Bodies keep surfacing — and so do questions.

There’s a dark current in Houston’s bayous this year, with 16 bodies recovered, five of them in the same week last month.

City leaders are downplaying speculation about a potential serial killer, but retired NYPD Sgt. Kevin Gannon, who has long espoused the theory that a group known as the “Smiley Face Killers” is responsible for hundreds of suspicious drowning deaths around the U.S., says he believes the deaths may be connected.

“We’ve never seen drowning numbers like this before, especially with a drowning occurring every other day in the same location,” he told Fox News Digital.

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Gannon examines dates, times and locations along with other details when judging whether he believes the Smileys may be involved. And the pattern fits in Houston, for the most part, he said — except for the fact that some of the victims were in their 60s.

“This is an aberration and not the normal age of our 700-plus ‘potential victims,’” he said. “But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t be involved in killing these older individuals also, as they feel like they are pretty invincible right now and can act with impunity due to the police response.”

Under the controversial “Smiley Face Killers” theory, a mysterious but organized gang of serial killers is believed to target young men, many of them in college fraternities, and dump their bodies in the water. As the theory goes, they mark the scenes with graffiti. It places most of their activity in the Midwest and Northeast, in big cities and college towns near the water.

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The Bayou running through Piney Point Village on Friday, April 18, 2025, in Houston. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Houston authorities have said they have uncovered no signs of a serial killer in connection with the bodies pulled out of the bayous so far this year.

Police have said the bodies belonged to both males and females, and ranged in age from their 20s to their 60s.

“There is no evidence, and I repeat no evidence, to suggest that any of these incidents are connected,” Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz told reporters last month.

Two more bodies have washed up since then.

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Houston Mayor John Whitmire called the deaths alarming but said that drownings in the city’s 2,500 miles of bayous is “not a new phenomenon.”

HPD Police Chief Noe Diaz listens as Mayor John Whitmire comments on a recent number of bodies found in Houston bayous during a news conference in Houston, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

He urged patience as police investigate and suggested drug and alcohol abuse among the homeless could be a factor.

“Unfortunately the homeless, when they pass, often end up in the bayou,” he said, suggesting that some are thrown in by others living on the streets.

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Retired NYPD Sgt. Joseph Giacalone, a criminal justice professor at Penn State Lehigh Valley and a skeptic of the Smiley theory, said the mayor’s remarks were premature.

“You have 16 bodies, you can’t just say everybody’s dying and getting thrown into the river and everybody’s homeless,” he told Fox News Digital. “You don’t even know if they’re from your town.”

The Sims Bayou Greenway near the Houston Botanic Garden and the Glenbrook Park is shown in Houston, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Each case, he said, should be individually investigated.

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“You need an individual autopsy and full toxicology on each one of these bodies,” he continued.

Forensic pathologists can also determine whether the victims were dead before they went into water — or if they drowned, he said.

It’s finally starting to feel like fall in much of the country, and as people break out their sweaters and tune in to football, another festive favorite is returning.

“Every year there’s arguing over whether pumpkin as a fall flavor is dying or at least plateauing,” said Mike Kostyo, a Chicago food “trendologist” and vice president at food industry consulting company Menu Matters. “Overall, pumpkin and pumpkin spice are here to stay. It’s a seasonal favorite in the same way peppermint is for winter.”

‘Tis the season for pumpkin-flavored everything, but while demand is nearly universal, what people prefer it in depends on where in the U.S. they live.

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From breads and cookies to soup and seeds, pumpkin favorites vary state by state, according to an analysis of Google Trends by the blog Coffeeness.

The company analyzed more than 30 different pumpkin-based foods and drinks — including pumpkin ravioli and curry — comparing search interest across all 50 states over the past year. While tastes vary by region, a few items clearly dominate. In the Northeast, for example, pumpkin purveyors favor muffins, cookies and other seasonal sweets.

Pumpkin bread was the No. 1 searched item in 20 states, particularly across the South and Midwest: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.

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Recipes for pumpkin bread date back to the 1830s, and experts trace its roots to early American settlers who adapted European spice breads and puddings using the gourd popular among Native American tribes.

Pumpkin bread is rising as the season’s star, while spiced lattes quietly keep their crown, the analysis found. (iStock)

Convenient, on-the-go pumpkin muffins followed as the top search in 11 states, including California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Pumpkin cookies were the favorite in Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Utah, the analysis found.

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“Some of what you’re seeing in the search trends reflect that people are cooking at home more,” Kostyo said. “That is partly because of pricing pressures, and it’s much cheaper to cook at home, but also because we’ve seen a general shift towards people cooking at home since the pandemic.” 

He added that social media recipe sharing has boosted interest in homemade treats like breads and muffins.

Pumpkin soup was the top search term in Florida, Texas, New York and Michigan. (iStock)

A few states, however, prefer their pumpkin blended into a cozy soup. 

Florida, Texas, New York and Michigan all favor the savory option. In some parts of the Lone Star State, recipes even include citrus zest for a Southwestern twist.

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In warmer climates such as Hawaii, Louisiana and Mississippi, nutrient-packed pumpkin seeds were the top searched item, beating out heavier baked goods.

Over the years, interest in savory pumpkin items has surged, according to Kostyo. 

