Jason Landry /// Part 1 /// 860 | Forensic Files

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beer. Let's talk some true crime. [Music] There is now a cash reward being offered
in the case of a missing Texas State student. It's been a painful six months for his family who is now asking anyone
who knows anything to come forward. Janelle Bluda spoke to Jason's father. >> Jason's dad says they're still
physically searching for his son every week, but says this reward is another tool. Hopefully, it will entice someone
who might know something to come forward. He's counting the days. >> Today's day 156, so we're over five
months. >> As any father would. They've done extensive physical searches. They've
interviewed I don't even know how many witnesses and and different possible scenarios.
>> 156 days since his son Jason Landry went missing without a trace. >> His car was found at about 12:30. Engine
running, lights on. >> For the first time since Jason was last seen back in December, the family is
offering a reward. $10,000 to anyone who has information that helps find him. Reward is a tool like any other to
hopefully motivate the one person who might know something. >> Reward money that's being offered by
Jason's family and friends. >> I would like nothing better than to be able to reward that money for the person
who comes forward and helps us locate our son. >> He says there's so many theories into
what happened that night. Jason left Texas State University in San Marcus on December 13th. He was on his way to his
parents' house for Christmas break, but crashed his car on the way near Luling. That's where he vanished. Cell phone
records show Jason's actions up until an hour before his car was found. >> But after that, there's no cell phone
activity. We don't know, frankly, what happened in the next hour. >> He's hoping this reward will entice
someone to fill in the blanks. >> He was a great kid and he wouldn't run away. That's just not that's not him.
would not stay away willingly. So, until we know something, we're gonna keep hoping and praying.
>> If you or someone you know have any information on where Jason might be, you're asked to call authorities or go
to the missing person Jason Landry Facebook page and submit a tip. There is an expiration on the reward. We have all
the information on our website, khou.com. Guys, back to you. [Music] Jason Landry was born on July 29th, 1999
to parents Kent and Lisa Landry. Having two older siblings, Jessica and Kyle, Jason was known to be outgoing and
charismatic. He was the goofball of the family. He's the baby and the goofball. From his early childhood to his adult
years, Jason enjoyed cars, anything involving the outdoors, animals, and he always could be counted on for three
things. wearing silly socks, having a cookie cake every year for his birthday, and having a deep love for Swedish fish
candy. Now, Jason's mom, Lisa, says, quote, "Jason had the best smile. He could get away with anything. He loved
music. He loved playing all sorts of instruments, and he gave the best hugs." End quote.
>> Good-looking kid. >> Yes. When we catch up with Jason here in his life, he had just recently managed
to complete his first semester at Texas State University, even though this was the COVID year. So, regardless of the
effects of COVID 19 and what a pandemic can do to a school year, Jason had one semester down, one under his belt at the
Texas State University. And by all accounts, he was eager and excited to get back to his hometown of Missouri
City, Texas, to spend some time with family and friends over the long winter break. Yeah. There's something exciting
about coming back home when you're on your right path. If you're not on your right path, you're like, "H, I'm
dreading seeing my friends. I'm dreading seeing my family. I'm going to have to answer all these questions." But when
you're on your right path and you're feeling good about life, you kind of want to show yourself off a little bit
to your family. >> I love getting back together with the old gang regardless of the situation. I
think it's a it's the best for me anyway. So Jason packs up his Nissan Ultima. He's putting some of his
belongings in there. And the reports are that he left his apartment around 10:55
p.m. on December 13th, ready to begin his destination home. So this is like a 2 to threehour drive to his parents'
home in Missouri City, Texas. >> Yeah. So not too crazy of a drive. >> Yeah. So, the plan was to drive back
home, stay at his folks place, and added bonus, actually the best bonus, you get
to see a bunch of your buds from back in the day, and hopefully get some rad Christmas gifts as well. But none of
that cool stuff is going to happen because Jason does not make it back to his parents' place. In fact, there is
every indication that he didn't make it very far on his nighttime journey at all. He disappeared between point A,
which was his apartment in San Marcos, Texas, where he was attending school, living, and working, and point B,
Missouri City, Texas. This is approximately a 165 milei drive working out to be roughly there's three very
common routes that one would take and they all take about 2 hours and 45 minutes to closer to 3 hours drive time.
