TX TX - Jason Landry, 21, en route from TSU to home, car found crashed at Luling, 14 Dec 2020

[JrTex]

Gosh, I don’t use much in the way of security and nothing on my phone as I can’t imagine it interesting anyone. Though to be fair, I do not use it much and not for any banking or purchases. I hope they can find a hacker...it seems kind of mind boggling if indeed he had it protected in a way that LE’s computer staff can’t deal with it. Jmo

Routine security on cell phones is hard to get past. It is very common and not out of the ordinary. Basic iPhone passwords provide a high level of security against unauthorized use and Apple does not cooperate.

 

[JrTex]

And... did the firefighter stop to check things out? Or just call it in?

Wrecked out cars are very common as are stalled cars and cars in ditches. Frequently, intoxicated persons leave the seen ASAP via friend and return later so as to not get locked up for DWI.

 

[You'reTerribleMuriel]

Wrecked out cars are very common as are stalled cars and cars in ditches. Frequently, intoxicated persons leave the seen ASAP via friend and return later so as to not get locked up for DWI.

I'm pretty sure I read that the firefighter did stop and called it in after not seeing anyone around. Also, is it weird that the phone was turned off, especially if it was assumed he was using GPS? I worry that he didn't want to be found.

 

[renarde]

Wrecked out cars are very common as are stalled cars and cars in ditches. Frequently, intoxicated persons leave the seen ASAP via friend and return later so as to not get locked up for DWI.

Makes sense. But the firefighter must've at least called it in at that point (12:30 a.m.) because Jason's father got a call at 2 a.m. asking about his son. If I remember well, LE got contact info from the backpack they found at the scene.

What happened then? Did the firefighter and LE start looking around at that point? Could they have just missed him?

 

[JJTaylor]

https://nypost.com/2020/12/24/texas-college-student-vanishes-on-his-way-home-for-christmas/

To Note from this article:
•Landry’s phone, wallet and other personal belongings were found
•Also found near the scene was a small amount of blood.
•Over the course of nine days, rescue crews canvassed more than 20,000 acres (over 31 square miles) using “every possible means to search”

Blood found NEAR the scene? And not the car? If so, that is a whole 'nuther thing. I guess I always assumed blood was found IN the car ... to indicate that perhaps his head hit the steering wheel or something smacked his head.

Thanks for the info.....

 

[jellybean96]

Didn’t they say they have not completely cleared that pond? I think it makes the most sense that he could be there and not yet found...

Yes, they said the pond had been cleared.

 

[renarde]

No real updates since December 23. Very quiet since then.

 

[renarde]

I keep going back to this, and wondering about what happened right after the car was found:

“There were certain things that weren’t done” in the first hours after the discovery of Landry’s abandoned car, Miller said. “We weren’t conducting a true missing persons investigation.”

[...]

"Asked about earlier reports of dogs picking up a scent at an abandoned home near the crash site, Miller said canines brought in to search the area were “going back and forth” between the abandoned house and a pond that was later drained and searched, without finding Landry. But investigators are not certain the canine was picking up on Landry’s scent, because a deputy and a trooper had checked the same house just after the wreck was discovered."

Missing Texas State student Jason Landry’s abandoned car did not cause immediate concern; police work to overcome early investigative delays

 

[You'reTerribleMuriel]

I keep going back to this, and wondering about what happened right after the car was found:

“There were certain things that weren’t done” in the first hours after the discovery of Landry’s abandoned car, Miller said. “We weren’t conducting a true missing persons investigation.”

[...]

"Asked about earlier reports of dogs picking up a scent at an abandoned home near the crash site, Miller said canines brought in to search the area were “going back and forth” between the abandoned house and a pond that was later drained and searched, without finding Landry. But investigators are not certain the canine was picking up on Landry’s scent, because a deputy and a trooper had checked the same house just after the wreck was discovered."

Missing Texas State student Jason Landry’s abandoned car did not cause immediate concern; police work to overcome early investigative delays

I don't think the first LE on the scene looked for him at first, sadly. They didn't realize he was missing.

 

[kittythehare]

iPhones are extremely difficult to open without the password. Apple does not provide assistance. There are some ways to get into it, but is very very difficult.

LE can get tons of location based info through Google. Google has 3 separate mechanisms that track phones & in fact, some level of analysis may even show what other phones were near him during the day and leading up to the crash. However, unlocking his phone to find snapchat and/or other messaging apps may not ever be possible or could take considerable time.

Was it an i-Phone though?

 

[happyday]

I'm pretty sure I read that the firefighter did stop and called it in after not seeing anyone around. Also, is it weird that the phone was turned off, especially if it was assumed he was using GPS? I worry that he didn't want to be found.

I didn’t think this at all at first, but I am now wondering that as well.

 

[You'reTerribleMuriel]

I didn’t think this at all at first, but I am now wondering that as well.

I think the car accident could have been staged, or could have been a suicide attempt. It's very sad.

 

[JJTaylor]

I'm pretty sure I read that the firefighter did stop and called it in after not seeing anyone around. Also, is it weird that the phone was turned off, especially if it was assumed he was using GPS? I worry that he didn't want to be found.

So clarification around this ....was the cell phone indeed turned off? Or, had it timed out from specific time non-use which requires you to log back in?

If it had just timed out -- then it still "pings" cell phone towers. As does any other phone which can often lead to clues on who else may have been in the area at the same time.

If it was off -- no cell phone pings..... which then leads to the "doesn't want to be found" theory.

 

[You'reTerribleMuriel]

The phone has been reported as "locked." I think I mistook that for being turned off.
Detectives investigating the disappearance of Texas State student Jason Landry face hurdles as physical search ends

 

[soap mama]

What i still don’t understand is, the parents were called at 2am, so that would be when LE knew it was a missing person. Not THAT much time had elapsed. HELLO LE??

 

[JJTaylor]

What i still don’t understand is, the parents were called at 2am, so that would be when LE knew it was a missing person. Not THAT much time had elapsed. HELLO LE??

Good point and I'd like clarification on this. News articles word it that LE didn't take this seriously for many days.

 

[ForensicToxicologist]

It’s possible that the car is registered to the parents. If so, police could have called them to notify them that their property was abandoned. I’m sure the parents indicated their worry about Jason and LE looked around to see if they could find him, but LE probably still thought “he’ll show up in a day or two” and weren’t concerned he was actually a missing person at that point. That would explain the call to the parents, looking around the abandoned house, and the way the investigation was handled at first. Just my thought.

 

[You'reTerribleMuriel]

Good point and I'd like clarification on this. News articles word it that LE didn't take this seriously for many days.

Yes, I don't think LE realized at 2 am that they were dealing with a missing person. That probably came once the parents expressed concern about locating their son. Per LE, they said that it wasn't unusual to find an unattended car, and they expected the driver to return for it eventually.

 

[Gussie]

Is a missing person's case, what is the general rule for reward money? I find it strange that there hasn't been a reward offered yet. At one point I believe a $20K reward was mentioned but later retracted. This is the first time I have followed a missing person's case and wanted your thoughts on this. TIA.

 

[humblegroundxx]

Is a missing person's case, what is the general rule for reward money? I find it strange that there hasn't been a reward offered yet. At one point I believe a $20K reward was mentioned but later retracted. This is the first time I have followed a missing person's case and wanted your thoughts on this. TIA.

I don't recall this story (so far) offering any reward since it appears to all have been an accident with no foul play suspected. I could be very wrong though!
A quick google search is not providing me any specific rules for reward money, other than consulting and teaming up with LE