Texas officials said Wednesday that human remains found this month belong to Jason Landry, a Texas State University student who went missing in 2020.
The remains were found by a resident of Luling, Texas, 50 miles northeast of San Antonio, on Sept. 8 and were identified as Landry’s after DNA testing.
The remains did not show any signs of foul play and did not provide any additional information on how Landry died, the attorney general’s office said in a release.
Landry, 21 at the time, went missing on Dec. 13, 2020, after setting out on a drive from San Marcos, where TSU is located, to his family residence in Missouri City near Houston, the attorney general’s office said.
Landry’s crashed and abandoned car, along with several of his personal belongings, were found shortly after midnight on Dec. 13, 2020, near Luling. Law enforcement, volunteers and other searchers responded to the scene, but did not find Landry, the attorney general’s office said.
The Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction over Luling and was involved in the search for Landry, said in its own release Wednesday that the area where his remains were found is “just outside the search grids.”
The belongings found in the aftermath of the crash and disappearance included clothing believed to have been worn by Landry, plus a backpack containing his laptop, gaming equipment, personal effects and a “usable” amount of marijuana, the sheriff’s office said in a January 2021 release about the search.
The sheriff’s office said then that there was no sign that Landry took off his clothing under duress and that the temperature the night he went missing was between 36 and 43 degrees.
“This development marks a critical moment in a case that has weighed heavily on our hearts for nearly six years. The Landry family has suffered an unimaginable tragedy, and they will remain in our prayers, especially during this incredibly difficult time,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in the release from his office.
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