>> That's enough time to listen to two maybe three true crime garage episodes. >> Yes. Or three Mly Crew albums. But while
he sets out on this three-hour tour, he unfortunately he never makes it. This is
a disappearance of a young man. His vanishing is surrounded by mysterious circumstances.
It's almost as if he drove off into the dark cold night and then decided to step
out of his vehicle and into a black hole. And if that's not an overall consuming picture, this case, this true
crime story, Jason's vanishing, his disappearance has consumed many of those who have come looking for answers.
>> Yeah. Out of all the missing person cases we've looked into, this one I I would rate probably in my top five as
far as just bizarre. How bizarre. How bizarre. >> It's a true mystery. So, let's fill in
and fill out that night. What was the timeline? What were the details? And do we have any evidence as to what happened
to this young man or really any clue at all? Where did he go? >> And listen carefully because your
guesses are going to be probably just as good if not better than ours. >> From one of the truly greatest magazines
of all time and one of the few great magazines that's still in existence to this day. This is from Texas Monthly and
it reads, "The day before he went missing, meaning Jason Landry, he was thinking about socks." Socks, a colorful
pair that featured a monkey in a suit and a tie holding a briefcase in one hand and a banana in the other with the
words monkey business stitched across each ankle. They were the highlight of an extensive Christmas list. he text to
his mother on December 12, 2020. So, this text, according to Texas Monthly, came about a day before Jason sets out
on his trip back to Missouri City, Texas. This was kind of coincidental for us here, Captain. As you know, we had
every intention of covering this case and it was already on our calendar. And it just so happens that a publication
that does fantastic reporting and very underrated reporting on true crime stories, Texas Monthly, just so happened
to include this story in their most recent publication. So, it very much coincidence that this sort of lined up
for us and them all around the same time. Texas Monthly goes on to tell us that normally Jason was the opposite of
a list maker. He wasn't a planner. He started Sam Houston State as a cleancut kid. This is a couple of years earlier.
After leaving home, he embraced his inner slacker and he really, according to the magazine, didn't take much
interest in class. So after it looks like after 2 years at Sam Houston State, he decided to transfer to Texas State
University and he was going to buckle down, have more focus, and focus on getting better grades. But remember,
this was the COVID year. It was weird for all kinds of reasons, of course, right? And according to the publication,
the impact of a semester of remote classes and isolation with CO 19 was toxic for Jason Landry. In the long form
brilliant think piece put together by Peter Holly for Texas Monthly, Jason Landry is described by his father. So
his dad's name is Kent, as we had said. I think we may be talking a good deal about Kent as we go through this true
crime story, but his dad describes his boy as quote pure extrovert, full of pure optimism, someone who had been
making friends with strangers since he was a toddler. To cope, Jason retreated into a cloud of pot smoke. Quote, given
his personality, isolating him was one of the worst things you could do to him, said his father. He was stuck in a small
apartment in a small room on an empty floor. It was like solitary confinement for him and I am not surprised that he
self-medicated. I have a lot of thoughts on this but this is brought up a lot and
I I don't know what effect or what the thoughts are as far as his emotional state on his disappearance cuz yes it's
the co time. So, if you are isolated and you're heading back to see your family and friends, well, guess what? You're
going to be kind of happy. You're probably going to be out of that funk. The day before he goes missing, I mean,
he's talking about these goofy monkey socks. Seems like my kind of my kind of guy, right?
>> So, I this is brought up a lot. I don't know what what level of effect this might have had on him going missing.
That's insightful and I appreciate the the extra thought there. One thing that I
will say that that I'm very concerned with and it's not just isolated to Jason's case. It really goes to and and
look, I'm no square. When when COVID hit here, out of boredom, my drinking increased straight up out of boredom.
So, I'm not immune to any of this stuff. And I have some experience with some of
these things, good and bad. And one thing that was concerning of me the more I was learning about Jason in this time
period in his life was his age mixed with that amount of of of recreational drug use is always very concerning to me
regardless of the person. Every situation can be unique obviously, but it also like, you know, we're not fully
formed at that age and and that really that really scares me with anybody again, not just Jason's case, but with
anybody. >> Yeah. But but I also think there's a thing here. There's something at play.
And I think you see this throughout the investigation. I think you see this throughout the interviews with Jason's
father. I think his father, which once was a lawyer and now a pastor, I believe, he's going to have a set of
ideals for this world and how people live them. And I think some of this conversation is him trying to justify
his son's actions and part of his lifestyle because it just doesn't line up with his.
