Jason Landry's family holds vigil to mark 5 years since son's disappearance

Jason Landry's family still searching for answers 5 years later

Texas State student Jason Landry went missing on December 13, 2020, and five years later his family is still searching for answers.

SAN MARCOS, Texas - It's been five years since Texas State student Jason Landry vanished in Luling. 

On Friday night, a candlelight vigil was held in his honor.

Disappearance of Jason Landry

The backstory:

Texas State student Jason Landry went missing on December 13, 2020, and five years later his family is still searching for answers. 

"It's certainly been the hardest thing we've ever been through as a family," said Kent Landry, Jason's father. 

Jason Landry was a junior in college. Last anyone heard from him, he was making the trip from San Marcos to Missouri City, just south of Houston, to go home for the holidays. 

"He was coming home for Christmas break, left late at night, and you go through Luling to get to Houston," said Landry. "You're supposed to turn in Luling and go down to where the Buc'ees is, and he must not have made that turn."

Jason Landry vigil for the 4th year

The family of missing Texas State student Jason Landry hosted a vigil on the fourth anniversary of the day he went missing.

Jason's car was found crashed into a tree on Salt Flat Road, a dirt road that weaves through oil fields in Luling. His cell phone and clothes were found, but there was no sign of Jason. 

The case was initially investigated as a car crash by highway patrol. 

"I think the investigative work in the beginning, I think that hampered the investigation this whole time, because you can't go back and recreate something you never had," said Landry. 

Multiple agencies have been involved in investigating the case since, including the Caldwell County District Attorney's Office, the Travis County Constable's Office, Texas Search and Rescue, the Texas Rangers and Department of Public Safety, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

The Texas Office of the Attorney General's Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit still considers the case to be an open and active investigation, and search teams have not given up — with volunteer groups conducting monthly searches for any clue that might lead to answers about what happened to Jason. 

Vigil held for Jason Landry

On the third year anniversary of Jason Landry's disappearance, a crowd gathered on a gravel road in Luling.

The next search is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 13, and volunteers say they won't give up for as long as the family continues to want their help. 

"I know that's probably on people's minds because it has been five years," said Cydni Lay, a volunteer with the Jason Landry Search Team. "But people have been found long after five years lots of times."

Lay says volunteers from as far as Minnesota, Michigan and Florida have come to Texas to assist with search efforts, and annually the Jason Landry Search Team has held vigils each year that he has remained missing. 

Over the years, Kent Landry says the community has stepped up to support his family, and he says that if his son's story leads even one young person to be more cautious, self-aware, or make the decision not to get in a car and drive if it may be unsafe, it's a blessing. 

"I think God is using it to touch people, and still does to this day," said Landry. 

The Landry family is offering a $20,000 reward for any information that helps bring Jason home.