Body Pulled From Lady Bird Lake At Colorado River

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Emergency officials reportedly pulled the body of an adult man from Lady Bird Lake on the Colorado River Monday morning, not far from where a man went missing one week ago.

The body was found floating on the surface of Lady Bird Lake, a reservoir on the Colorado River, just east of Interstate 35 along the 1300 block of East Riverside Drive just before 10 a.m., Austin-Travis County EMS medics reported via Twitter. The person already was deceased by the time medics arrived, with recovery efforts were aided by Austin Fire Department crews.

While the identity of the victim has not been officially identified, the area where the body was found is not far from where Martin Gutierrez, 25, went missing last Monday after visiting the popular Rainey Street District entertainment corridor last Monday.

Gutierrez was last seen at around 1 a.m. on Monday in the 90 block of Rainey Street. Police previously issued a photo of Gutierrez in the hopes someone might recognize him and alert the authorities as to his whereabouts.

Police confirmed the grim find on Monday morning, saying they would release further details as they become available. However, an officer briefing reporters said they have not connected the discovery to the missing person report centered on Gutierrez. As such, the officer added, Gutierrez's family had not been notified of the find.

Moreover, police backtracked medics' assertions that the body recovered is of a man. The police officer who briefed reporters after the discovery said the age, race and gender of the body would not be officially confirmed by them just yet. Citing the preliminary nature of the investigation, the officer also declined to detail the clothes found on the body in a reporter's attempt to match the information with the description police previously provided on Gutierrez.

After viewing available surveillance camera footage from businesses in the entertainment district, family members have reported Gutierrez was acting strangely prior to his disappearance. He was last seen at around 1 a.m. last Monday.

The area where the body was found on Monday morning — one week to the day after Gutierrez disappeared — is a mere 1.5 miles from the site where the young man was last seen, a distance with a six-minute travel time by car or 20 minutes by foot.

This is a developing story. Patch will update as more details are known.

Related stories:

Family Confirms ID Of Missing Austin Man Found Dead At Lake

Austin Police Seek Public's Help Locating Missing Man

Robust Search For Missing Austin Man Launched

Body At Colorado River Could Be Missing ACL Fest Attendee

Body Recovered From Lake Austin Identified

The incident marks the second time in as many months that a body has been pulled from the Colorado River. On Oct. 8, a man's body was pulled from the same body of water. Two days after the body was found, officials identified the deceased person as Christopher Jay White, 25, who had traveled from Minneapolis to attend ACL Fest.

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