And so, and we I think there's a lot of people that can identify with this out in the communities where you go like
take my father for example, great guy. He was a detective. You know, he he he lives by a certain
set of rules. Those set of rules I don't live by. So, some of my actions don't make sense to him and some of his
actions don't make sense to me. And I think that's just some of this. Uh, and I think sometimes his father is a little
too concerned with trying to clean up a reputation that almost implying that like people are smearing his son's name
by just stating how he was living his life. I don't think most people look down on or ruins Jason's legacy by
saying, "Well, he he smoked some pot and he and he probably drank some beers." Okay.
>> Well, yeah. And I see what you're saying. I I will say my take away from it was very different. One one thing
that I before we get too far into this, no doubt, and I know you're saying the same, Kent and Lisa fighting very hard
for their son. The one thing that was adding to the sad factor of the story for me was Jason looks a lot like his
dad. Like if you have a picture of 20 people >> Yeah. in it. You can point to the kid
and go, "Yeah, that kid is that guy's son." >> Absolutely. >> That's how much they they look like each
other in my in my opinion. So, it's December 13th. It's nearing the holidays. Jason just finished up his
first semester at the university in San Marcos, Texas. There, he was working toward getting accepted into their
prestigious sound recording technology program. So, think about Jason's to-do list for that
year. And remember, we had said he transferred with the idea that he was going to buckle down and start taking
school seriously. And this is not uncommon. Most college kids that I that I knew,
they did a whole lot of screwing around their freshman year. So, this is pretty on par for for just life in general, in
my opinion. But Jason's to-do list would be wrapping up before before heading home for the holidays. So, he's got to
complete his finals, check. Finish the first semester, check. And wrapping things up at work so he can go home for
a while, check. He worked at Jimmy John's. >> I freaking love Jimmy John's. >> Yes. Earlier that that week, he had he
had completed his final shift before heading home. Jimmy's John's, as they like to say. Get the number nine, the
Italian nightclub. We're starting our timeline on that night, of course, December 13th, 2020. And the reports are
that Jason Landry was last seen after having packed up his car leaving to go home around 10:55 p.m. all of the best
reporting on this case has him leaving or just starting out starting to hit the road by 11:00 p.m. that night. But
before Jason leaves, >> it's late. That's too late in my opinion. I wish he would have slept and
left the next day. Before he leaves, he does some facetime with one of his buddies. And this is where this is the
part that we start to stray from the short version of the narrative about this case.
>> Right? >> See, while it's true that Jason was going home for the holidays, his folks
were not technically expecting him. This, for me, at least makes sense because the strange hour, like you're
pointing out here, Captain, the strange hour of departure, because remember, he's last seen leaving at 10:55 to 11:00
p.m. I'm sure mom and dad wouldn't love Jason rolling into their place at the very convenient time of 2:00 in the
morning. >> Yeah, this makes me think that he was going to meet some friends back home.
>> Yes, we actually know that to be the case. Okay. >> So, he's he's facetiming with the with
the buddy who lives in Missouri City that he's actually going to drive to that night. And at some point, hanging
out with friends will transition into him going to mom and dad's house. They are expecting him for the holidays. That
date and time of when they were expecting him is a mystery to me. >> But even if it's a little early, then
he's being a cool son and surprising his mom and dad. Hey, came home a little early. Here I am.
>> So, as I understand it, Captain, Jason was heading home, but the plan was actually to meet up at a friend's house
and play video games. So, Jason's on FaceTime with this friend who he plans to meet up with later. This is about an
hour before he leaves his place. This is documented. We know that this happened for a fact. Uh the friend actually
recorded the video for the conversation, but there's no audio. No audio was recorded. No audio exists, but the video
still does. And I watched the video. In the video, to me, Jason appears to be very happy. He smiles multiple times. He
seems obviously excited about whatever he's talking about. I'm assuming he's talking about hanging out and some of
his recent experiences at college. But he seems excited and like the captain said, seems excited about going home.
