Houston residents launched their own ‘Scooby-Doo’ style investigations to find an unconfirmed ‘serial killer’ after the discovery of six bodies since September 15 bringing the total found in the city’s bayous area to 22 this year.
Rumors of a mystery mass murderer came to a peak in the community in late September after officials announced that five dead bodies had been found over a five-day period.
Police said that had brought Houston’s total for the year to 14, but KPRC-TV reported using medical examiner records that the real number for 2025 was actually 22.
Various bayous scattered around the city were listed as their places of death.
This latest development came as Houston locals launched their own far-fetched efforts to track down the supposed serial killer.
TikTok user Darius Stcyr said: ‘Let’s set up a trap. As you know, we have a serial killer on the loose.’
He continued: ‘Just the thought that could possibly be my baby girl one day [who] gets snatched up and found in a bayou. That really bothers me, you know?
‘The police is clearly having a problem doing their job. I’m not understanding after the first body. Why aren’t there people staking out and watching?’
Some Houston residents believe that a serial killer is on the loose in their city
Jade McKissic, 20, was a student at the University of Houston
Another user, identified as Drae, promised payback on the supposed mass murderer.
He said: ‘To the Buffalo Bayou killer, I’m going to be in your hood.
‘I’m gonna take a small, little, slow walk through the night time – and if you’re real, you won’t bring a gun.
‘If you’re real, you’ll just pull up with your hands.’
A third user, JD, joined in on the threats. A grainy, low quality TikTok video showing a bayou is captioned, ‘Houston Bayou Killer we outside tonight.’
Houston has more than 2,500 miles of waterways, including bayous.
The so-called serial killer ‘hunts’ in America’s fourth-largest city were captured across all forms of social media.
But others were more scared to join in.
Rumors of a mystery murderer reached a fever pitch after five dead bodies were discovered over a five-day period. Pictured: Buffalo Bayou and skyline of Houston above in a file photo
Houston is the fourth largest city in the US. A file photo of the skyline is seen above
NotVgBouba on TikTok said: ‘There seems to be a serial killer on the loose in Texas right now.’
He added: ‘What the f**k is going on, bro? Seriously. Every day, it’s something else.’
A user with the screen name Joseph posted a video quickly moving through Houston titled: ‘Can’t catch me if I run fast.’
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences – which serves as the medical examiner – identified at least 19 of the individuals who were found dead in the bayous, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Those bodies were: Douglas Swearingen, 44, found on January 11; Carl Newton, 24, on February 14; Rodolfo Salas Sosa, 56, on March 22; Anthony Azua, 33, on March 30; Juan Garcia Loredo, 69, on March 31; Kenneth Jones, 34, on May 7; George Grays, 54, on May 9; Culcois Racius, 39, on May 9; Anthony Curry, 35, on May 17; Shannon Davis, 14, on May 30; Ernest Armstrong, 62, on June 9; Brent Brown, 28, on June 12; Raymond Hatten, 30, on July 7; Latrecia Amos, 57, on August 21; Jamal Alexander, 31, on August 27; Jade McKissic, 20, on September 15; Rodney Chatman, 43, on September 15; and Michael Rice, 67, on September 20.
The Daily Mail reached out to Houston police and the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences for further comment.
Police said that had brought Houston’s total for the year to 14, but KPRC-TV reported using medical examiner records that the number for 2025 was actually 22. Pictured above: A file photo of a broken bicycle path from bank erosion along Buffalo Bayou, Houston
Users took to social media to discuss the ongoing buzz in Houston about a supposed serial killer. Pictured above a file photo of the Buffalo Bayou flooded by heavy rain from Hurricane Beryl in July 2024
Houston authorities denied the possibility of a serial killer in a press conference.
Mayor John Whitmire said on September 23: ‘Enough of misinformation [and] wild speculation by either social media, elected officials, candidates, the media.
‘We do not have any evidence that there is a serial killer loose in Houston, Texas.’
Krista Gehring, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Houston-Downtown, also ruled out the possibility of a serial killer and pointed out to Daily Mail the clues that usually point to a mass murderer.
She said: ‘When serial killers kill an individual, there’s a cooling off period – so to find multiple bodies all at once or one day after the next is not characteristic.’
Serial killers also have repeat ‘signatures’ with how they kill and tend to prey on vulnerable people, Professor Gehring added.
However, she told the Daily Mail, the only pattern in Houston appeared to be that ‘these bodies show up in a bayou’.
Gehring added that serial killers are rare and rumors about them usually start because of pop culture trends like Netflix shows or true crime documentaries.
The first body found last month was Jade Elise McKissic, 20, a student at the University of Houston.
She had been seen leaving a local bar four days earlier, leaving her cellphone behind and going to a gas station next door to buy a drink, the Houston police’s homicide division said.
McKissic then walked towards Brays Bayou, which is where her body was found on September 15 around 10am.
Police said there were no signs of trauma or foul play.
Lauren Johnson, who sang with McKissic in her youth church’s praise team, previously told the Daily Mail: ‘Jade was such a light in our room. She was talented and always had a smile on her face.
‘Jade was also a great friend to me, whom I looked up to for her ambition and her “go-get-it” attitude. I miss her so much, and I hope her family finds closure on everything regarding her loss.’
The second body was found in at 13400 East Freeway around 11.50am on the same day – September 15 – as McKissic.
Its nickname is the ‘Bayou City’ because of the many waterways where residents paddle, kayak around the metropolis
Some are calling for increased safety measures around Houston’s bodies of water to prevent future deaths. A police boat is seen in White Oak Bayou in this file photo
KHOU reported the body was Chatman’s.
Hansen was then discovered on September 16 in White Oak Bayou at 2200 White Oak Drive at about 1.25pm.
Two days later, Alvarado was found in Buffalo Bayou at 400 Jensen Drive at about 2pm.
Rice was found on September 20 in Buffalo Bayou at 900 North York Street at about 8.25am.
Authorities did not find ‘any kind of typical pattern’ in the five bodies found between September 15-20, police captain Salam Zia said.
He added: ‘It runs the gamut [of] genders, ethnicities, age range.’
Police said that 24 bodies had been found in 2024, meaning that only two less have been found this year with about three months left in 2025.
There have been calls for greater safety measures around Houston’s bodies of water to prevent future deaths – especially after the recent discoveries.
Whitmire pointed to the existing barricades and said: ‘I don’t know of a fail-safe way when bayous are such a part of our lifestyle and our environment, other than everyone should be smart [and] we should look out for each other.
‘But I think when the facts are reported from these instances, you’re going to see each one was very unique.’
Still, the call for Houston officials to provide concrete answers is rising.
City council member Letitia Plummer said: ‘This community wants answers and we will deliver them.
‘We don’t want assumptions. We don’t want rumors. Families deserve the truth.’
Plummer added that locals should stay ‘vigilant.’
She said: ‘I am saying what we normally should do living in an urban city. We are living in the fourth-largest city in the nation.’
English 
