HOUSTON – Houston police are investigating after a man was found dead in Brays Bayou near the Gulf Freeway Monday morning.
Houston Police Department investigators said the initial call came in as a possible drowning around 10:15 a.m.
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People in the area discovered a man in the water and attempted to revive him before officers arrived, according to police.
When officers got to the scene, they found what they believed to be an adult man dead underwater. His body was still visible from above.
HPD homicide detectives spent about two hours along the bayou near the Gulf Freeway documenting the scene and taking photographs as they worked to determine what happened.
KPRC 2 cameras also captured the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences removing the man’s body from Brays Bayou.
Police have not publicly identified the man.
Investigators said there were no obvious external injuries that immediately pointed to a suspicious death. However, HPD is investigating the case as a homicide while detectives wait for the medical examiner to determine the man’s cause and manner of death.
Detectives said the body appeared to have been in the water for some time, but stressed that the medical examiner would make the official determination.
Investigators also said they could not speculate about whether the man was experiencing homelessness or how he ended up in the bayou.
Leonel Gonzalez told KPRC 2 he went to check the bayou after another person began yelling that there was a body in the water.
“This guy come down here screaming that there was a body in the bayou there,” Gonzalez said. “So I come, I went down to, actually I, you could see somebody was there. But I wasn’t too sure. I don’t believe a lot of people because they say things that it’s not true. So I went down to check anyways, and um, I seen a body there, so I made the 911 call.”
Gonzalez said his thoughts were with the man’s loved ones.
“Parents, the family just lost, lost a loved one,” he said. “It’s not gonna be easy for them to recover from something like this.”
KPRC 2 asked investigators whether they suspect foul play.
Police said there was nothing obvious at the scene that allowed them to make that determination and that the autopsy will be critical in determining how the man died.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Monday’s discovery also comes after several other bodies have been found in Houston-area bayous and waterways this year.
Through July 22, at least 10 bodies had been found in Houston-area bayous and waterways in 2026.
Anyone with information that could help investigators is encouraged to contact Houston police.
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