The best I can tell with no audio. Now, in the video, he's also rolling joints. He is very obviously discussing the weed
that he has, and he is very talkative in this video. Even though you can't hear the sound, I can see his lips moving
constantly. So, he's very talkative and it that rings true with what we've been told about his personality. So, this is
all right on par with his personality. Based off of what little I know about him, but what the family and friends and
everybody has said about him, this video, nothing about it seems strange to me at all. If anything, it seems
positive, right? when you're looking at pieces of information to try to lead you
down whatever rabbit hole you're going, I can look at this video and and based on I agree with everything you just said
about the video, but to me I go, "Well, this is this is a positive reinforcement
as far as what his mental state could be at that time." >> Yeah. And we have a good solid list of
Jason's confirmed or in some cases believed movements and actions for the night in question. Before we go down
that road, San Marcos, where Jason was living at the time, is a city in Hayes County, Texas. The city is a part of the
greater Austin metropolitan area. San Marcos city limits extend into Caldwell County and Guadalupe County, which we
will be talking about. Caldwell County quite a bit during this true crime story. San Marcos is on the Interstate
35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. Its population was just over 67,000 people in 2020. And of course,
it's the home of Texas State University. So, this is a 160 mile trek eastbound as
Missouri City is right near Houston. This timeline of confirmed or in some cases believed movements and actions for
the night in question is a mashup from a few different timelines that are out there. So for more detail and this is
from Fox 7 out of Austin. Jason Landry facetiming his friend. The friend was in Missouri City approximately 1 hour
before leaving his San Marcos apartment. Calwell County Sheriff's Department, Captain Jeff Ferry, said Landre's friend
screen recorded the conversation because quote, "Jason was so messed up that he didn't think he was going to remember it
later." >> Now, that's not a good sign. >> No. And and so the the way I take this
is that the friend's like, "Oh, I'm going to show this to him later. We'll all have a big laugh about it because I
don't think he's going to recall the conversation." >> Right. This report too says Jason spent
45 minutes talking to the friend on FaceTime. Texas Monthly says at some point that night, Jason decided to drive
home. He packed a bag of toiletries, a PlayStation game console, a laptop, and a handful of joints hidden inside a pill
container because the police never look inside the pill container. He stuffed all of this into a black backpack. He
placed his Siamese fighting fish, Sparky, into a plastic tumbler that he used as a pet carrier and then he was
going to be on his way. >> I mean, does this crack you up at all? He he packed up his fish.
>> That tells me he's going to be gone for an extended period of time. >> Yeah, >> that's, you know, somebody needs to feed
the fish and take care of the fish, so he's just going to take his pet with him back home. Well, but let me tell you
what concerns me a little bit is some people think, well, you can't drive drunk, but you can drive high. And
that's not always the case. I would just say if you're impaired, you're impaired.
I mean, I've I've taken allergy medicine that's made me sleepy and I was probably
just as dangerous if I would have been driving drunk or high. So, I don't like this and I don't like him leaving so
late. And I understand he's going to a friend's house, but this is very late. But again, he's in his early 20s. We all
make stupid mistakes. >> Another thing that should be of concern as well and does, depending on who you
talk to, play a big role in this mystery is that a cold front was moving into the
area. In fact, it already moved in earlier. There was there was high winds and the temperature plunged into the 30s
that night. So, it was particularly cold for this area. Jason set out on his trip
back to Missouri City. He was dressed for the car ride, but not dressed for being out in the elements.
[Music] All right, we are back. Cheers, mates. To the windows, to the walls. Cheers to
you, Colonel. >> Cheers to you, Captain. Raise them high and raise them proud. Tall can hands in
the air to everybody out there listening. As we said earlier, 10:55, Landry leaves his San Marcos apartment
for his parents' home, home city of Missouri City, where he is expected to spend the holiday break. From my
understanding here, and this seems to be the general consensus, Captain Landry had driven home only twice
prior to this trip, which makes a lot of sense because he's in his first semester
there at Texas State, >> right? >> At 11:05 p.m., this is according to the Caldwell
County Sheriff's detectives. They say that Jason is driving his Nissan Ultima on Texas Route 80 and passes under
Interstate 35 in San Marcos. And then he continues south on Texas 80 into Caldwell County. and he is in the
Martindale area around 11:11 p.m. 4 minutes later at 11:15, Landry continues on Texas 80, passes Texas 130,
and goes through several small towns, including Stairtown, Prairie, Leah, and Fentress. Texas Monthly tells us that
Jason spent some portions of this drive communicating with a friend and also communicating with an exgirlfriend
on FaceTime and on Snapchat. Just pointing out the obvious here. If his friend was correct about filming the
FaceTime, Jason was so messed up he wouldn't remember it. We now have a guy that is potentially driving impaired,
communicating on both FaceTime and Snapchat with at least two other individuals.
