Every Town - Is A Serial Killer On The Prowl In Houstons Bayou's?

Episode Date: November 14, 2025

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Are you ready to dive into the unknown? Join me, Peyton Moreland, on Into the Dark, the true crime podcast from Ono Media with a hint of horror and mystery. Each week, I dive into a different case, breaking down the facts and pondering the age-old question, why do people do what they do? Now, sometimes the answer isn't so clear, and that's why I'll also explore conspiracy theories, hauntings, and all things spooky. From the Green River Killer to the Mothman incident, we will unravel all of the questions that keep us up at night. So don't miss out. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform. New episodes drop every Wednesday.

Into the dark, where true crime meets the eerie unknown. Every town has a dark side. Beneath the murky and slow-moving current of Houston's bayous are secrets buried deep underwater, junk, abandoned cars, and even, bodies. One of the bodies found in the bayous over the summer has since been identified as a 34-year-old man from South Houston. People found dead in different bayous around Houston. Officials say six bodies have been found in Houston's bayous within just two weeks. Police say a woman's body was found in Buffalo Bayou near Commerce and Milam Street downtown last night. Houston police report another body was just recovered today from the Buffalo Bayou area near Jensen and the east downtown.

Houston bayous are back in the spotlight after another body was pulled from the water just this morning. At night, Houston doesn't go quiet. It gurgles. Literally thousands of miles of bayous slide alongside highways and through neighborhoods. Most nights, the water minds its business, but during a two-week period this past September, it didn't. Tragically, bodies began to surface many more than usual. And suddenly, people began panicking, concerned that there might be a killer walking among them. And hey guys, it's Andrew. This is every town.

Thanks so much for tuning in. Today, we're going to follow the current on Texas's most tragic story that's currently unfolding to see whether Houston's water is just taking what it always takes or if something else is pulling people under. This is Houston's Bayou Mystery, is a serial killer on the prow. Houston isn't just a city, it's a web of water,

2,500 miles of bayous and channels threading under freeways and past apartment complexes, and skirting college campuses. And for scale, that's roughly New York to Las Vegas and slow-moving murky water. And that makes sense when you realize the average elevation here is just 50 feet above sea level. These waterways are part of the infrastructure here, the city's natural drainage.

Most people don't think twice about them until they're forced to, and recently that's exactly what's happened. Now, the truth is that people have unfortunately drowned in Houston's bayous for as long as anyone can remember, comes with the territory, so to speak, the grim cost of living in a sprawling urban floodplain. Some years spike and some don't. In 2024, 24, 24 bodies were recovered. In 2025 through the end of September, 22.

So the serial killer suddenly lit up the city this year, like some believed by drowning victims, you'd expect a dramatic jump. Instead, the numbers look pretty consistent. Until you zoom in tighter. That's when you see something that does stand out. That's the fact that in a two-week span from mid to late September, six bodies were found, which certainly is a lot, and why people are beginning to really take notice and wonder what the hell is actually going on. So, let's hone in on what the scene in

Houston currently looks like and see if we can't get a better understanding of the whole situation. On September 11th, around the University of Houston, Jade McKissick, like many other college kids, is out with friends. She's a junior studying strategic communications and advertisements. a front desk assistant on campus and tapped to become part of the 2025 UH orientation team. Social and outgoing, the night moved along as usual, with young adults partying and dancing at all the university hotspots. Around 1 a.m., Jade leaves L.A. Burgers and Dacaries on North McGregor Way, which is in a populated part of town. She leaves alone, and she also leaves her phone on the bar. The owner later tells police she seemed fine.

How accurate that really is is anyone's guess. From there, Jade hits up the shell gas station next door where cameras pick her up. Bies a slush, then leaves, walking towards Braves Bayou, the thin waterway that runs along Scott McGregor. It's not even a block away from that gas station, and that's the last confirmed sighting of Jade alive. Her friends reported her missing on September 4th,000. 14, three days after she vanished.

Houston PD opened a case immediately. But in a city of two plus million, finding one person is not an easy task. And they pushed her photo out there, interviewed friends and family, and walked back her steps from that night, standard missing persons protocol. Two bodies recovered from local bayous on Monday, September 15th.

One of them was identified as 20-year-old Jade Sage McKissick. She was a U of H student reported missing on September 11th, last seen that day near the 3,700 block of McGregor by a restaurant. In September 19th, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences confirms what everyone feared. The body is Jade McKissick. An autopsy follows, no obvious trauma, no signs of foul play, cause a death, though, pending. A month later, as of the making of this episode, it's still pending. A Lauren Johnson who sang with Jade on their youth praise team called her a light in every room. Talented, ambitious, a future already taking shape.

