Reegan Aparicio looks out over the stretch of lake where long-lasting partner Chris Hays-Clark was discovered drifting 4 days after he inexplicably disappeared.
‘Police firmly insist there was no nasty play,’ the oral nurse informs DailyMail.com, her voice an animated mix of anger, sorrow and aggravation.
‘Oh no, somebody put him therein. I think he was dead when he entered the water. We’re getting absolutely nothing from the investigators. But truthfully, I think they understand.’
Her belief is loudly echoed by others who have actually likewise unfortunately lost enjoyed ones in the exact same place in simply 3 months.
The stretch of water is Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas, where 4 guys have actually been found drifting and dead because mid-February – stimulating crazy speculation that a serial killer is on the loose in among America’s greatest post-Covid boom towns.
Christopher Hays-Clark, 30, was the 4th individual to be pulled from Austin’s Lady Bird Lake in 3 months after his body was found on April 15
Hays-Clark’s long time partner Reegan Aparicio thinks nasty play was associated with his mystical death and disappearance, however declares police have actually supplied little to no details on the examination
Hays-Clark, a 30-year-old dad, was the latest victim to be pulled from the lake on April 15.
Before him, it was Jonathan Honey, 33, discovered on April 1, following dad-of 2 Cliff Axtell on March 5, and Jason John, 30, on February 13.
The Austin Police Department has actually released a declaration firmly insisting there was no nasty play in any of the deaths.
However, all 4 victims disappeared in confusing, uncharacteristic however disturbingly comparable situations – as did Martin Gutierrez, 25, who was discovered drifting face down in the lake in 2018. Another 4 bodies have actually been taken out in the previous 10 months, however their identities have actually not been revealed.
Additionally, in 2019, Christian Pugh, 21, was discovered alive however seriously hurt, 4 years after 22-year-old Julio Santos, 22, was found dead in the manufactured lake, which becomes part of the Colorado River that streams through the city.
Casting its shadow over the worry and unpredictability now intensifying in downtown Austin is Rainey Street, the raucous bar and food truck zone 1.8 miles from the lake and from where a minimum of 2 of the latest victims – and Gutierrez – strayed in the early hours to their deaths.
Adding to night time anxiousness around the dark paths surrounding Lady Bird Lake is the ever present danger of criminal offense.
Last week an immersed bullet riddle car was transported from the lake at the Festival Beach boat ramp following reports of shots being fired at 2.30am and a vehicle going undersea.
Austin Police Lake and Patrol Dive Team obtained it at 1pm on May 1, however discovered no one inside.
A wood cross with flowers has actually been put on the banks of the lake close to where Hays-Clark’s body was discovered
An overall of 8 bodies have actually been recuperated from Lake Lady Bird in less than a year, stimulating worries of a serial killer in the location
Local advocates for higher safety in the location have actually pointed out the absence of lighting and security monitoring on the paths near the lake
Investigators likewise discovered shell cases on the ramp. The place is less than three-quarters of a mile from Rainey Street.
Local advocates for higher safety around the lake have actually pointed out the absence of lighting and security monitoring.
The cooling unsolved deaths have actually led true-crime fans and web sleuths to enter into overdrive with theories and speculation, with a personal Facebook group called Lady Bird Lake Serial Killer getting more than 85,000 members.
But according to Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon: ‘Nothing has actually emerged that would suggest that there is a serial killer in Austin.’
Rainey Street has an enduring track record for being a location where revelers remain in threat of having their beverages surged so they can be robbed – or even worse.
The theories are flying thick and quick. The realities more difficult to piece together, which is intensifying the sorrow for the households included.
Hays-Clark, a cook, had not been to Rainey Street as far as Aparicio understands – although she confesses she does not understand for sure.
The couple, Austin’s Memorial High School sweeties, had actually just recently divided and Chris was coping with his mom, Christine.
On April 11 he informed his mama he was going out. That was the last Christine or any of his other enjoyed ones saw of him.
Four days later on, at around 1.30pm, walkers along a lakeside course found a drifting body near Longhorn Dam.
‘I do not think Chris was near any bars, however nobody has any concept what he was ultimately doing down in the location of the lake,’ Aparicio, 28, informed DailyMail.com.
