EXCLUSIVE'I survived the Rainey Street ripper': Drugged man who plummeted 25ft off bridge believes 'serial killer' stalking Austin tried to drown him
- Twelve bodies have been found in Lady Bird Lake and Colorado River since 2022
- Police insist there is no serial killer but the mounting bodies sees rumor persist
- Jeff Jones survived falling off bridge near river, thinks he may have been pushed
- Got a story? Email [email protected]
A man who was drugged and plummeted 25ft off a bridge, narrowly missing certain drowning, believes he could have been targeted by the 'Rainey Street ripper'.
Jeff Jones, 38, was on a bachelor party trip to Austin with a dozen friends from his home in Boston on June 23 last year.
He woke up in hospital more than two weeks later with metal rods holding his back together and doctors found the date-rape drug Rohypnol in his system.
Jones believes he was drugged before the would-be killer pushed him off the bridge over a stream where he was supposed to drown and float away.
![Jeff Jones (pictured in hospital with his sister Amy) after he plummeted 25ft off a bridge in Austin, and believes he could have been pushed by the 'Rainey Street ripper'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/09/15/84659879-13373887-image-a-2_1715265914726.jpg)
Jeff Jones (pictured in hospital with his sister Amy) after he plummeted 25ft off a bridge in Austin, and believes he could have been pushed by the 'Rainey Street ripper'
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/09/14/84663185-13373887-image-a-1_1715262665146.jpg)
Fears a Texas serial killer could be on the loose have been reignited following the discovery of two more bodies in Lady Bird Lake, Austin
'Whoever they may be just missed the target and I hit the ground, and luckily because of that I didn't drown,' he told DailyMail.com.
'I just got lucky... Not many people can say they potentially survived a serial killer, so that's a story I can tell, I guess.'
Locals have for years feared a serial killer is on the loose as a dozen bodies were pulled from the Colorado River and Lady Bird Lake near the popular bar district.
Two more were found in the past month, both of which are not yet identified, but like all but one of the others were ruled not suspicious by police.
Police insist there is no killer at large, but rumors of a 'Rainey Street Ripper' have continued to swirl as the bodies pile up.
Jones and his friends began with dinner at the Iron Cactus, and then went to the Rustic Tap and Play - both on West 6th Street.
About 1am he somehow became separated from his group, but he doesn't remember anything from well before that.
Jones is 6ft 3in and can handle alcohol, and said he wasn't drinking heavily that night as the trip was a weekend-long affair.
His friends last heard from him about 1.30am, after which he stopped replying to texts and his phone went dead.
An anonymous 911 call was placed about 4am after he was spotted lying motionless at the bottom of the historic West Sixth Street Bridge.
![Jones wasn't able to leave hospital for 17 days while his older sister Amy dropped everything to fly in and stay by his bedside, then took him to her home in New Hampshire to recover](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/09/15/84659887-13373887-image-a-3_1715265930976.jpg)
Jones wasn't able to leave hospital for 17 days while his older sister Amy dropped everything to fly in and stay by his bedside, then took him to her home in New Hampshire to recover
![Urine tests conducted at 6.59am, three hours after he was found, were positive for Benzodiazepine - a sedative family that includes Rohypnol](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/09/15/84659875-13373887-image-a-4_1715265945951.jpg)
Urine tests conducted at 6.59am, three hours after he was found, were positive for Benzodiazepine - a sedative family that includes Rohypnol
The bridge runs over Shoal Creek, which flows into the Colorado River near where several bodies were pulled from the water over the past two years.
Jones arrived at Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas about 4.45am and had emergency surgery on his damaged kidneys, liver, and lung, and his spleen was removed.
He broke seven thoracic vertebrae - his third to seventh and 11th to 13th - along with his shoulder, elbow, and two ribs.
He remembered nothing from being out with his friend to waking up from the second of two induced comas two weeks later.
'One minute I was at the bar and then everything's changed,' he said.
'I was in pretty rough shape. I had no idea what happened and what my body looked like, which was a mess – it was pretty shocking.
'Like many people in comas I had very realistic dreams and it took everyone a couple of days to convince me of what really happened. It was very confusing.'
Urine tests conducted at 6.59am, three hours after he was found, were positive for Benzodiazepine - a sedative family that includes Rohypnol.
