Jason Landry /// Part 1 /// 860

Summary

True Crime Garage: Jason Landry – Part 1

Release Date: August 5, 2025
Episode: Jason Landry /// Part 1 /// 860
Hosts: Nic and the Captain

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of True Crime Garage, hosts Nic and the Captain delve into the mysterious disappearance of Jason Landry, a young Texas State University student who vanished under perplexing circumstances on December 13, 2020. This detailed exploration examines the timeline, evidence, and theories surrounding Jason's disappearance, offering listeners an immersive journey into one of the most baffling true crime cases.

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Case Overview

Jason Landry, born on July 29, 1999, was a vibrant, outgoing individual known for his charismatic personality and love for music, cars, and the outdoors. On December 13, 2020, at approximately 10:55 PM, Jason left his apartment in San Marcos, Texas, intending to drive home to Missouri City for the holiday break. However, he never reached his destination.

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Timeline of Events

10:55 PM – Departure from San Marcos
Jason departed from his apartment, embarking on a roughly 165-mile journey to Missouri City. His Nissan Altima was loaded with essentials, including toiletries, a laptop, a PlayStation game console, and marijuana concealed in a pill container.

11:00 PM – FaceTime Conversation
An hour before departure, Jason had a FaceTime call with a friend in Missouri City, during which he appeared joyful and excited about the trip. "He smiles multiple times. He seems obviously excited," notes Nic, reflecting on the absence of any immediate red flags.

11:24 PM – On the Road
Jason was about half an hour into his drive when he entered Lawling from Texas 80, continuing south through small towns like Stairtown, Prairie Lee, and Fentress. His digital footprint indicated active communication, including Snapchat interactions and continued use of navigation apps like Waze.

11:28 PM – Calming Snapshot
A Snapchat selfie sent to his ex-girlfriend showed Jason looking calm and confident, contradicting the chaos that would soon unfold. "It doesn't appear that if... everything is fine at this time," Nic observes, highlighting the stark contrast between Jason's demeanor and the subsequent events.

11:34 PM – Alleged Accident
Authorities believe that Jason crashed his car into a tree and barbed wire fence around this time. The vehicle showed significant damage, with the rear window shattered and no evidence of another vehicle involved, adding layers of mystery to the case.

12:31 AM – Discovery of the Vehicle
A volunteer firefighter found Jason's abandoned car at 12:31 AM in the 2300 block of Salt Flat Road. The vehicle was wedged against a tree, facing the wrong direction, with headlights still on and keys in the ignition. Unusual findings included Jason's belongings scattered nearby, such as his backpack, wallet, laptop, and a dead Siamese fighting fish named Sparky.

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Key Evidence and Findings

1. Clothing and Personal Items:

   • Clothing was found neatly piled on the road, including a faded red T-shirt, Nike shorts, gray underwear with a blood stain, black slide sandals, and two socks.
   • Jason's black backpack contained toiletries, his laptop, PlayStation game console, and marijuana.

2. Siamese Fighting Fish – Sparky:

   • Sparky was found dead in a plastic tumbler near the crash site, indicating someone had been in the vicinity post-accident.

3. Digital Footprint:

   • Last digital interactions occurred minutes before the crash, with no subsequent activity, leaving a significant information gap.

4. Vehicle Condition:

   • The car was severely damaged, especially the rear end, leading investigators to believe it impacted something substantial. However, no other vehicle evidence was found at the scene.

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Discussions and Insights

Nic emphasizes the perplexing nature of the case:
"Why would Jason remove his belongings from the vehicle but leave the keys in the ignition and keep the headlights on?"

The Captain adds his perspective on Jason's state:
"He was in his early 20s. We all make stupid mistakes," suggesting possible impairment due to substance use.

Emotional and Psychological Factors:
Jason's father, Kent Landry, described his son as a pure extrovert who struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jason retreated into substance use as a coping mechanism, which might have influenced his judgment on the night of his disappearance.

Potential Theories Discussed:

1. Impaired Driving:

   • Jason was possibly under the influence of marijuana, leading to distracted or impaired driving, as evidenced by his active use of phone apps while driving.

2. Accidental Impact:

   • The severe damage to the vehicle suggests a high-impact collision, whether with a stationary object like a tree or an unseen animal.

3. Disorientation and Panic:

   • Navigating unfamiliar or rural roads at night without clear direction could have led to disorientation, resulting in the crash.

