Keeping Jason Landry’s memory alive

A group of concerned citizens focused on keeping the memory of missing Texas State student Jason Landry from fading rented a booth at the 69th annual Luling Watermelon Thump last weekend in hopes of raising awareness about his disappearance.

Some 564 days have passed since anyone last saw or heard from Landry after he set out late Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, from his San Marcos apartment enroute to Missouri City near Houston, planning to meet up with his older brother and sister at their parents’ home near Houston, where his father, a former lawyer, ministers a large church there.

Early the next morning, law enforcement found the college student’s vehicle, banged up and abandoned along Salt Flat Road near Luling, a remote area with few homes, even fewer lights and miles upon miles of nothing but oilfield equipment, current and abandoned well sites and rough, unforgiving wilderness.

Lawmen initially speculated that Landry lost control of his car on the gravel road, ultimately crashing into the roadside fence, and unable to get his car free, he took off afoot for help. Oddly, though, it was the curvy parts of the road where the wrecked car was found, but a good half mile or so of straightaway.

Of course, nothing explained why he wound up on that stretch of road to begin with, or how he came to be at that point on the map.

Although making stellar time from San Marcos to Luling, all his cellular data seems to cease operating about the time he reached the first traffic light one comes to in Luling when travelling from San Marcos.

Police and his parents have located scant few clues since, and no one’s heard peep from Landry. Search crews have covered tens of thousands of acres in the adjacent pastures and woodlands, using tracking canines, horses, drones and grid-based search crews. On multiple occasions, in fact.

Still, nothing. And the days continue to mount.

Felicia Sundgren, a booth organizer, told area television crews she was “surprised that many people still had never heard of Landry’s case.” 

Some of the volunteers working the booth last weekend—women, mostly—drove down to Luling from places as far away as Dallas and Houston for the event. The booth was even stocked with the candy “Swedish Fish,” reportedly one of Landry’s favorites, Sundgren said.

Although initial comments from Landry’s family stayed quite hopeful, speaking about how they hoped to see the young man at home in time for Christmas, Jason’s father, Kent Landry, had a much darker view when he spoke the media at the last large search held last fall. 

“We can count, too,” he told reporters. “And we realize that if he’s still out there, the chances of him being alive still are practically nonexistent. Still, we can’t give up looking until we find him.”

Investigators and family located his phone, wallet, and even clothes and gaming supplies, most of which looked as though they were intentionally left behind.

In January, members of the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office released new evidence related to the case, including a call log, over an hour’s worth of body camera footage from law enforcement personnel at the scene and a recorded FaceTime call with his dad.

In May 2021, Landry’s family announced they were offering $10,000 for anyone who had information on what happened to Landry. 

Several national true crime TV shows and podcasts have now done segments on the Landry case. Unfortunately, most end with just more questions, the answers few.

One of the most promising leads in months came earlier this year when skeletal human remains turned up along a river bottom near Seguin. Although unlikely that anyone would have hiked the 20-some miles from Salt Flat Road to where the remains were found just outside Seguin, across some truly terrible terrain (including a major Interstate highway), 2021 started off a very wet year. 

It also caught late summer rains that led to substantial flooding of the area.

Given that’s the direction water would ultimately flow, many postulated about those remains possibly being Landry’s, long before the crime labs could confirm it, which proved very upsetting to family members. 

At the same time, multiple news outlets all over the state were running stories about their own cold cases that could also be possibilities. 

When positive identification finally did come back a week later, not only was it not tied to Landry, but they also didn’t help clear up any of those other cases either, despite all those stories getting revisited right about then. 

The remains ultimately linked to a relatively recent Jackson Country capital case that still hasn’t gone to trial yet.

Earlier this year, several Facebook groups joined together to rent a billboard along U.S. Highway 183, north of Luling.

The billboard includes two photos of Landry, a $10,000 reward offer along with the contact information for the Texas Attorney General Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit, available for any potential case tips. Landry’s family approved the billboard design, organizers said.

“The important thing to remember is that Jason—our son—is still missing,” his father said, pleading with the public to “help fill any holes in the timeline” that might help locate his son, for better or worse. 

Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Jeff Ferry with the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office. He can be reached at (512) 398-6777, Ext. 4516, or by email at Jeff.Ferry@co.caldwell.tx.us.