Police have dragged out 62 bodies from the Manchester Canal since 2008, sparking rumours that there may be a serial killer on the loose.
Some who believe the "serial killer theory" say that the murderer, nicknamed "the pusher", has been more active over the past few years. However, police denies the existence of any murderer.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Professor Craig Jackson - head of Psychology at Birmingham City University - had first related that it is "highly unlikely" for all the 61 people to die of accidents and suicides.
"I use the analogy of thinking... if this were one stretch of motorway, it would be declared an accident black spot. If it were a workplace, it would be closed down. There's clearly something going on here that's beyond the realm of accident or happenstance and I think it needs to be investigated more closely," Jackson explained.
The 'serial killer theory' inspired some to celebrate the alleged murderer as "#ThePusher" on the internet.
A Manchester native, named David, tweets, "#ThePusher is not really news to the people of Manchester, most of us have been thinking something's not right for years now."
Meanwhile, people like William Shutter are using the trend of "#ThePusher" to spread awareness and help some charities.
Please RT for awareness. £1 to your favourite maritime charity for every 'T' sold #ThePusher pic.twitter.com/hbXoQGCHz5
— Call me Bill (@william_shutter) January 14, 2015
Others, like the Greater Manchester Police, have emphasized that there is no serial killer in the picture, and that there is no link between the people whose bodies have been found in the canal.
Gemma, a friend of Souvik Pal - an 18-year-old student who drowned in the canal in 2013, writes, "I don't think there's a 'murderer' on the loose but someone was with Souvik and they know what happened #ThePusher #souvikPal."
Meanwhile, Smyth Harper said, "Really good to see @gmpolice saying clearly this #ThePusher nonsense is a load of tripe. Can the media stop now?"
Even the Greater Manchester Police department had issued a statement following the "speculation about canal death", in which they reiterated that there was no reason to believe in the involvement of a serial killer.
"The last thing we want is to cause further suffering and upset to grieving families who may be falsely led to believe from media reporting that there is a linked series of attacks or to cause unnecessary worries to people especially those who live in or frequent Manchester City Centre," reads the statement.