That's what's been reported. And he's also using his Ways app to guide him on his route.
>> I hate distracted driving. >> Put your damn phone down and just drive the damn car.
>> Yeah. Not to criticize, but there's a lot of going on in this car. A lot of stuff going on in this car and not
all of it has to do with focusing on >> the road, >> driving safely. >> Where we're going, we don't need no
roads. >> Now, I will say regarding his outfit, I'm the kind of guy if I know I'm
driving a a three-hour trip, I like to travel comfortable as well. So, I didn't find anything strange about his his
outfit. While it's not great for being out in the cold, to me that tells me either A, he's not thinking clearly,
which could be the case according to his friend, or B, he has no intention of leaving his vehicle until he gets to a
warm, comfortable place, i.e. his friend's house at the other end of his trip. >> Yeah, I'm not saying it's a negative
thing. I'm just saying that it's a a sign of his age. I mean, you know you're you're approaching your midlife crisis
when you start making sure that your car has a spare jacket in it the whole time.
At 11:24 p.m., he's about well, so he's roughly a half hour into his drive. Jason enters Lulling from Texas 80. As
he moves through the intersection, this is one of the key points here. This is something that's always highlighted in
every story about this case. And it states as he moves through the intersection of Hackberry Street where
Texas 80 becomes Austin Street, he turns off the ways app and begins using the Snapchat app. This is according to the
police. Well, one of the things that's fascinating about this case is how much data that we have from his cell phone.
So, we know a lot about his movements. >> Yes. And the reason why I said that leading into our timeline in that kind
of weird fashion is what we're tracking here. We're getting a lot of this information from his phone. That to me I
can't I won't say that we can definitively say that these are every one of his movements and I will not
definitively say that he is alone during all of this. >> I think to do both to do either would be
irresponsible. I think the probability I think it's most likely that yes, he these are his movements and most likely
he was alone during most of this trip if not all of it. >> Yeah, I don't believe we have any
evidence that there was a second person. >> According to the information from police, Jason then continues on Austin
Street to Magnolia Avenue where his digital footprint ends. Authorities believe that instead of turning right on
Magnolia, Jason drove straight through the intersection on East Austin Street to Spruce Street, which turns into Salt
Flat Road. Okay, we'll we'll go back to Salt Flat Road here in a second, but to hone in on this part of our timeline a
little bit, this is where we can really start to throw in a lot of speculation. He's turned off the Ways app. Was this
an accident? He's only made this drive twice before, or was this intentional? >> That's a very good question.
>> Texas Monthly says basically the same thing. Instead of turning right, he goes
straight for several blocks. The street eventually bends to the left and turns into Salt Flat Road, leading him further
away from his destination, and he continued on that road for five miles. regarding that Snapchat information.
This is what I love about Texas Monthly so so much. They're only going to cover Texas cases, but when they when they dip
their toes in a true crime and it's a Texas case, you get some very complete and thorough reporting on a on a story
here. And so Texas >> Texas Monthly says that that Snapchat communication was a selfie that Jason
sent of himself inside the vehicle that he sent to his ex-girlfriend. And in in that picture, she says and the other
people that have seen it say that he looked calm and confident. So, it doesn't it doesn't appear that if
whenever things started to go wrong for Jason on this trip at 11:28, it appears based off of the evidence of that
picture that everything is fine at this time. >> Yeah. But my concern and and I want to
know what your expert opinion is because to me, if you look at where his school was and where he's heading to, this
doesn't seem to be in the right direction. >> Well, that's what they're saying. He
>> this seems like a detour. And then then my question becomes, well, if he's rolling a bunch of joints and you know,
spoiler alert where they find these joints later in his car, you go, was he heading there for some other reason? I
mean, cuz this is very late at night. Was he stopping by to pick up some more marijuana or pick something else up?
Well, and it would seem that if he knows anybody in this area or was communicating with anybody in this area
that either that information I is being kept back for some reason or there's no information telling any of the
investigators or his family that he knows anybody or was communicating with anybody in this area. So, it's really
tricky, right? You look at this this this very big question mark on his trip and you go, "Okay, instead of turning
right, he just continues to go straight and then he's veering off of his route to his destination."
