Campus Alert Archive
TXST

Salt Flat Road, Stripped Clothes, and a Dead Pet Fish: Texas State's HEOA Notification for Jason Landry

TXmissing personmissing studentmedium confidence
Under Investigation

Texas State University student Jason Landry, 21, was last seen leaving San Marcos on December 13, 2020, driving home for Christmas. His abandoned, wrecked car was found hours later on a rural road near Luling, Texas, with his clothing, wallet, phone, and personal belongings -- including a tumbler containing a dead pet fish -- nearby. Texas State issued a HEOA missing-student notification in coordination with state and local authorities. Landry was never found; as of 2025, his case remains one of the most extensively investigated open missing-person cases in Texas.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Texas State University
Public R2 · TX
~38,000 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction671 chars
Texas State University is seeking information regarding the whereabouts of student Jason Landry, 21, of Missouri City, Texas. Jason was last seen departing San Marcos on December 13, 2020 and was expected to travel home to Missouri City. His vehicle was found abandoned on Salt Flat Road near Luling, Texas on December 14. Jason's clothing, cell phone, and personal items were found near the vehicle. He is described as a white male, approximately 5'9", 170 lbs, with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Jason's whereabouts is urged to contact the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office at (512) 398-6777 or Texas State University Police at (512) 245-2805.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed; Texas State University coordinated with the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office given that Landry's car was found outside the city limits of Luling, in Caldwell County, approximately 60 miles from the San Marcos campus
The unusual physical evidence -- stripped clothing found ~900 feet from the wrecked car, intact phone and wallet, a tumbler with a dead pet fish -- distinguished this from a typical traffic accident and drove extensive media coverage
Texas State's HEOA notification covered Landry as a current enrolled student even though the disappearance occurred off-campus and off-campus-adjacent, because HEOA section 485(j) applies broadly when a residential student cannot be located
UPDATEEmail
Approximate reconstruction481 chars
Update on missing Texas State student Jason Landry: An extensive search of the area near Luling, Texas by the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS, and Texas EquuSearch has not located Jason. The investigation is ongoing. The Landry family and Texas State University urge anyone with information to contact the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office at (512) 398-6777. A reward is being offered for information leading to Jason's location. Our thoughts are with the Landry family.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed; Texas EquuSearch, a volunteer mounted search team, conducted organized searches of the rural terrain near the Salt Flat Road crash site
The Texas Department of Public Safety was involved from the outset given that the abandoned vehicle was on a state-jurisdiction road in rural Caldwell County
Landry's case was taken over by the Texas Attorney General's Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit in February 2022 after the local investigation stalled
Context

Background

Texas State University in San Marcos is a public R2 doctoral university and one of the largest in the Texas State University System. Jason Landry was a 21-year-old student heading home to Missouri City, Texas for Christmas break on December 13, 2020. Approximately 90 minutes into his drive, his car was found wrecked on Salt Flat Road near Luling, Texas, a rural oilfield road in Caldwell County approximately 60 miles southwest of San Marcos. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers found his personal belongings -- backpack, toiletries, a laptop, gaming equipment -- roughly 900 feet from the car, along with his clothing, wallet, and phone. A small fish, evidently a pet, was found dead in a tumbler. The bizarre scene generated intense media coverage. Texas EquuSearch and multiple law enforcement agencies conducted extensive searches. Texas State issued HEOA missing-student notifications and coordinated with authorities. In 2022, the Texas Attorney General's Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit took over the investigation. As of 2025, Jason Landry has never been found; his case remains active with a $20,000 reward and is one of the most extensively publicized open missing-person cases in Texas history.
Analysis

Key Findings

Landry's case illustrates the HEOA framework applied to an off-campus disappearance during travel: the obligation to notify runs from enrollment status, not from the physical location of disappearance
The unusual physical evidence pattern -- stripped clothing, intact valuables, dead pet fish -- generated media coverage that sustained public interest for years and aided ongoing investigation efforts
Escalation to the Texas Attorney General's Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit in 2022 is rare and reflects the complexity of cases where neither foul play nor natural death can be definitively established
The rural Texas setting (Caldwell County oilfield roads) created search challenges that urban campus-area investigations typically do not face, requiring specialized search assets including mounted teams
Outcome
Jason Landry was never found. His car was discovered near Luling, TX with his clothing and belongings approximately 900 feet from the vehicle. Texas Attorney General's Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit took over the investigation in 2022. As of 2025, the case remains open with a $20,000 reward.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    A Missing Student, a Suburban Mom, a Mysterious Facebook Profile: Inside the Jason Landry Disappearance (Texas Monthly)
    texasmonthly.com
  2. News
    It's been 5 years since Texas State student Jason Landry disappeared (KVUE)
    kvue.com
  3. News
    Jason Landry: Texas State student remains missing after 4 years (FOX 7 Austin)
    fox7austin.com
  4. Official
    Statement on the Third Anniversary of Jason Landry's Disappearance (Texas AG)
    texasattorneygeneral.gov
  5. News
    5 years later, the search for Texas State student Jason Landry continues (CBS Austin)
    cbsaustin.com
Tags
missing-studentmissing-personheoatexaspublic-r2rural-disappearancecold-casemulti-agency-searchunsolvedUnder Investigation
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion