Billboard goes up to help find missing Texas state student

LULING, TX – Drivers using Route 183 from Luling to Lockhart will now see the face of Jason Landry on a bulletin board with information about the Texas State student case who disappeared in December 2020 thanks to a group of volunteers.

Jason’s father, Kent Landry, said: “People always ask, you know, how do you keep going through all this? And our answer is simple, it’s prayers and support from people like this. “

People like Beverly Rains, a Gonzales grandmother who learned about Jason’s case on social media. “I have had my 19-year-old granddaughter who has lived with me on and off for the past two years, so I sympathize with the disappearance of a teenager or a young person. And you know, we talk about that a lot, my granddaughter and I.”

Rains recently helped negotiate a rental agreement to get Jason’s case information and picture on a billboard. She says she thinks it’s important that the Landrys or any family that has a missing person get closure. She works with a handful of people through Facebook, and they fund the project themselves.

“We had checked the billboards before they were out of reach. This one is on private property and he’s a very nice guy and he got us a good deal. So, uh, this isn’t through an ad agency. That’s why we’re ‘installing it ourselves,'” Rains says.

The billboard was installed this weekend just north of downtown Luling and will continue to stand for at least three months. The gesture deeply moved Jason’s father, Kent.

“At this point, you know, we just want answers. We want the truth. And. That’s what we keep praying for, and then people like the people who support this billboard, I think they just want the same thing,” Kent says.

“Even in the midst of all the craziness in the world today, there are still people who do so much good out of the goodness of their hearts, and we’re so grateful for that. We really are and. And that’s just a god-sized thing,” Kent adds.

Kent has been fighting tooth and nail every day since his son disappeared over a year ago. He says he is amazed that people care so much about his son.

“Just kind-hearted people who, for the most part, have never met Jason. These people out of the kindness of their hearts, and they’re paying it out of pocket, to do this for us, and for our son,” he said. .

“It’s not really big, but it’s big enough to be effective. It’s in a great location,” said Coleman Ryan, a computer forensic investigator who helped set up the billboard. . “We want answers for the Landrys. We think they deserve it.”

The billboard lists the $10,000 reward amount as well as the number for the Attorney General’s Cold Case Missing Persons Division, 512-936-0742, in hopes of getting a new lead from those who pass by.

DISAPPEARANCE OF TEXAS STATE STUDENT JASON LANDRY

Investigators think the 21-year-old planned to drive home from his apartment from San Marcos to Missouri City, a suburb of Houston. A timeline of the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office follows Landry’s movements from the moment he left his apartment in San Marcos to the moment his phone stopped ringing in Luling.

The schedule provided by the CCSO is as follows:

• December 13, 2020, 10:55 p.m.: Landry leaves his apartment in San Marcos, heading for Missouri City
• December 13, 2020, 11:05 p.m.: Landry drives on Interstate 80 and goes under I-35 in San Marcos
• December 13, 2020, 11:07 p.m.: Landry enters Caldwell County on Highway 80, heading south
• December 13, 2020, 11:11 p.m.: Entrance of Landry Martindalealways heading south on Highway 80
• December 13, 2020, 11:15 p.m.: Landry passes over SH 130 on Highway 80
• December 13, 2020, 11:17 p.m. to 11:21 p.m.: Landry passes through Fentress, Prairie Lea and Stairtown
• December 13, 2020, 11:24 p.m.: Landry enters Luling on Highway 80.

The CCSO says that when Landry crossed the Hackberry Street intersection where Highway 80 becomes Austin Street, he stopped using the Waze app and started using Snapchat.

Landry then continued on Austin St. to the intersection with US 183, also known as Magnolia Avenue, and CCSO says investigators believe he continued straight through that intersection, continuing on E. Austin, but at this intersection his digital footprint stops. Landry then continued on E. Austin to Spruce Street, which turns into Salt Flat Road.

A volunteer firefighter found Jason Landry’s car wrecked and abandoned on the 2300 block around 12:30 a.m. Dec. 14, the CCSO says. The vehicle’s lights were still on. A highway patrolman had Jason’s car towed away. He took his backpack, which contained a few joints, and left.

Hours later, Jason Landry’s father, Kent Landry, found his way to Salt Flat Road. He expected to see flashing police lights and his son. Instead, the road was dark and empty. “I saw deer, three different sets of deer go by. Coyotes went by and I didn’t see another car, another person.”

The clothes Jason Landry was wearing, his shoes, even his underwear, were strewn across the street. “I’ve found [my son’s] fish. I found where the accident happened and I’m the only one who took photos or videos,” he said.

Kent Landry was able to locate his son’s vehicle at a car pound. His cell phone was still in the car. No one was looking for him. Kent Landry added: “[the accident scene is] in the middle of nowhere. In this time window, it’s very possible that there won’t be anyone else in this box other than Jason and whoever did what they did. Who else is involved in this case.”

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MORE TITLES:
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Where is Jason Landry? Search continues for missing Texas state student
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Search for Missing Texas State Student Jason Landry Continues Near Luling

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