>> Absolutely. >> Was that just pure accident or was that intentional? Now, what as
far as reporting goes and what his family has reported and what the detectives are reporting, there doesn't
seem to be anything telling them that he intentionally was going off of his route. But again, he turns off the th
this is this is where I'm going to show my age a little bit and my lack of experience on some of these social
platforms. I've never used Snapchat. I I said this probably a hundred times throughout the time we were covering
Deli. I don't know. Does it are you required to shut off another app to go into Snapchat? My guess would be no.
Again, he's he's trying to navigate a lot of things, right? You're trying to to stay on track. You're trying to check
the ways app. You're trying to drive and you're also communicating on social media or FaceTime with friends,
>> right? Again, was shutting off the ways app intentional or was that just an accident?
Just happen stance. What we do know is regardless of what's going on, according to the information, at 11:28, he appears
calm and confident in that picture that he sends to his friend. Then the authorities are telling us that they
believe that Jason crashed his car or experienced a vehicle accident at 11:34 p.m. So this 6 minutes after he appears
calm and confident, >> but there's a whole lot of question marks here because if he did crash the
car or there was a accident with the vehicle at 11:34, it's not this vehicle is not spotted by anybody until 12:31
a.m. So we got a bunch of time that goes by where we don't really know what's happening. And again, his digital
footprint had or ended at this time. And then it appears that if he was driving and if he was traveling by himself, he
was in a onecar vehicle accident. >> Yeah, it seems like his car hit a a tree, but it makes you wonder, was it
the distractive driving that caused that? Was he impaired to the point where, you know, he just lost control of
the vehicle? Because if you look at the footage of this road, it's it's a very rural road.
>> Yeah. >> And again, some of the speculation that I think you could, again, it's just a
guess, but it's like, okay, he gets off the freeway. Is he just trying to turn around cuz he was heading in the wrong
direction? And so I'm just going to turn off the Waves app and then try to head back to the freeway. But then this wreck
happens and then we have now this this crime scene and we have his car and it's it's not like a little fender bender.
Man, he messed this car up and now he's in this location. And it could be that he crashed for another reason. uh a
animal ran out into the middle of the road. Uh maybe he got into some kind of accident with another car and they drove
off. Who knows? The report is this that at 12:31 a.m. Jason's Ultima was found crashed and abandoned. The lights were
still on, the keys in the ignition, and the front passenger side door was locked. The vehicle was found in the
2300 block of Salt Flat Road. A local volunteer firefighter driving through the area is the one that spots the
vehicle and reports it. According to Texas Monthly, the car was wedged against a tree and facing the wrong
direction. The airbags did not deploy. Significant damage to the body of the vehicle and rear window was shattered.
The engine was shut off. Keys are still in the ignition and the headlights were shining. Texas Monthly states that at
1:15ish a.m. police arrive. This is the Texas Department of Public Safety. Later, we
would hear investigators say that they think that the car crashed into a tree and barbed wire fence after Jason
overcorrected on the gravel road and spun out of control. The rear window of the vehicle was broken as a result of
the impact with the tree. I this one part of this case that was frustrating for me. I saw plenty of pictures of the
p of the vehicle, but none of the spot. I couldn't confirm the exact spot where this accident took place. Going off of
what my eyes tell me looking at his vehicle. And actually, I think had I seen the scene, I might have a different
I might have a different opinion. So, take this with a grain of salt. But looking at the car, man, This to me
looks like there's two impacts, right? A a rear impact to the vehicle and then a
front driver side impact to the vehicle. I It's hard for me to imagine regardless
of terrain how you could do that amount of damage to these parts of the car in in the same impact. Yeah, that's why I
think the speculation that it could have been an accident with another vehicle and they took off makes some logical
sense. I would like to have seen pictures from the rear of the vehicle to see what the So, what I can see here is
the trunk is damaged beyond all get out, my friend. Like it like the the bumper is off the
>> Yes. The rear of the vehicle is all smashed in like a like a crushed beer can the back of this car and the the
rear window is so I I get what you're saying because I mean had he stopped abruptly and some it if this was an
impact with another car he either very at a high rate of speed backed into somebody or backed into that tree
or he slams on his brakes and somebody smashes into the back of him. >> Right. >> I say all that to say this that police
are adamant that they're saying we found no evidence of another vehicle at this accident scene. And I think what we can
without having to be too imaginative, I think we all can agree that if the other
car looked like his car, we should be seeing parts or pieces of that car at the scene as well.
