Attorney General Updates 2-year-old Cold Case Investigation

AUSTIN – This week marks the second anniversary of Jason Landry’s disappearance. Attorney General Paxton and the entire Office of the Attorney General (OAG) want to reaffirm their commitment to this active and ongoing investigation and assure the public that this case remains a top priority with the following information: 

In February 2022, the Caldwell County District Attorney’s Office and the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office requested that the OAG Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit investigate the disappearance of Jason Landry, a student at Texas State University, last seen on December 13, 2020. Mr. Landry’s abandoned vehicle was discovered in the early morning hours of December 14, 2020, on a rural roadway just outside of Luling, Texas.  

Since then, OAG’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit has conducted a thorough review of all previously known credible information, interviewed multiple witnesses, consulted with experts in digital forensics and accident reconstruction, and obtained a geofence search warrant near the area where Mr. Landry’s vehicle was found. Based upon this extensive review and the evidence known at this point, the OAG supports the conclusions previously stated by the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office: Mr. Landry appears to have been involved in a single car accident and there is no evidence to suggest that another vehicle was involved. The search warrant yielded no activity near the crash site and did not provide any additional information.  

Additionally, nothing has been found on Mr. Landry’s social media, cell phone, or other electronic devices to suggest that he knew or was planning to meet anyone in Luling, including the lack of credible information pertaining to the purchase or sale of narcotics. Through digital technology and forensics, Mr. Landry was tracked from his apartment in San Marcos to the intersection of Magnolia and Austin Street in Luling, Texas, where his phone last connected to the navigation application Waze at 11:26 p.m. on December 13, 2020.   

Additional data from cell phone towers shows that Mr. Landry likely continued straight on Austin Street instead of turning onto Magnolia Street to get to I-10. Mr. Landry traveled to around 2300 Salt Flat Road where he had a single car accident. OAG has turned over all locational data and cell phone data to an independent phone expert who is analyzing the data for any information that may have been missed by investigators or was otherwise not previously discovered.  

During the initial stages of the investigation, multiple law enforcement agencies and search and rescue groups combed the area surrounding the location where Mr. Landry’s vehicle was found using line searches, dogs, drones, and Forward Looking InfraRed technology. Subsequent searches of the area yielded no results. Additionally, at the request of OAG, Texas Railroad Commission investigators thoroughly searched oil tanks in the area and reviewed operational reports looking for any irregularities in the reservoir tanks and found nothing out of the ordinary. 

The Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit considers this matter to be an ongoing and active investigation and continues to work diligently on the case. We encourage anyone who may have credible information to contact the Unit at [email protected].