Oliver Ortiz was a good person and a hard worker who, his family said, had no enemies. A 20-year-old native of Guatemala, Oliver had come to Houston, Texas, where his uncle remembered him as dedicated to his work from the moment he arrived. His parents and siblings remained in Guatemala, and he was in the United States building a life alongside his friend, Carlos Tzep Ajpop, who also had roots in Guatemala.
The last time anyone saw the two young men alive was on Sunday, September 27,
2026. That evening, Oliver and his friend Carlos were seen together at an apartment complex at 8701 Town Park Boulevard, near South Gessner Road in the Sharpstown area of southwest Houston. At some point, they left the location, each driving his own car but believed to be traveling together. Investigators later said the two friends may have attended local car meet-ups that night. When they never made it home, their worried families reported them missing.
A few days later, a grim discovery confirmed their families’ worst fears. On Wednesday, September 30, the vehicles belonging to both Oliver and Carlos were found abandoned together near the 10500 block of Keegan Road in the Alief neighborhood, about six miles from where they were last seen. The day before, on September 29, a body had been recovered from Buffalo Bayou. Authorities were called around 6:00 p.m. to the area near the I-610 West Loop South and Memorial Drive, where they found the remains of Carlos Tzep Ajpop. He had been fatally shot.
The search for Oliver ended in heartbreak three days later. On the morning of October 2, 2026, his body was discovered in a different section of Buffalo Bayou, near the 7300 block of Clinton Drive in east Houston. He too had sustained a fatal gunshot wound; his uncle later learned he had been shot in the forehead. Houston Police Department homicide investigators believe the deaths of the two friends are connected and that they were likely killed at the same time and place before their bodies were left in separate locations along the bayou.
The double homicide left both families devastated and fearful that the person or people responsible were still at large. In the midst of their grief, they began the difficult process of raising funds to repatriate the bodies of Oliver and Carlos to their parents in Guatemala. Their efforts were cruelly complicated when Oliver’s family was targeted by a scammer who, under the guise of helping with the arrangements, defrauded them of approximately $1,300. The local community, including the Impacto de Fe church, rallied to support the families and help plan memorial services for the two young men.
As of October 2026, the investigation into the murders of Oliver Ortiz and Carlos Tzep Ajpop is ongoing. No arrests have been made, and no suspects have been publicly identified. The Houston Police Department continues to seek answers and has urged anyone with information about what happened to the two friends to come forward. Detectives are asking anyone who might have seen the men or their vehicles on or after September 27, 2026, at the apartment complex, the local car meets, or the locations where their cars and bodies were found, to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or to provide an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