>> Yes, I agree. But a couple things. one, when they do the investigation initially, I mean, one of the smart
things, and you can actually see this online, but the law enforcement keep their body cams going, so you can
actually see footage of them going through items, but there was a bunch of items of Jason's that people found later
down the road and and what have you. So, was there pieces of another vehicle that
they just didn't collect? That I guess that could be a possibility. And that's where it gets very strange. You look at
his car, you look at the the wreck, the wreckage of his car and you go, "This doesn't make a lot of sense unless he
hit multiple things and then his final landing point was that tree and it smashed the back end up." But it makes
you wonder too like did he hit uh an animal or something? But doesn't seem like we have any evidence of that
either. If he hit an animal, he hit several things after hitting that animal because an animal didn't do this damage
to >> that car. Unless it was maybe the front front driver side if it's was a Sasquatch. Uh but other than that, so
what it looks like to me is it's not uncommon for people to back into something, especially at a high rate of
speed because it it's difficult to see anything behind you, right? Especially at night. this place is this area is not
well lit. And sometimes you even have situations where you might smash into something that is tall enough to smash
up your bumper or maybe even the trunk of your car, but you can't visually see it from the rear window view because
it's just not tall enough, >> right? >> And it's in it's kind of in that dead spot, that blind spot where you can't
see it in your rearview mirrors either. And so the way I kind of visualize this potentially going down is that he's
driving, remember they say he continued for several miles in the wrong direction
after failing to turn right. And a lot of times where do people how do people get lost and turned around? It's not
necessarily you got turned around, it's you missed a turn and you just keep going straight and straight and
straight. At some point, I think the terrain tells him, I'm lost. I'm not where I'm supposed to be.
I don't know if in a fit or a or just trying to hurry along. He's like, "Slam it into reverse." Boom. Doesn't see
something. Smashes into something at a high rate of speed. It had to been if if if the impact of this, and I believe it
was the impact, is what shattered his rear view uh the rear window. It was a high rate of speed either either hitting
him or he was traveling. And I would just wonder had he slammed it into reverse to turn around, smashes into
something and it's the natural reaction for most people when you slam into something going into reverse is to very
quickly go forward, >> right? >> And it almost looks to me like he smashed into something at high rate of
speed and then I'll use the detective's words here, the police officer's words, overcorrected
and tried to go forward and wasn't really looking, still exp, you know, still trying to figure out what happened
when he was going in reverse and then hits something when he goes forward. We're going to find a lot of his
belongings outside of the vehicle, but yet the vehicle the lights weren't turned off, the keys were in the
ignition. That doesn't make any sense to me. >> No. And then there's a trail heading in a direction. And I've I've
seen different reports and I think sometimes you get these different reports and they're it's not nefarious.
It's just people making a mistake. But it seems to me like they they say at some point, well, all all the digital
evidence of his movements stop at a certain point. But I've seen people where they say, "Oh, well, his his cell
phone last pinged in this location, which was a different location than his car." But I believe his cell phone was
found in his car. >> Correct. >> So, it makes you wonder, does he is he disoriented from the crash, which we've
seen this in the past. We've seen other cases where somebody gets in a bad wreck
and they go missing. He's heading down this path. He leaves his book bag. He starts leaving
clothing behind. And what I want to know, and I don't know this, maybe you know this, maybe you can fill us in.