The University of Houston issued a statement. Resident, student employee, friend to many. And campus paper remembered her as an exceptional writer. There were vigils, balloons, and prayers. None of it, though, brought answers. And then the body started piling up. You know, the older I get, the more I catch myself thinking I should probably go to the doctor more often. Not for anything dramatic, just the everyday stuff that creeps up on you.

The sleep that never feels deep enough, that shoulder that feels a little out of whack, or the stress that builds after long editing nights. But the problem's always the same. Actually finding the right doctor. someone who takes my insurance is nearby with an opening that is in six weeks out. That's where Zoc Doc comes in. Zocdoc is a free app and website where you can search and compare high-quality in-network doctors and click to instantly book an appointment.

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dot.com slash every town. September 15th, the same day Jade was found, another body was discovered in Green's Bayou, near the East Freeway. Police haven't released the identity publicly, but it's in the medical examiner's records as one that happened this year. In other words, it's not an old body. September 16th, one day after Jade, Seth Hanson's body was pulled from White Oak Bayou near the 2,300 block of Taylor Street, just north of downtown Houston.

Hanson was 34 years old. What he was doing near the bayou, why he ended up in the water, well, nobody's saying publicly. The investigation into his death is ongoing. September 18th, two days after Hanson, witnesses reported seeing a man enter Buffalo Bayou near Jensen and Navigation Boulevard, and not resurface. When dive teams recovered the body, it was identified as 63-year-old, Arnufo Avarado.

Seeing someone go into the water and not come back out, that sounds like a straightforward drowning, right? An accident, maybe a medical emergency. Something tragic, but at least explainable. It's a bit strange that witnesses saw him go in. You have to wonder where they all were when he didn't come back up. And why didn't anyone try to help? The water here doesn't have a strong current, but maybe the witnesses were far away. Or, I guess when someone goes under and you lose sight of them, it's hard to know where to head to help. Still, all the details on this one are murky. But of course, this one isn't the last.

September 20th, Michael Rice's body was also found in Buffalo Bayou. A Rice was 67 years old. That's five days and four additional bodies after. Jade. By this point, Houston police were fielding questions from reporters, from concerned citizens, and from families of the deceased who wanted to know if their loved ones were safe when they were alive. September 26th, late Thursday, around 1130 p.m. near Commerce in Millum, downtown. A group of scooter riders spot something in the water. The dive team rolls in and brings up the body of an unidentified woman.

So that made six bodies in less than two weeks. The city continued to roll on. Bars still humming. Freeway still roaring, but underneath it all, a new sound. Worry and concern. A tragic mystery that touched every single neighborhood. Still, a serial killer, though. I mean, none of these people fit into a similar victim profile.

Serial killer usually targets a special victim profile. targets a specific type of person. As a true crime fan, you know this. And here we have a college-age girl, a retired-aged man, and basically everything in between. Now, those September deaths weren't the only recoveries in 2025. They were just the cluster everyone noticed. The pattern, or lack thereof, continues from there. The victims are every age, race, and creed. Exactly what you'd expect from tragedies and not a killer. But part of where the concern comes from, and it's justified, is that many of these deaths have not been cleared up by the authorities in a way that quells the community's concerns

of a serial killer out there. You remember the cause of death in Jade's case is pending. Well, that pops up a lot, like way too much. And here's the list so you can see for yourself from start to finish in 2025. January 11th, Douglas Sweringen, 44. Cause of death? Sudden cardiac death from hypertensive cardiovascular disease complicated by hypothermia, a natural death. February 14th, Carl Newton, 24, pulled from the water. Cause of manner, pending. Another family waiting in that word that never explains enough. March 22nd, Rodolfo Sosa, 56. Cause of death? Pending. March 30th, Anthony Azua, 33,

pending. March 31st, the very next day, Juan Garcia Laredo, 69. Pending. May 7th, Kenneth Jones, 34. Pending. May 9th, 2.3rd. people found dead on the same day. George Gray's, 54, and Kulsos Racius, 39. Both pending. May 17th, Anthony Curry was 35. Pending. May 30th, Shannon Davis, 14 years old.

Cause of death? Pending. June 9th, Ernest Armstrong was 62. Pending. June 12th, Brent Brown, 28. Pending. July 7th, Raymond Hatton, 30. Pending.

August 21st, Letricia Amos, who was 57. Pending. August 27th, Jamal Alexander, 31. Pending. Then comes September with its cluster of death, including Jade and the others we already mentioned. So, bodies have been showing up in Houston's bayous all year long, steadily, month after month.

