Jason Landry, a 21-year-old student from Texas, went missing on December 13, 2020. That evening, the young man left the University of San Marcos campus and headed to his family home in the Sienna neighborhood of Missouri City, a suburb of Houston, to spend the Christmas holidays there.
Authorities believe his car crashed and was subsequently abandoned. Jason's clothes and personal belongings were found in and around the car. The tracking dogs sensed his scent, and the trail led them from the crash site to the surrounding pond, but a thorough search in the reservoir by divers yielded no results.
In December 2020, Jason completed his first semester at the University of San Marcos, Texas, where he competed for admission to the prestigious Sound Recording Technology program. The man left his dorm room on December 13, around 10:55 p.m. The student left San Marcos and embarked on a 2-3-hour trip to his parent's home in Missouri City, Texas, where he would spend the holidays. Jason never made it to his parent's house.
Shortly after midnight on December 14, a firefighter driving across the Salt Flat Road in Luling, Texas, discovered an abandoned and damaged car on the side of the road. The man decided to stop and check if there was any injured person inside. The accident must have happened recently because the car's lights were still on. The vehicle's keys were in the ignition and the driver's door was locked. But nowhere was there any sign of the driver of the car. The firefighter decided to inform the relevant services about his discovery.
It quickly turned out that the car belonged to Jason Landry. State police have determined that Landry had an accident caused by a bump on a gravel road, causing him to fall off the road and hit a tree. Jason's backpack, peaked cap, and toiletries were found approximately 900 feet from the wreckage. The backpack contained a small amount of marijuana, a laptop, and gaming equipment (console?).
On the same day, his parents were notified of Jason's accident. When his father arrived at the scene on December 14, he made a few more discoveries. A short distance from his son's vehicle, he found Jason's clothing, including a T-shirt, shorts, socks, underwear, sandals, and a wristwatch. Interestingly, the T-shirt his father found was the same shirt Jason had worn the night before during the trip.
As there was still no trace of the student, a search was initiated. The Caldwell County Sheriff's Office in collaboration with the Texas Rangers, a team of federal agents and private investigators made every effort to locate Jason. A photo of the missing person and his description was also released to the media. Jason has been described as a white male who is just over six feet tall and weighs 170 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
Initially, the authorities focused on the local pond where their tracking dogs led them. The pond was drained and thoroughly searched, but no clues were found. The search action involved helicopters equipped with thermal imaging cameras, UAVs (drones), tracking dogs, divers, and volunteers. In addition, some search groups scoured the grounds on quad bikes and horses. Forests, rivers, and lakes were searched… to no avail.
Authorities admitted they had no idea what might have happened that night and said Jason's disappearance was mysterious. Jason's father, Ken Landry, believes his son may have gotten lost because the road where his wrecked car was found is dimly lit and the lack of buildings nearby makes it very dark at night. No traces of paint of a different color were found on his son's car, which could indicate that another vehicle was involved in the accident or that it was pushed off the road. The man does not exclude that his son may have been chased by another driver, as a result of which he lost control of the steering wheel and drove off the road. It is also possible that he could get lost following the directions of the navigation incorrectly pointing to the way. It is also possible that an animal appeared on the road in front of Jason's car that the man tried to avoid and eventually hit a tree.
Jason's cell phone was found in the car on the driver's side floor. Thanks to him and the monitoring devices, it was possible to determine the course of the route covered by the student that night.
- December 13, 10:55 pm - Landry leaves the San Marcos dorm with the intention of going to his parents' Missouri City home.
- December 13, 23:05 - drives his vehicle on Highway 80 and passes I-35 in San Marcos.
- December 13, 23:07 - Head south on Highway 80 entering Caldwell County.
- December 13, 23:11 - Located in Martindale, Texas, driving further south on Highway 80.
- December 13, 23:15 - Pass by SH130 (state highway) on Highway 80.
- December 13, 23:24 - enters the highway to the city of Luling. The man stops using the Waze app and logs into Snapchat. His digital footprint breaks off on East Austin Street and soon after it crashes onto Salt Flat Road.
- December 14 00:31 - found Jason's abandoned car.
The car was examined for DNA or blood traces, but nothing suspicious was found there. There is also no evidence that Jason may have met anyone in the Luling area.
According to the sheriff's office statement, Jason's family is cooperative and very helpful with the investigation, and there is currently no evidence that third parties were involved in the incident.
It's been three months since Jason's disappearance, and so far no clue has emerged. The lack of any clues and evidence in the case is worrying and raises many questions regarding this mysterious disappearance:
What caused the accident? What was he doing on that quiet, unlit Salt Flat Road? Why were his clothes strewn on the street? Why did Jason leave his valuables in the car? Why did the tracking dogs lead the searchers to the pond when a search of it revealed no sign of Jason? What happened in the less than an hour between the time when all traces were removed to the time his car was found? What happened to Jason?
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