She stood together with a little shrine she has actually built on the bank near where he was discovered. She was psychological, however plainly not a female to collapse.
‘It was a long method from his mama’s location. He would never ever decrease there typically. There’s no monitoring video footage, absolutely nothing. It is absolutely confusing.’
It all took place less than three-quarters of a mile from Rainey Street, a popular strip where numerous of the guys who were pulled from the lake in the in 2015 had actually last been seen. Lady Bird Lake has to do with 1.8 miles, or a 35-minute ignore the street
Rainey Street is a dynamic location in Austin understood for its night life and offerings of bars, food trucks and dining establishments. Lady Bird Lake has to do with 1.8 miles, or 35-minute ignore the street. There are no video cameras around the lake
Aparicio, who shared 12-year-old child Lashawn with Chris, has actually been going to the exact same area every day because her ex was discovered dead, frantically attempting to try to find hints and to rebuild his last hours.
She is doing that since she thinks Austin Police Department is failing her – and the households of the other lake victims.
‘It’s taken 2 weeks for an investigator to even return to me correctly,’ she said.
‘I’d asked the authorities where is the examination at and what’s going on? And I’m simply informed it’s pending and provided really little else.
‘They have not informed me the cause of death. I’ve asked, however absolutely nothing. Everything is still ”under examination”. I actually have no responses, just concerns.
‘That makes me upset, I feel upset and I seem like they can do more. I seem like there is more to be informed and they are simply not stating it.’
The mama continued: ‘And it’s unusual to me that they state they are examining, since I do not truly see anything being done.
‘I’ve been going to the lake every day because this occurred. Just to try to find my own, to see if there’s anything considerable, anybody about who may understand something.
‘I’m going to keep coming here up until I discover what took place. I’m not going to quit on Chris, he should have justice. Somebody need to have the ability to provide me that.
‘My thing is the authorities are stating there’s no nasty play. And informing me it’s not being examined as a murder since there are no genuine leads.
‘Why? How is that even best? If you do not have the leads then go out there and discover them. Do the work.
‘If you do not have the staff to do it since you’re so short-staffed that you can’t even return to a family that’s been calling you for 2 weeks, then discover someone.
Christian Pugh, 21, was discovered alive in the lake back in 2019 however in ‘rough’ condition. He sustained a blow to the head and bruised hands
Other bodies formerly discovered in the lake consist of 22-year-old Julio Santos (right) in 2015 and 25-year-old Martin Gutierrez in 2018. Martin was discovered with a number of injuries after landing in the lake following a night out at Rainey Street
‘They should not clean off the case since they do not have any responses or can’t discover anything.’
Clutching a photo of Chris with infant Leshawn, Aparicio included: ‘I do not comprehend what’s so difficult about them simply informing us the fact? They need to understand something.
‘I believe that someone put him in here and I do not think that he lived at the time. And I do not think that he was under the impact of any compound which that made him drown. No method.
‘I am ravaged by this, really sad. Chris was extremely stylish, an excellent swimmer. This wasn’t a mishap.’
The young mama did get one last take a look at Hays-Clark.
‘He remained in a body bag,’ she said. ‘I got him launched from the medical inspector to a funeral service home, where I had simply 2 minutes with him. They unzipped the bag and I just saw his face prior to they zipped it back up.’
Friends and family of the very first of the 4 latest victims likewise desire more responses from the authorities.
Jason John – called JJ – went missing out on from Rainey Street at about 2am on February 5 after commemorating with buddies since he has actually been promoted in his sales job at an IT research study business. His body showed up 8 days later on.
Originally from New York, he moved to Florida throughout Covid and settled in Austin in 2021.
‘I think JJ was drugged and from there an awful mishap took place or someone non-violently attacked him,’ his one-time roomie in Austin, Josh Gale, informed DailyMail.com.
‘The early autopsy outcomes reveal no proof of protective injuries, so it appears there wasn’t a violent battle. So I think he might have been pressed enough to get him in the water, however inadequate to leave a contusion.