4. Potential Foul Play:

   • Although no evidence points to another vehicle, the scattered items and the severity of the crash have led to speculation about possible external interference.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Captain at [00:00]:
  "This is a true story. It happened right here in my town. One night, 17 kids woke up, got out of bed, walked into the dark. And they never came back."

• Nic at [04:04]:
  "A reward is a tool like any other to hopefully motivate the one person who might know something."

• Captain at [14:13]:
  "I have a lot of thoughts on this, but this is brought up a lot... I don't know what the thoughts are as far as his emotional state on his disappearance..."

• Nic at [16:07]:
  "With anybody, again, not just Jason's case, but with anybody."

• Nic at [35:16]:
  "He’s got his Siamese fighting fish, Sparky... he was using his Waze app to guide him on his route."

• Captain at [46:42]:
  "But a couple things. One, when they do the investigation initially... Maybe they just didn't collect them."

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Insights into Jason's Life and Personality

Jason was not only dedicated to his studies but also had a knack for balancing work and leisure. His interests ranged from music and instruments to recreational activities, embodying the essence of a typical college student navigating the complexities of young adulthood. However, the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on his mental health, pushing him towards isolation and substance use as coping mechanisms.

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Open Questions and Future Investigation

As Nic and the Captain conclude Part 1 of this case, several unanswered questions remain:

• What exactly caused the crash?
  With no evidence of another vehicle, the cause of the severe damage to Jason's car remains unclear.

• Why were Jason's belongings scattered outside the vehicle?
  This anomaly suggests foul play or a chaotic response post-accident.

• Is there more to Jason's final hours than what digital footprints indicate?
  Understanding his state of mind and any hidden interactions could shed light on his disappearance.

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Conclusion

The disappearance of Jason Landry presents a complex puzzle with multiple layers of mystery. Hosts Nic and the Captain meticulously dissect the available evidence, timelines, and testimonies, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the case. As the investigation unfolds, True Crime Garage promises to continue unraveling the enigmatic circumstances surrounding Jason's vanishing, inviting listeners to become armchair detectives in pursuit of the truth.

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Stay Tuned for Part 2:
Join Nic and the Captain in the next episode as they continue to explore the baffling disappearance of Jason Landry, delving deeper into the evidence and uncovering new leads that may bring closure to this haunting mystery.

Transcript

[Captain]

This is a true story. It happened right here in my town. One night, 17 kids woke up, got.

[Nick]

Out of bed, walked into the dark.

[Captain]

And they never came back from the director of Barbarian.

[Nick]

A lot of people die in a lot of weird ways.

[Captain]

You're not gonna find it in the news because the police covered everything. Lola on August days. This is where the story really starts. Weapons Rated R Under 17 not admitted without parent. Looking for your next true crime binge? The furry Unmasking a monster is coming to amc. Critics call the four part docu series gritty and heart stopping. Find out how a global network of furries banded together to hunt down a ring of animal abusers and bring them to justice. Thursday starting July 17th, only on AMC.

[Nick]

Welcome to True crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, thanks for listening. I'm your host, Nick. And with me, as always, is a man who is my friend and he is my alibi. Here is the cap.

[Captain]

And sometimes I'm your worst enemy. It's good to be seen and good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend.

[Nick]

This week we are featuring Swish by Rusty Rail Brewing Company. Swish is a Swedish fish inspired sour beer. So they brew a traditional sour wheat beer, over £300 of berries and then condition it with £30 of Swedish fish. So it's sweet and sour Garage grade three and a half bottle caps out of five. And let's give a little shout out to these wonderful and sweet people right here. First up, a cheers to Nancy N. From Providence Forge, Virginia.

[Captain]

And a big we like your jib goes out to Benjamin Jones in Columbia City, Indiana.

[Nick]

Next we have Julie Pichati from Marietta, California.

[Captain]

And a big tall cans in there to Christy from Vancouver, Washington.

[Nick]

And last but certainly not least, we have a cheers to Sandy McCollum from Kennesaw, Georgia. Everybody we just mentioned went to true crime garage.com clicked on the pint glass and and helped us fill up the old garage fridge for this week's shows. And for that, we thank you.

[Captain]

Yeah, bww, are you in beer run? You want to keep the lights on in the garage. You want to make sure that the captain and the Colonel are not homeless. Then go to Apple podcast and hit subscribe and listen to off the record. You're going to love it. We're going to thank you and keep us dry. And the lights on in the garage. And Colonel, that's enough of the bees.

[Nick]

All right, everybody gather round, grab a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime.

[Janelle Bluta]

There is now A cash reward being offered in the case of a missing Texas state student. It's been a painful six months for his family who is now asking anyone.

