HOUSTON – Nearly two months after a man’s body was found where White Oak Bayou meets Buffalo Bayou in downtown Houston, his family says they are still waiting for answers about how he died.
On Jan. 6, the body of 40-year-old Keyo Kingsley was recovered from the water, marking the first reported case of 2026 involving a body found in a Houston area bayou.
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Kingsley’s mother, Mildred Amos, said she learned about her son’s death in a phone call from the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office while she was getting ready for work.
“She was telling me, ‘Are you sitting down?’” Amos said. “And she said, ‘We pulled him up from the bayou.’ And it kind of threw me because I was like, why would he be at the bayou?”
Amos said her son lived in the Acres Home area and frequently rode the bus, often bringing his bicycle with him.
She said being away from home for a few days at a time was not unusual for Kingsley, so there was no immediate alarm when relatives realized they had not seen him.
“He usually tell me where he’s at or where he is going,” Amos said. “But he’s never told me he’s been by no bayou.”
According to Amos, investigators told the family there was no visible trauma to Kingsley’s body when he was found.
However, nearly two months later, the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office still lists his cause and manner of death as pending. KPRC 2 requested toxicology results, among other items, but we were directed to a public database of information instead.
“I don’t know what happened to my son,” Amos said. “Homicide, suicide, what? I don’t have answers.”
Houston Police are continuing to investigate the case.
A department spokesperson previously told KPRC 2 that detectives are often unable to move forward with certain death investigations until an official cause of death is determined by the medical examiner.
Kingsley’s death is not an isolated case.
Medical examiner records show at least three additional people have been found dead in Houston area bayous since January, adding to a growing number of similar cases in recent years that remain undetermined or pending.
Earlier this month, Amos held a memorial service for her son that also honored others who have died in Houston’s bayous.
“We named all of them and we’re doing like prayer for the bayou,” she said. “We all have lost something that we can’t replace.”
Amos said the lack of answers has made it difficult for her family to grieve and process Kingsley’s death.
“If it was an illness or a car accident or something like that, we could digest it more,” she said. “Right now we don’t know if it’s homicide, suicide, what happened to him.”
She is now calling for increased safety measures along bayou trails, including more lighting, patrols and surveillance cameras.
“I just don’t want another mother to go through what I’m going through,” Amos said.
Anyone with information related to Kingsley’s death is urged to contact the Houston Police Department.