopsy reports for each of the pending cases: What was the manner of death? Are there signs of assault? Were drugs involved?
• Map each discovery location and timeline: Plot on a map the date, time, bayou/segment, victim identity, cause of death once known. Look for clusters (geographic or temporal).
• Cross-reference with missing-persons reports: Some bodies may match recent missing persons; checking databases may help link unknown victims.
• Interview first responders & dive teams: Ask: how quickly were bodies recovered? What condition were they in? What obstacles to investigation?
• Review environmental data: Rainfall, storm events, water-flow rates, access points, lighting, camera coverage — were certain conditions present before clusters of deaths?
• Check social-media / local community reports: Sometimes local witnesses (kayakers, homeless-outreach workers) may notice suspicious behaviour near the bayous (dumping, fights, etc.)
• Assess forensic backlog: With only six of 22 causes determined, is there a delay in toxicology/forensic processing that could hamper pattern-recognition?
• Evaluate resource allocation: Are agencies dedicating enough to investigate potential foul play rather than assuming accident/homeless death?

Why solving this matters

• Public safety: If these are accidents, then improved infrastructure and public education may prevent deaths. If there is foul play, people’s lives are at risk.
• Transparency & trust: The public demands answers; unexplained deaths breed speculation and fear, which can erode trust in law enforcement.
• Equity & vulnerable populations: Some victims may be homeless or socially isolated; ensuring they receive the same investigative attention is a matter of social justice.
• Urban‐ecosystem responsibility: Bayous are part of Houston’s identity and recreation system. Making them safe and ensuring tragedies don’t mount is a civic imperative.
• Avoiding missed patterns: If investigators assume “just another drowning,” they may miss a connective tissue that could lead to prevention or accountability.

Final thoughts

The rising number of bodies found in Houston’s bayous is deeply troubling. Even if no murderer is behind these deaths, the pattern signals urgent issues around water safety, vulnerable populations, infrastructure, and investigation capacity.

To truly “solve” this mystery — or at least to ensure each individual death is properly accounted for — the city must treat every case with rigor, release as much data as possible, and mobilize prevention efforts immediately.

The names above are more than entries on a list — each is a life lost in our city’s waterways. While some may have died by accident, others may still hold clues waiting to be uncovered. The bayous don’t forget. Neither should we.