[Captain]

Who knows anything to come forward.

[Nick]

Janelle Bluta spoke to Jason's father.

[Janelle Bluta]

Jason's dad says they're still physically searching for his son every week, but says this reward is another tool. Hopefully it will entice someone who might know something to come forward. He's counting the days.

[Nick]

Today's day 156.

[Janelle Bluta]

So we're over five months, as any father would.

[Nick]

They've done extensive physical searches. They've interviewed I don't even know how many witnesses. And different possible scenarios.

[Janelle Bluta]

156 days since his son Jason Landry went missing without a trace.

[Nick]

His car was found at about 12:30.

[Captain]

Engine running, lights on.

[Janelle Bluta]

For the first time since Jason was last seen back in December, the family is offering a reward, $10,000 to anyone who has information that helps find him.

[Nick]

A reward is a tool like any other to hopefully motivate the one person.

[Captain]

Who might know something.

[Janelle Bluta]

Reward money that's being offered by Jason's family and friends.

[Nick]

I would like nothing better than to be able to reward that money for the person who comes forward and helps.

[Janelle Bluta]

Us locate our son, he says. There's so many theories into what happened that night. Jason left Texas State University in san Marcos on December 13. He was on his way to his parents house for Christmas break, but crashed his car on the way near Luling. That's where he vanished. Cell phone records show Jason's actions up until an hour before his car was found.

[Nick]

But after that, there's no cell phone activity. We don't know frankly what happened.

[Janelle Bluta]

In the next hour, he's hoping this reward will entice someone to fill in the blanks.

[Nick]

He was a great kid and he wouldn't run away. That's just not. That's not him. Would not stay away willingly. So until we know something, we're gonna keep hoping and praying.

[Janelle Bluta]

If you or someone you know have any information on where Jason might be, you're asked to call authorities or go to the missing person Jason Landry Facebook page and submit a tip. There is an expiration on the reward. We have all the information on our website, khou.com Guys, back to you.

[Captain]

Foreign.

[Nick]

Landry was born on July 29, 1999 to parents Kent and Lisa Landry. Having two older siblings, Jessica and Kyle, Jason was known to be outgoing and charismatic. He was the goofball of the family. He's the baby and the goofball from his early childhood to his adult years, Jason enjoyed cars, anything involving the outdoors, animals. And he always could be counted on for three things. Wearing silly socks, having a cookie cake every year for his birthday, and having a deep love for Swedish fish candy. Now Jason's mom Lisa says, quote, Jason had the best smile. He could get away with anything. He loved music, he loved playing all sorts of instruments and he gave the best hugs and quote, good looking kid. Yes. When we catch up with Jason here in his life, he had just recently managed to complete his first semester at Texas State University, even though this was the COVID year. So regardless of the effects of COVID 19 and what a pandemic can do to a school year, Jason had one semester down, one under his belt at the Texas State University. And by all accounts, he was eager and excited to get back to his hometown of Missouri City, Texas to spend some time with family and friends over the long winter break.

[Captain]

Yeah, there's something exciting about coming back home when you're on your right path. If you're not on your right path, you're like, oh, I'm dreading seeing my friends, I'm dreading seeing my family. I'm going to have to answer all these questions. But when you're on your right path and you're feeling good about life, you kind of want to show yourself off a little bit to your family.

[Nick]

I love getting back together with the old gang, regardless of the situation. I think it's a, it's the best for me. Anyway, so Jason packs up his Nissan Altima, he's putting some of his belongings in there and the reports are that he left his apartment around 10:55pm on December 13, ready to begin his destination home. So this is like a two to three hour drive to his parents home in Missouri City, Texas.

[Captain]

Yeah. So not too crazy of a drive.

[Nick]

Yeah. So the plan was to drive back home, stay at his folks place and added bonus, actually the best bonus, you get to see a bunch of your buds from back in the day and hopefully get some rad Christmas gifts as well. But none of that cool stuff is going to happen because Jason does not make it back to his parents place. In fact, there is every indication that he didn't make it very far on his nighttime journey at all. He disappeared between point A, which was his apartment in San Marcos, Texas where he was attending school, living and working, and point B, Missouri City, Texas. This is approximately a 165 mile drive working out to be roughly. There's three very common routes that one would take, and they all take about 2 hours and 45 minutes to closer to 3 hours drive time.

[Captain]

That's enough time to listen to two, maybe three True Crime Garage episodes.