![Jones was found at the bottom of this bridge over Shoal Creek, which flows into the Colorado River near where several bodies were found. The bridge wide raised wall that makes it impossible to simply drunkenly wander off the edge](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/09/17/84666303-13373887-Jones_was_found_at_the_bottom_of_this_bridge_over_Shoal_Creek_wh-a-23_1715271864014.jpg)
Jones was found at the bottom of this bridge over Shoal Creek, which flows into the Colorado River near where several bodies were found. The bridge wide raised wall that makes it impossible to simply drunkenly wander off the edge
![The metal rods and pins implanted along Jones' spine where he broke seven vertebrae](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/09/15/84659881-13373887-image-a-12_1715266005568.jpg)
![His his third to seventh and 11th to 13th vertebrae were broken when he hit the ground](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/09/15/84659883-13373887-image-m-11_1715265997192.jpg)
The metal rods and pins implanted along Jones' spine where he broke seven vertebrae - his third to seventh and 11th to 13th
Jones was initially in a coma for a week during a series of surgeries, but then caught pneumonia and had to be induced a second time.
He wasn't able to leave hospital for 17 days while his older sister Amy dropped everything to fly in and stay by his bedside, before taking him to her home in New Hampshire to recover.
Jones still has no idea what happened to him in those three hours between disappearing and being spotted below the bridge.
The bridge is an old stone structure with a wide raised wall that makes it impossible to simply drunkenly wander off the edge.
'But if someone was standing next to me, they could definitely have shoved me and flipped me over it,' Jones said.
Jones landed within five feet of the water and as he was drugged with Rohypnol he likely would have drowned if he was submerged in the stream.
'I've thought about it (how he's only alive because he just missed the water) a lot,' he said.
'I couldn't even talk about it for the first couple of months, it was just too terrifying how close I came to being gone.
'I would have been incapacitated enough to not get myself out of the water.
'If they wanted to get away with something without being seen, this would be a way to do it… it's a good way to have no trace of what happened.'
![Jones (right) on a ski trip with his brother earlier this year after mostly recovering from his injuries, though his elbow has limited mobility](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/09/15/84659873-13373887-image-a-8_1715265971941.jpg)
Jones (right) on a ski trip with his brother earlier this year after mostly recovering from his injuries, though his elbow has limited mobility
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/22/20/83957529-13337287-image-a-5_1713814895288.jpg)
Jones didn't rule out other scenarios - but given the number of other men who turned up dead along the waterway after disappearing from nights out, and the drugs in his system, he believes he was attacked.
'The things that lead to it being a serial killer is that it's a very specific type of victim, which I fit, they don't have anything stolen from them, they drown in the water, and they disappear in the middle of the night,' he said.
'I match all of this, I just luckily didn't end up dead.'
Jones still takes some painkillers but is back to running and other physical activity he enjoyed before plummeting form the bridge.
The rods in his back will be removed over the summer and he has extensive scarring across his upper body.
The only lasting effect is from a branch puncturing his left elbow in the fall. He had surgeries on it to improve his range of motion, but can still only straighten it to 75 per cent of normal and may never get back to where it was.
Jones said the serial killer rumor and numerous bodies appearing in the waterway was a problem for Austin that police needed to take more seriously or it would scare away tourists like those on the bachelor party.
'If people keep disappearing I feel like it's not going to be a destination for much longer,' he said.
![Cliff Axtell, 40, was found in Lady Bird Lake on March 5 after he went missing near Stubb's in downtown on February 25. His death has been ruled 'undetermined'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/22/19/69974777-13337287-Cliff_Axtell_40_was_found_in_Lady_Bird_Lake_on_March_5_after_he_-a-55_1713809791065.jpg)
Cliff Axtell, 40, was found in Lady Bird Lake on March 5 after he went missing near Stubb's in downtown on February 25. His death has been ruled 'undetermined'
![Four bodies were found in Austin's Lady Bird Lake in 2023 including, 33-year-old Jonathan Honey (pictured) who was found dead on April 1](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/22/19/69962963-13337287-Four_bodies_have_been_found_in_Austin_s_Lady_Bird_Lake_this_year-a-57_1713809818422.jpg)
Four bodies were found in Austin's Lady Bird Lake in 2023 including, 33-year-old Jonathan Honey (pictured) who was found dead on April 1
![Jason John, 30, was found on February 13,2023 after he was last seen on Rainey Street a week earlier. His parents believe there is more to the story behind his disappearance](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/22/19/69965819-13337287-Jason_John_30_was_found_on_February_13_after_he_was_last_seen_on-a-56_1713809805701.jpg)
Jason John, 30, was found on February 13,2023 after he was last seen on Rainey Street a week earlier. His parents believe there is more to the story behind his disappearance
The first of the most recent bodies was found under South 1st Street Bridge on April 9 and was described as a 'cardiac-arrest' style event. However, police continue to probe the death.
