Search continues for missing Texas State student
LULING, Texas - The search for Jason Landry increased in size and urgency Tuesday.
Teams made up of local authorities as well as Equusearch focused on a remote area northeast of Luling. Much of it is around a large oil field that dates back to the 1920s
It’s a place where someone could easily get lost according to Felix Cortinas who has a deer lease nearby. "A lot of old wells, saltwater disposal, old wells that were never even capped or cemented just holes and a lot of creeks, a lot of steep banks," he said.
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Jason Landry was last seen Sunday night after leaving Texas State University on Christmas break for his home near Houston. Somehow he ended up on Salt Flat Road which parallels Highway 86. Family members arrived Tuesday afternoon to look at the crash site.
Family members believe it’s possible a malfunctioning traffic app caused a rerouting of his navigational system and that’s why he ended up so far off track.
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"I don’t know why my son was down this road my best guess, he will follow Waze wherever it sends him, he was coming home from college, but he was here on this road I don’t know if he was trying to avoid a deer or what, swerved and hit some trees on the side," says Jason’s father Kent Landry.
It’s easy to miss where Jason’s car left the gravel road. It ended up in a ditch along a fence and tree line. Some of his clothing however was found near the scene along the roadway.
"We know he got out of the crash OK, and was walking back, this way, and that’s the last we know for sure," said Kent Landry.
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Jason‘s family was told that his car was found around 12:30 Monday morning by a volunteer firefighter who was returning from a call. The family was also told that about an hour earlier an oil field worker drove by the same spot and did not see a thing. Dogs tracked a scent indicating Jason was walking back toward Luling. After about a quarter of a mile, the trail disappeared.
"Right now we have no indication of any foul play at all, we don’t know if maybe somebody picked him up or if he just wandered to an area where we haven’t searched or found yet," said DPS Sgt Deon Cockrell.
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The car was towed to a holding lot in Luling. Investigators say the damage does not indicate Jason was intentionally forced off the road. Inside they did find small traces of blood and personal items including Jason’s phone.