The September cluster got the headlines, but this has been happening since January. And out of those 22 cases, according to the Houston Chronicles' review of medical examiner records, only six have confirmed causes of death, six out of 22. Now, what's going on with the other 16? Why are so many cases still pending?

Toxicology results can take weeks or months, sure, but we're talking about some deaths that occurred eight, nine months ago. Is a bureaucratic backlog? And could the cases be that complicated? Perhaps did the medical examiner find something in the autopsies that doesn't fit in any standard category? If that's the case, well, maybe they're being really, really careful about ruling on cause and manner of death

because some of the pieces of this puzzle don't fit. They aren't as simple as just more tragic drownings. And that's what has people worried. Police chief No Diaz stood in front of cameras on September 23rd and stated explicitly, There is no evidence that there is a serial killer loose on the streets of Houston. He emphasized that rumors stir fear and anxiety in communities unnecessarily, and it's important to rely on verified information and active investigations. And Mayor John Whitmer reinforced this,

idea too, slamming what he called misinformation and wild speculation online and from political candidates. He stated, we do not have any evidence that there is a serial killer loose in Houston, Texas. Let me say that again, there is no evidence that there is a serial killer loose in the streets of Houston. But, and this is interesting, Whitmer didn't just deny it, and he explained why. He grew up here. He knows the town. He knows the town. well. Drownings in the bayous aren't new. And as mentioned, Houston has 2,500 miles of waterways and currently a significant unsheltered population living near those banks. When people on the margins die, he suggested, their bodies sometimes end up in the water. He pointed to alcohol,

mental health, exposure. Hard truths most folks don't want to picture when they drive past the green water on their morning commute. It's a dark portrait of the city's streets, and in a way, it's almost easier to imagine a boogeyman than to confront the reality that vulnerable people are dying just out of frame, and no one notices until the current delivers the news. And no one can really dispute or confirm this, and maybe that's convenient. We looked into it to see how many victims there were unhoused, and the medical examiner and Houston PD do not release a public break.

breakdown of Bayou Debt's by housing status. And none of the major write-ups list how many victims were homeless. So, is that what's really happening? At the press conference, Captain Salam Zia, who commands HPD's homicide division added context. The victims span their 20s to their 60s, men and women, different races, different backgrounds, no common thread. It runs the gamut, he said. From a law enforcement lens, that kind of spread argues against a serial killer because,

like we know, and as I mentioned, serial killers almost always have a type. A demographic that fits a need or a fantasy. Young women, young men, a specific race, preferences, there's patterns. When victims stretch across five decades in age, both genders, multiple ethnicities, doesn't fit classic serial homicide. So from his point of view, case closed, these are tragic accidents. If you want to argue whether or not they're preventable, that's another story, but accidents nonetheless. Still, not everyone buys that.

And a few experts think Houston might still be missing something. Joseph Giacolone, a retired NYPD sergeant, now teaching criminal justice at Penn State, Lehigh Valley, took one look at the Houston situation in the state. and said, something is afoot. When asked if it could be a coincidence, he said maybe, but didn't think it was likely. His solution to this whole thing is simple and old school. Work the cases. Do a careful inspection of each one and write in the report.

What each victim was doing in the 48 hours before they vanished or died, where they were, who they were with, any odd interactions. Do threads overlap? same bar, same ATM, same ride share route, same parking lot. Things like that and connect the dots, if there are any. It's the little things that will reveal the pattern, but if no one's looking, because the deaths get stamped as an accident and filed away, a killer would walk right through the gaps. And now some perspective.

We don't see serial killers like we used to. The 1970s through the 1990s were the gold. golden age of serial murder. And Ted Bundy charmed his way into cars. John Gacy stacked bodies under his house. And Dahmer kept remains in an apartment. They thrived in a world where departments didn't talk. DNA wasn't in play.

And cameras weren't everywhere. And phones didn't track your movements. The reason for such a slowdown now is because technology is caught up. It's just harder to be a serial killer in 2025 than it was back then. DNA started linking cases across state lines. Surveillance cameras recorded the corners that used to be hidden away. And phones ping towers and credit cards laid down trails. Being a serial killer didn't become impossible, just exponentially more difficult. So if there is a serial killer working right now, they're either very careful or they're choosing

victims no one's really looking for. And there's a third play too. Make the murders look like something else. Drownings are perfect for that. Put a body in the water and let time do the rest. After a few days, evidence washes away. The story writes itself. Too much to drink, wrong turn, slipped in and couldn't get out. Tragic, yes, but ordinary.