Just five days later, a fisherman called in a report of another corpse near 515 S. Pleasant Valley Road. The death was not being investigated as a homicide.
Cops ruled out foul play in some of the deaths connected to the reservoir, stating they are most likely accidental drownings due to the lake's proximity to popular nightlife spots.
These include that of Ricky Parks, 59, whose body was found first in July 2022 and who is thought to have drowned.
The deaths of Christopher Gutierrez, Kyle Thornton, 56, and Christopher Hays-Clark 30, were also not deemed suspicious.
Two of the deceased, Jason John, 30, and Jonathan Honey, 33, were deemed to have drowned accidentally. Both men were last seen on Rainey Street.
![The death of dad Christopher Hays-Clark, 30, (pictured with son) was not deemed to be suspicious](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/22/19/83955045-13337287-image-a-61_1713810358540.jpg)
The death of dad Christopher Hays-Clark, 30, (pictured with son) was not deemed to be suspicious
![Rainey Street is a vibrant area in Austin known for its night life and offerings of bars, food trucks and restaurants. Lady Bird Lake is about 1.8 miles, or 35-minute walk away from the street. There are no cameras around the lake](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/22/19/69964757-13337287-Rainey_Street_is_a_vibrant_area_in_Austin_known_for_its_night_li-a-58_1713809853621.jpg)
Rainey Street (above) is a vibrant area in Austin known for its night life and offerings of bars, food trucks and restaurants. Lady Bird Lake is about 1.8 miles, or 35-minute walk away from the street. There are no camera's around the lake
One man Josue Moreno was shot while driving and his vehicle plunged into the reservoir, cops said.
The death of Clifton Axtell, 46, who was found in March 2023 was ruled as 'undetermined'. The remaining bodies were not being investigated as homicides.
Last year, the City of Austin increased safety measures including lighting and fencing around the lake.
The city was also considering stationing park rangers around the water as well as more surveillance cameras.
Former Austin Police Department forensic director Mark Gillespie previously stressed in an interview with KVUE that the public should believe the police when they say that there is no foul play.
'They're looking for foul play, and so when APD comes out with the statement that at the current time, they don't suspect foul play, I promise you they were looking for it, and they were looking very hard for it, so I respect that,' he said.
![A memorial left by near to where Chris Hays-Clark's body was found in Lady Bird Lake](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/22/19/83955039-13337287-image-a-62_1713810376026.jpg)
A memorial left by near to where Chris Hays-Clark's body was found in Lady Bird Lake
![Last year, the city of Austin announced that further safety measures including lighting and fencing around the lake](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/22/19/69961667-13337287-Police_were_seen_patrolling_the_lake_after_a_fourth_body_belongi-a-60_1713809912819.jpg)
Last year, the city of Austin announced that further safety measures including lighting and fencing around the lake
![Lady Bird Lake is a popular Austin destination for water activities, including kayaking](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/22/19/69961665-13337287-Lady_Bird_Lake_is_a_popular_Austin_destination_for_water_activit-a-59_1713809867543.jpg)
Lady Bird Lake is a popular Austin destination for water activities, including kayaking
In an interview with KXAN, Dr Carsten Andresen of St Edward's University, said the rumors around the Lady Bird Lake deaths were similar to conspiracy theories being spread in cities across the country.
'Human nature has always looked at things and sort of looked for patterns that may or may not exist. But also, social media and the ability to just sort of put these rumors online and sort of have them go out like wildfire,' he said.
Andresen pointed out that Austin has a reputation as a city where people go to drink and cut loose.
'I don't think that we've seen anything that would lead one to conclude that there's a serial killer out there. But we do know that people drink to excess in Austin, and that men often engage in at-risk behavior,' he added.