[Nick]

Yes. Or three Motley Crue albums. But while he sets out on this three hour tour, he unfortunately, he never makes it. This is a disappearance of a young man. His vanishing is surrounded by mysterious circumstances. It's almost as if he drove off into the dark, cold night and then decided to step out of his vehicle and into a black hole. And if that's not an overall consuming picture, this case, this true crime story, Jason's vanishing, his disappearance has consumed many of those who have come looking for answers.

[Captain]

Yeah. Out of all the missing person cases we've looked into, this one I, I would rate probably in my top five as far as just bizarre. How bizarre? How bizarre?

[Nick]

It's a true mystery. So let's fill in and fill out that night. What was the timeline? What were the details? And do we have any evidence as to what happened to this young man or really any clue at all? Where did he go?

[Captain]

And listen carefully because your guesses are going to be probably just as good, if not better than ours.

[Nick]

From one of the truly greatest magazines of all time and one of the few great magazines that's still in existence to this day. This is from Texas Monthly and it reads the day before he went missing, meaning Jason Landry, he was thinking about socks. Socks, a colorful pair that featured a monkey in a suit and a tie, holding a briefcase in one hand and a banana in the other with the words monkey business stitched across each ankle. They were the highlight of an extensive Christmas list he text to his mother on December 12, 2020. So this text, according to Texas Monthly, came about a day before Jason sets out on his trip back to Missouri City, Texas. This was kind of coincidental for us here, Captain. As you know, we had every intention of covering this case and it was already on our calendar. And it just so happens that a publication that does fantastic reporting and very underrated reporting on true crime stories, Texas Monthly, just so happened to include this story in their most recent publication. So it very much coincidence that this sort of lined up for us and them all around the same time. Texas Monthly goes on to tell us that normally Jason was the opposite of a list maker. He wasn't a planner. He started Sam Houston State as a clean cut kid. This is a couple of years earlier. After leaving home, he embraced his inner slacker and he really, according to the magazine, didn't take much interest in classwork. So after, it looks like after two years at Sam Houston State, he decided to transfer to Texas State University and he was going to buckle down, have more focus and focus on getting better grades. But remember, this was the COVID year. It was weird for all kinds of reasons, of course. Right. And according to the publication, the impact of a semester of remote classes and isolation with COVID 19 was toxic for Jason Landry. In the long form brilliant think piece put together by Peter Holley for Texas Monthly, Jason Landry is described by his father. So his dad's name is Kent. As we had said, I think we may be talking a good deal about Kent as we go through this true crime story. But his dad describes his boy as, quote, pure extrovert, full of pure optimism. Someone who had been making friends with strangers since he was a toddler. To cope, Jason retreated into a cloud of pot smoke. Quote. Given his personality, isolating him was one of the worst things you could do to him, said his father. He was stuck in a small apartment, in a small room on an empty floor. It was like solitary confinement for him. And I am not surprised that he self medicated.

[Captain]

I have a lot of thoughts on this, but this is brought up a lot. And I, I don't know what effect or what the thoughts are as far as his emotional state on his disappearance because yes, it's the COVID time. So if you are isolated and you're heading back to see your family and friends, well, guess what, you're going to be kind of happy. You're probably going to be out of that funk the day before he goes missing. I mean, he's talking about these goofy monkey socks. Seems like my kind of, my kind of guy, right? So I, this is brought up a lot. I don't know what, what level of effect this might have had on him going missing.

[Nick]

That's insightful and I appreciate the, the extra thought there. One thing that I will say that, that I'm very concerned with and it's not just isolated to Jason's case. It really goes to. And, and look, I'm no square when, when Covid hit here out of boredom, my drinking increased straight up out of boredom. So I'm not immune to any of this stuff and I have some experience with some of these things, good and bad. And one thing that was concerning of me, the more I was learning about Jason in this time period in his life was his age mixed with that amount of, of. Of recreational drug use is always very concerning to me. Regardless of the person. Every situation can be unique, obviously, but it also, like, you know, we're not fully formed at that age. And. And that really. That really scares me. With anybody, again, not just Jason's case, but with anybody.