Just another line on a spreadsheet in a city built around water. When you're not looking for a pattern, you won't see one, even when it's staring back from the shoreline. And that's where another voice complicates everything, Kevin Gannon. Kevin Gannon is a retired NYPD sergeant, who spent nearly two decades pushing a theory most law enforcement agencies have waved off. He calls it the Smiley-Face Killers. According to Gannon, along with retired detective Anthony Duarte and criminal justice professor,

Dr. Lee Gilbertson. There's an organized network operating across the U.S. Their profile is specific. College-age men, drug-dipped bars or parties, abducted, tortured, killed, and

dumped in water. Near some of those dump sites, they say a tag is left behind. A spray-painted smiley face. Hence the name. Gannon claims he's flagged 300-plus suspicious drownings dating from the late 90s to now.

The theory broke into the mainstream in 2008, when Gannon and Duarte went public, pointing to cases like Patrick McNeil, a Fordham student who vanished in 1997 after leaving a bar and was later found in the East River. The official ruling was accidental drowning, tied to alcohol. Gannon, he disagreed. He says autopsy images and scene photos show signs of homicide,

possible ligature marks, charing, indicators of a drugging. He promised McNeil's parents he'd prove it was murder, and from there he built a database. Young men last seen leaving bars, later recovered from rivers or lakes, deaths labeled accidents. To Ganon, the pattern is clear. These aren't random tragedies. The victims are often high achievers, athletes, and good students.

the best of the best, so to speak. And someone, he believes, is hunting them, out of envy, ritual, or as part of something coordinated. The supposed calling card is the smiley face. In roughly a dozen locations, Gannon examined, he points to nearby graffiti, different sizes, colors, and styles, but the same crude grin.

To him, it's the killer's taunt. A way to claim credit for murders, the system keeps filing a warrant. way. And there's just one problem to this. Almost nobody in law enforcement buys it, and that includes myself. About 10 years ago, I was working on video production jobs in New York City. I had my own camera and editing software, and that's what I did for a living. I caught wind of the Smileyface killer's theory. It was all in the news back then, especially in New York where these detectives were from. I thought it would be interesting to do a documentary on the subject and figured I could do it

on the cheap with my equipment and my spare time. So I started a research and after just a few days, it didn't really add up to me, so I scrapped it. The idea of a gang of killers targeting young men is beyond intriguing, but the reality of it happening is far out there. It's not impossible, but it's definitely far out. The idea of finding spray-painted smiley faces as their signature is also interesting, until you realize that that's the most common thing people spray paint. It's fast and easy, and if you look for it, but you can find them almost everywhere. The FBI released a statement in April of 08,

addressing the Smiley-Face Killer's theory directly saying, To date, we have not developed any evidence to support links between these tragic deaths or any evidence substantiating the theory that these deaths are the work of a serial killer or killers. The statement continued, the vast majority of these instances appear to be alcohol-related drownings. In 2010, the Center for Homicide Research, a nonprofit research organization in Minneapolis, published a comprehensive paper titled,

Drowning the Smiley-Face Murder Theory. The researchers went point by point. point through Gannon's claims and systematically debunk them. A smiley face graffiti varies too much to be the work of one killer or group. The victims don't actually fit a consistent profile when you examine all the cases closely. Most importantly, there's no forensic evidence. No witnesses, no confessions, no DNA linking any of these deaths. The report concluded that these deaths are exactly what local police departments said they were.

tragic accidents involving intoxicated young men near water. And in tying it back to Houston, well, very few of these victims were young college-age men, which means the smiley-face killer theory gets even further out of reach. But just because the smiley-face theory is probably wrong, doesn't mean Houston's situation is automatically explained away. The two things aren't necessarily connected. Or something like a serial killer to happen,

There needs to be commonality for between the victims. Serial killer tends to focus on a particular age, race, gender, occupation when they operate. The thing about serial killers is they're really good at not leaving evidence. That's kind of their whole deal and how they're able to become so prolific. And Ted Bundy looked like the All-American boy next door. Dennis Raider was a compliance officer and church leader. They blend in and they're careful. By the time law enforcement recognizes a pattern,

sometimes dozens of victims are already dead. What we know for sure so far is this. 22 bodies this year. Dozens of questions, families waiting for answers. Officials saying don't panic while social media is convinced there's a killer. So until the autopsies are final, until the timelines are stitched tight, We live with a question that won't go away.

Is there a serial killer on the loose in Houston? So that's going to do it for this week's episode of Everytown. Hope you all enjoyed it. I hope you're doing well out there. Appreciate you very much, so thanks for tuning in. It means a lot. Remember to come on back next week for another episode of Everytown, filled with scary, strange, and mysterious stories.

Because you never know. Maybe your town will be next.