Six additional bodies recovered from Houston’s bayous in recent months have now been ruled “undetermined” in cause of death, adding to the uncertainty and community concern surrounding a yearlong spike in bayou deaths across the city.
According to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, the deaths of Salome Garza, Jamal Alexander, Rodney Chatman, Seth Hansen, Michael Rice, and Michaela Miller have all been updated to “undetermined.” The individuals were found between June and September.
Their causes of death had previously been listed as pending. With these updates, 15 of at least 28 bayou deaths this year now fall under the undetermined category, providing few answers about what happened before their bodies were found.
Medical examiners say that in Houston’s hot, humid climate — and in water environments — bodies often deteriorate rapidly, complicating autopsies.
“We’re basically a swamp,” said Dr. Jay Coons, assistant professor at Sam Houston State University’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. “It doesn’t take long before fairly routine analysis becomes very difficult.”
The growing number of inconclusive findings has fueled fear and speculation across Houston, especially amid last fall’s wave of online rumors about a serial killer targeting the bayous — a claim repeatedly rejected by law enforcement due to a lack of evidence.
What we know
The only new conclusive ruling came in the death of 63-year-old Arnulfo Alvarado, whose death was attributed to methamphetamine toxicity and drowning. His manner of death was ruled accidental.
**Since 2017
Of the known causes of death this year:
- 7 were drownings
- 2 were suicides
- 1 sudden cardiac death
- 2 blunt-force trauma cases — one ruled a homicide
- 1 case remains pending: an unidentified man found in White Oak Bayou last month
The cluster of September discoveries — including Chatman, Hansen, Rice, Miller, and Alvarado — intensified public concern as their bodies surfaced over just several days.
“It’s very alarming when we hear don’t be alarmed. One body is too many.”
Travis McGee
Garza was found in June, and Alexander was found in late August.
The other individuals with “undetermined” causes of death include: Juan Garcia Loredo, Kenneth Jones, Culcois Racius, George Grays, Ernest Armstrong, Brent Brown, Raymond Hatten, Latrecia Amos, and Jade McKissic.
McKissic’s death — involving a University of Houston student — drew widespread attention this summer, especially after her case also received an “undetermined” ruling.
A year of bodies in the bayou
A Defender review of Houston Police Department reports, spanning from September 13, 2024, to September 20, 2025, reveals just how frequently these discoveries have occurred.
In that one year:
- 39 bodies were recovered from Houston-area bayous
- 15 cases were pending cause of death at the time of the request
- 11 were already classified as undetermined
- Only one was ruled a homicide
- Four were suicides
- Two-thirds of all bayou-related deaths lacked a conclusive cause
Buffalo Bayou had the highest number of recoveries (16), followed by Brays Bayou (9), White Oak Bayou (5), Hunting Bayou (4), Halls and Sims bayous (2 each), and Horse Pen Bayou (1).
In nearly every case, police noted no signs of obvious trauma or foul play, though several incidents involved complex circumstances:
- A man who drowned after fleeing police into Brays Bayou following an alleged bike theft from the University of Houston.
- An 81-year-old man with dementia was found with a gunshot wound after his wife’s death.
- A construction worker fell through a gap under Loop 610 while laying wooden planks.
Other cases were discovered by joggers, passing motorists, or — in one incident — a Harris County Sheriff’s Office employee working out near Buffalo Bayou.
Limited answers, growing concern
The “undetermined” designation is not uncommon in water-related deaths, experts say. Bodies that remain submerged for hours or days often lose key evidence needed to determine whether a death was accidental, intentional, or the result of foul play.
Still, for families waiting for closure — and for residents shaken by a year of grim headlines — the lack of information has become a source of its own trauma.
Community activists have renewed calls for:
- faster case updates
- more transparent communication
- a centralized HPD dashboard tracking bayou-related deaths
- improved lighting, barriers, and signage near high-risk access points
“It’s very concerning to have 15 bodies this year, 24 bodies in 2024, and 26 bodes in 2023. That’s a total of 65 bodies in the last three years,” said community activist Travis McGee. “So it’s hard not to be alarmed about that. We just want some transparency. We just want the basic things that we learned in elementary. Who, what, when, where, how. We don’t want any assumptions. We want to know who they were, how they died. We want everyone to be dealt with with dignity and respect. We don’t want to just hear they were homeless…we want everything to be investigated.”
Several families of the deceased have also pushed for independent reviews of their loved ones’ cases, saying the “undetermined” rulings offer little comfort or clarity.
Bayous, urban design, and vulnerability
Experts note that Houston’s bayous, while crucial for flood control, run through densely populated neighborhoods and are easily accessible — creating a mix of risk factors that can lead to accidental falls, overdoses, suicides, disorientation in unhoused populations, and mental health crises.
Those social conditions, paired with Houston’s extreme summer heat and dangerous water currents, form the backdrop of many of these cases.
HPD and the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences continue to investigate the remaining pending cases and monitor trends. Officials emphasize they have no evidence of a serial killer or coordinated foul play — but acknowledge that many unanswered questions remain.
“It’s very alarming when we hear don’t be alarmed. One body is too many,” McGee added.
The Defender will continue tracking case updates, community responses, and investigative developments as more information becomes available.