Those pictures that he's sending to his ex-girlfriend through Snapchat, what shirt is he wearing? And do we find that
shirt on the side of that road? >> Let's go back to Texas Monthly here. They say the wreck might have seemed
unremarkable to the trooper had it not been for something else that the volunteer firefighter who called this in
right calls this to his attention and says about 800 ft from the vehicle Jason's black backpack was sitting on
the side of Salt Flat Road. Inside was his wallet laptop as well as his marijuana stash and his ziplockc bags
full of the toiletries that he had packed up. The plastic container, the tumbler that we had mentioned earlier
that was holding his pet fish had been placed on the ground nearby and the fish unfortunately was dead inside
this container. >> Right. >> His clothing, Jason's clothing, was lying in the middle of the road, dropped
neatly into small piles as if someone had casually stripped down to get into a shower. There was a faded red t-shirt
from a Christian summer camp where he had worked. one of the arm holes facing upward and beneath it was his wristwatch
that was facing up. Nike shorts followed by a gray by gray underwear with a small
blood stain on the waistband. A pair of black slide sandals and two socks resting nearby. So, every article of
clothing this dude was wearing is not on his body at this time and was found lying on the ground. And it seems like
that shirt that you referenced is again with some of the details of this case, I
think we would be irresponsible to say, we can definitively say, 100% say, but everybody seems to agree that that was
the shirt that he was wearing that night. >> Right. I've not seen anybody say in
pictures he wasn't wearing that or you know everybody everybody that knows this knows Jason
and had interactions with him believe that to be the shirt that he was wearing that night. Now,
none of the from from the way I understand it, none of the first responders that are responding to this vehicle
accident, this abandoned car, none of them entered the vehicle from my understanding. And the vehicles then
towed to an impound yard. But again, I think one of the reasons why this case is so fascinating but also bizarre is
think about how many missing person cases we have where there was a a car wreck or something, but we we can only
speculate of what the cops were finding and what the cops were thinking at the time. You can watch the footage because
law enforcement decided to release this information to the public. And again, one thing that seems very there's a lot
of things that are strange and odd and bizarre about this case and and maybe we won't ever fully understand everything.
Let's pretend he was traveling by himself. Let's pretend there was no other vehicle there. There's no other
person there in this area. I can on the one hand go, "Oh, he he maybe he hit his
head or he was he was all messed up from the the accident." that wouldn't be out
of the realm of possibility and and that's why he didn't take the keys with him or he didn't turn off the lights to
the car, >> right? >> But then the flip of that is he removed his backpack, his personal
belongings, and his fish from the car. So the two don't go hand in hand for me. It's it's why would you do one without
the other? Unless he gets in this wreck, he's disoriented. He tries to gather his items. He starts
heading down the road and you know how sometimes you you you slip and fall and you get right back up and and you start
walking and you think you're fine and then that fifth or sixth step you go, "Oh, nope. I I really did something to
my ankle." Right? Maybe that's a that's a possibility here. Or I just wonder if there was a collision again with
another vehicle, which doesn't make a lot of sense cuz we don't have evidence of it. It's like, did somebody else go
through his belongings? >> That's right. And as we said, remember Jason packed up a bag of toiletries, a
PlayStation game console, a laptop, a handful of joints hidden inside a pill container,
all stuffed into his black backpack. He's got his Siamese fighting fish Sparky and a plastic tumbler that he
used regularly as a pet carrier. All of these items were found either in the vehicle or near the crash scene. It's
like Jason is the only thing that was missing. So much more to get to in the bizarre
missing case of Jason Landry. Join us here in the garage, back here in the garage for part two. Until then, be
good, be kind, and don't let [Music]

Jason Landry /// Part 1 /// 860

Part 1 of 2

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This is another one of the those “Missing in Texas” stories. True Crime Garage has covered a bunch of missing persons cases from the great state of Texas and all of them are strange. This is the type of case that it is easy for your imagination to run a little wild on. There is no shortage of theories as to what exactly happened to this young man. 21 year old Texas State University student Jason Landry went missing on December 13th-14th, 2020. There is one very critical hour of movements and events that is missing from the timeline for Jason’s case and that starts 31 minutes before midnight and goes to 31 minutes after midnight. There is a reward available in this case. Know something? Call the Texas Attorney General at 512-936-0742 or call anonymously 726-777-1359. Jason’s case and story are on all of the major social platforms - @findjasonlandry

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Brief Summary

Jason Landry, a Texas State student, vanished in December 2020 while driving home, leaving behind an abandoned car and many unanswered questions.

Key points

A Father's Hope. Jason's father continues to search for his son after months of uncertainty.
The Mysterious Disappearance of Jason Landry. Jason Landry vanished on December 13, 2020, during a drive home for the holidays.
A Reward for Information. Jason's family offers a $10,000 reward for information about his disappearance.
Jason's Personality and Life. Described as outgoing and charismatic, Jason was known for his love of music and fun.
The Impact of COVID-19. Jason's father discusses the negative effects of isolation during the pandemic on his son.
Jason's FaceTime Call. Jason Landry facetimed his friend before leaving, raising concerns about his state.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He was a great kid and he wouldn't run away.

Jason's father expressing hope.

4:53WatchAug 5, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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