Body Found Buried In S. Austin Backyard Deemed Suspicious Death

AUSTIN, TX — A dead body found in the backyard of a South Austin home is being investigated as a suspicious death, police said on Thursday.

The grisly find was made along the 5800 block of Mojave Dr. after 9-1-1 was called to report a body buried in the backyard of a home there. Arriving officers made contact with the residents there in securing consent to search through the house, police said in a news advisory.

"In the backyard, there appeared to be an area where a body could have been buried," police wrote in their advisory. The officers then secured the location, police added, and a search warrant was obtained before a search began on Wednesday by homicide detectives, crime scene specialists, the Austin Police Department bomb squad and Austin Fire Department.

"By afternoon, a deceased person was recovered from the backyard," police wrote. "The Travis County Medical Examiner’s office transported the decedent to their office for examination.The death is being treated as suspicious."

Detectives have identified persons of interest in this case, according to the advisory. Police sought to assuage concerns, writing that the incident appears to have been an isolated one with no lingering threat to the public. An official ruling as to the official cause and manner of death is pending from the medical examiner’s office, police said, adding that the identify of the dead person will be released once family members are notified.

Those with video or photos of the incident are urged to call detectives (512) 974-TIPS, the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (512) 472-8477 (TIPS), use the new Crime Stoppers App, or email APD Homicide at homicide.apd@austintexas.gov. You may remain anonymous. Tips also can be submitted by downloading APD’s mobile app, Austin PD, free on iPhone and Android.