Authorities in Texas will decide on Friday if they will continue a large-scale search for a missing Texas State University student, who vanished five days ago after an apparent car wreck in Luling, about 30 miles from the college’s San Marcos campus.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 21-year-old Jason Landry left campus on Sunday to drive home to Missouri City, about a 3-hour trip, for Christmas break. But shortly after midnight on Monday, a passerby saw Landry’s totaled car on the side of Salt Flat road, a gravel or dirt roadway north of the direct freeway route from San Marcos to the Houston area.
Investigators reportedly found Landry’s phone and wallet in or near the damaged vehicle. According to a recent report in the Austin American-Statesman, items including a backpack were found outside the car. Investigators and family members appear to believe that Landry walked away from the wreck, but what happens next remains a mystery.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Sgt. Deon Cockrell shared more details about the presumed single-car crash with the Austin-Statesman, appearing to explain why photos of the car shared on social media appear to show extensive damage to the trunk.
“The car got off the road and spun around, and the back driver-side trunk, bumper and the side of the car took most of the impact,” Cockrell told the news outlet Thursday.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has not responded to CrimeOnline’s request for comment.
Through the week, investigators have been searching the area near the crash side for signs of the third-year student. According to Fox 7 Austin, authorities drained a pond after detecting a possible sonar hit, but did not find Landry there. As previously reported, searchers have also used helicopters in an effort to locate him, with no success.
On Friday, authorities are expected to make a decision about whether the search will continue, Fox 7 Austin reports.
Anyone with information about Landry’s disappearance is urged to contact the Caldwell County sheriff’s office at 512-398-6777, or Texas EquuSearch at 281-309-9500.
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