Submerged Body of Woman Found in Brays Bayou Near University of Houston

Houston authorities discovered the body of a woman in Brays Bayou on Wednesday morning near the University of Houston. Firefighters responded to reports of a body in the water around 11 a.m. near 4534 Martin Luther King Boulevard , where they located a submerged victim.

Houston Fire Department Senior Captain Raul Reyes stated that the body was too deep underwater for initial units to make immediate contact. Houston Police Department units arrived at the scene around 10:40 a.m. and remained on-site through Wednesday afternoon. Officials have not yet confirmed the identity of the deceased or the specific cause of death.

Reyes noted a "very strong possibility" that the discovery is linked to a woman who went missing on Friday, May 1. Witnesses previously reported seeing a woman, estimated to be under the age of 30, slip into the bayou near Chimney Rock Road before being carried away by powerful currents. Authorities had searched a seven-mile stretch of the waterway between Chimney Rock Road and Texas 288 before calling off the effort Friday evening.

The location where the body was found Wednesday is approximately three miles from where the initial search concluded. As of Wednesday afternoon, officials had not confirmed if the body had been successfully recovered from the water as the investigation continues.