“It was a natural white space opportunity for pumpkin after every sweet beverage and dessert was pumpkin-ified,” he said. “It also reflected the fact that consumers kept asking for real pumpkin, not just pumpkin flavor, and real pumpkin on its own is actually savory.”

Pumpkin pie topped the list in only North Dakota and Wyoming, while the iconic pumpkin spice latte was No. 1 in just South Dakota.

Starbucks introduced the Pumpkin Spice Latte in 2003, and it remains a top seller. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service)

Nonetheless, Starbucks announced that it saw its best Tuesday sales ever this year when it brought back the Pumpkin Spice Latte, Kostyo noted, proving that the seasonal favorite is far from fading. He said people likely aren’t searching for “pumpkin spice latte” because they already know where to find one.

Consumer psychology expert Matt Johnson noted that pumpkin’s appeal persists even in regions without a traditional fall season, like his home state of California. 

“We’re dealing with something primarily psychological and cultural rather than environmental,” he told Fox News Digital.

“We’re not talking about a seasonal flavor preference, but rather a culturally constructed vibe that’s become deeply embedded in how Americans conceptualize autumn itself.”

Federal and local authorities rescued more than 30 missing children and uncovered multiple trafficking operations targeting vulnerable youth during a coordinated crackdown across Texas.

The effort, centered in San Antonio, led to arrests, felony warrants and several new investigations under a joint mission known as “Operation Lightning Bug.”

Teams from the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) out of San Antonio, Del Rio, Midland, and Pecos joined forces with San Antonio Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit, Special Victims Unit, Street Crimes Unit and covert operatives. Together, they combed through Texas and national crime databases to identify at-risk juveniles and coordinate recovery efforts.

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The results included:

• Three arrests for harboring runaways
• Nine felony warrants executed
• Six sex trafficking survivors rescued and connected with support services
• Five new trafficking investigations opened
• More than 30 missing juveniles located
• More than 120 additional juveniles voluntarily returned home, clearing their names from missing persons databases

Each recovered child was interviewed by SAPD’s Special Victims Unit to determine whether they had been victimized. Survivors were referred to support services provided by agencies such as Health and Human Services to ensure long-term care and protection.

U.S. Marshal Susan Pamerleau, for the Western District of Texas, said in a statement that protecting children remains central to the Marshals Service’s mission.

“The safety of our children is the safety of our communities, and justice demands that we protect those who cannot protect themselves,” Pamerleau said. “Through Operation Lightning Bug, we reaffirm our promise to safeguard the most vulnerable and strengthen the safety of our communities.”

The U.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement have been cracking down on trafficking operations. (U.S. Marshals Service, Bennie J. Davis III)

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus echoed those sentiments, praising the effort as an example of law enforcement unity.

“Every suspect arrested, juvenile returned home and survivor taken out of harm’s way matters,” McManus said. “This operation demonstrates what can be achieved when law enforcement agencies unite to protect children.”

The U.S. Marshals conducted the sweep under the authority of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, which empowers the agency to recover missing or endangered children, even when no fugitive is involved. That law also led to the creation of the USMS Missing Child Unit, which leads similar recovery efforts nationwide.

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The U.S. Marshals Service said protecting children remains central to its mission. (U.S. Marshals Service)

Kirsta Leeberg-Melton, founder and CEO of the Institute to Combat Trafficking, said operations like this one underscore the larger issue of exploitation in Texas and beyond.

“Trafficking is something that the city of San Antonio and the state of Texas and the nation have been grappling with for a considerable period of time,” she said in an interview with Fox News Digital. 

She said traffickers often target instability — children without consistent housing, food or family support.

“They are easy pickings for traffickers to take advantage of,” she warned. “They exploit these needs by offering those items and then calling in debts and putting those kids in a position where they are able to exploit them for sex or for labor.”

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Leeberg-Melton said the public often underestimates how widespread trafficking is — and how much it has evolved, especially online.

“Trafficking is the exploitation of men, women and children for forced sex or forced labor by a third party for their profit or gain. That’s been around forever,” Leeberg-Melton said. “What hasn’t really been around is people’s understanding of that crime and their knowledge that it’s happening everywhere!”

She added that traffickers increasingly use technology to recruit and control victims.

“As technology advances, traffickers…are early adopters and adapters of technology,” she said. “The internet allows them to connect with victims and buyers far beyond their local area.”

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Traffickers are increasingly using technology to prey on victims, Kirsta Leeberg-Melton said. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Leeberg-Melton emphasized that trafficking is not limited to border regions.

“American citizens can traffic American citizens on American soil,” she said, adding that most trafficking cases prosecuted in the U.S. involve American perpetrators exploiting American victims.

“The biggest myth is that it happens somewhere else, and it happens to someone else,” she said. “Until we start recognizing that people have value, no matter who they are, where they come from, what they’ve done or what’s been done to them, we will continue to excuse some level of exploitation.”

Leeberg-Melton also described sextortion as a growing form of trafficking that uses coercion to force sexual conduct or imagery.

“When you have someone that you are holding something over their head and then you are asking them for additional photographs or additional sexual conduct with the threat…that is a form, frankly, of human trafficking,” she said.

If you suspect someone is a victim of trafficking, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or report anonymously at humantraffickinghotline.org.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.