Last week an immersed bullet-riddled car was transported from the lake at the Festival Beach boat ramp following reports of shots being fired at 2.30am and a vehicle going undersea
A dive group returned a couple of hours later on and pulled the vehicle from the lake. Police did not state if the immersed car was associated with the reports of a shooting
Despite growing worries from homeowners, Austin authorities state they have actually not seen any proof of a serial killer on the loose. Pictured: A car filled with bullet holes was discovered in the lakelast week
‘He was bar hopping and the group ultimately pertained to Rainey Street where they entered into 2 bars, the last one being La Cantina 512. Then he left without biding farewell to anybody. And he was walking his typical path home to his home near the Colorado River and never ever made it.’
Referring to the other deaths, Gale, 32, said: ‘For this to take place once again and once again and once again with the exact same kind of thing taking place, where it is not taking place in other locations makes no sense to me.
‘I do not understand if each of these is linked. The real pattern is, there are no responses. That is the pattern.’
He included: ‘Do I believe we have a Jeffrey Dahmer walking around Austin? No, I do not.
‘But I do believe we have in Austin a group of individuals who wish to drug individuals so they can rob them. And I believe a few of individuals they are drugging are escaping however falling under an awful circumstance since they are under the impact of these drugs.’
Gale was likewise vital of Austin PD.
‘We have 4 witnesses in JJ’s case, not always who saw everything. However, the authorities didn’t talk to a single among them.
‘If you wish to think about suicide, you wish to get the individual’s state of mind. The authorities have actually not spoken with anybody who may assist with that. They simply state, unexpected drowning and we’ll wait on the toxicology report.’
Father-of-two Cliff Axtell, 40, who was a land professional for a business property business, was last seen on March 5 at Stubb’s Barbecue in downtown Austin, a little further away from Lady Bird Lake than Rainey Street. He married better half Meghan in 2016 and led praise at his regional church.
Jonathan Honey remained in Austin for a bachelor journey from his home in Washington DC when he disappeared on the night of Friday, March 31, after getting something to consume at a food truck in Rainey Street. His body was discovered the next day.
The terrible case of Martin Gutierrez, in spite of being more than 4 years earlier, has spooky resemblances to the recent cases. And his family is persuaded he was drugged, stalked and killed.
He had actually taken pleasure in a night meal in downtown Austin on November 19, 2018, with sibling Mitch and his sister-in-law Whitney, both previous ICU nurses. The couple left and he continued with buddies, bar hopping in Rainey Street.
Lady Bird Lake – called for previous First Lady Lady Bird Johnson – is a popular Austin location for water activities, consisting of kayaking
‘They went to one bar and after that went to Luster Pearl. According to his debit card records he just acquired one beverage there. And then they carried on to another bar, Alibi,’ Mitch informed DailyMail.com.
‘By the time my sibling got to Alibi his habits had actually totally altered. He was leaning on the bar, he was acting various like he was drugged. The bar tenders didn’t even serve him a beverage. This had to do with 1am.’
Martin, who dealt with his sibling and better half a 15 minute drive from downtown Austin, then slipped out of the bar unidentified to his buddies.
‘According to the monitoring we have actually seen, Martin made his method down and went to this bar called Craft Pride,’ said Mitch.
‘He never ever went within. But the monitoring reveals him taking the corner and walking towards I35. Then the last monitoring we had was him near the Towers of Town Lake apartment building, walking towards Lady Bird Lake.
‘That’s the last sighting of him alive. November 26 his body was recuperated from the water, he was drifting down the lake.
‘There was an apartment building that neglects Lady Bird Lake from Riverside and somebody went out for their early morning coffee on their terrace and saw Martin drifting face down and called 911.’
The family was informed the cause of death was unexpected drowning. They are hesitant to state the least.
‘That’s hard to think since my sibling had a big contusion on the back of his head with bruising. Dead individuals do not bleed. I keep in mind the police stating, oh perhaps he simply fell off the bridge and struck his head when he was already in the water. I resembled, you do not bleed if you’re dead.
‘So he lived enough time to bleed and produce a contusion. So I think he was hurt and positioned in the water. I do think he was drugged and I do think somebody hurt him. By following him and eliminating him.’
DailyMail.com made an official ask for autopsy reports on the 4 latest lake victims to the Travis County Medical Examiner.
In each demand, we were informed they would not be all set for as much as 120 days from the date of the evaluation. Austin PD reacted to our ask for an update on the queries, stating there was no additional details.