[Captain]

Yeah, but. But I also think there's a thing here. There's something at play. And I think you see this throughout the investigation. I think you see this throughout the interviews with Jason's father. I think his father, which once was a lawyer and now a pastor, I believe he's going to have a set of ideals for this world and how people live them. And I think some of this conversation is him trying to justify his son's actions and part of his lifestyle because it just doesn't line up with his. And so. And I think there's a lot of people that can identify with this out in the communities where you go, like, take my father, for example. Great guy. He was a detective. You know, he lives by a certain set of rules. Those set of rules I don't live by. So some of my actions don't make sense to him, and some of his actions don't make sense to me. And I think that's the sum of this. And I think sometimes his father is a little too concerned with trying to clean up a reputation that. Almost implying that, like, people are smearing his son's name by just stating how he was living his life. I don't think most people look down on or ruins Jason's legacy by saying, well, he smoked some pot and he. And he probably drank some beers.

[Nick]

Okay, well, yeah, And I see what you're saying. I will say my takeaway from it was very different. One, one thing that I. Before we get too far into this. No doubt. And I know you're saying the same. Kent and Lisa fighting very hard for their son. The one thing that was adding to the sad factor of the story for me was Jason looks a lot like his dad. Like, if you have a picture of 20 people.

[Captain]

Yeah.

[Nick]

And it. You can point to the kid and go, yeah, that kid is that guy's son.

[Captain]

Absolutely.

[Nick]

That's how much they. They look like each other, in my. In my opinion. So it's December 13th. It's nearing the holidays. Jason just finished up his first semester at the university in San Marcos, Texas. There he was working toward getting accepted into their prestigious sound recording technology program. So think about Jason's to do list for that year. And remember, we had said he transferred with the idea that he was going to buckle down and start taking school seriously. And this is not uncommon. Most college Kids that I, that I knew, they did a whole lot of screwing around their freshman year. So this is pretty on par for, for just life in general, in my opinion. But Jason's to do list would be wrapping up before. Before heading home for the holidays. So he's got to complete his finals. Check. Finish the first semester check. And wrapping things up at work so he can go home for a while, check. He worked at Jimmy John's.

[Captain]

I freaking love Jimmy John's.

[Nick]

Yes, earlier that, that week, he had, he had completed his final shift before heading home. Jimmy's, John's, as they like to say, get the number nine, the Italian nightclub. We're starting our timeline on that night, of course, December 13, 2020. And the reports are that Jason Landry was last seen after having packed up his car, leaving to go home around 10:55pm all of the best reporting on this case has him leaving or just starting out, starting to hit the road by 11pm that night. But before Jason leaves, it's late.

[Captain]

That's too late, in my opinion. I wish he would have slept and left the next day.

[Nick]

Before he leaves, he does some facetime with one of his buddies. And this is where, this is the part that we start to stray from the short version of the narrative about this case.

[Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

See, while it's true that Jason was going home for the holidays, his folks were not technically expecting him. This, for me at least makes sense because the strange hour, like you're pointing out here, Captain, the strange hour of departure, because remember, he's last seen leaving at 10:55 to 11:00pm I'm sure mom and dad wouldn't love Jason rolling into their place at the very convenient time of two in the morning.

[Captain]

Yeah, this makes me think that he was going to meet some friends back home.

[Nick]

Yes, we actually know that to be the case. Okay, so he's, he's FaceTiming with the, with the buddy who lives in Missouri City that he's actually going to drive to that night. And at some point, hanging out with friends will transition into him going to mom and dad's house. They are expecting him for the holidays. That date and time of when they were expecting him is a mystery to me.

[Captain]

But even if it's a little early, then he's being a cool son and surprising his wife. Mom and dad. Hey, came home a little early. Here I am.

[Nick]

So, as I understand it, Captain, Jason was heading home, but the plan was actually to meet up at a friend's house and play video games. So Jason's on FaceTime. With this friend who he plans to meet up with later. This is about an hour before he leaves his place. This is documented. We know that this happened for a fact. The friend actually recorded the video for the conversation, but there's no audio. No audio was recorded. No audio exists. But the video still does. And I watched the video. In the video, to me, Jason appears to be very happy. He smiles multiple times. He seems obviously excited about whatever he's talking about. I'm assuming he's talking about hanging out and some of his recent experiences at college. But he seems excited and like the captain said, seems excited about going home. The best I can tell, with no audio. Now in the video, he's also rolling joints. He is very obviously discussing the weed that he has. And he is very talkative in this video. Even though you can't hear the sound. I can see his lips moving constantly. So he's very talkative. And that rings true with what we've been told about his personality. So this is all right on par with his personality based off of what little I know about him, but what the family and friends and everybody has said about him. This video, nothing about it seems strange to me at all.

[Captain]

If anything, it seems positive. Right. When you're looking at pieces of information to try to lead you down whatever rabbit hole you're going, I can look at this video and, and based on it, I agree with everything you just said about the video. But, but to me, I go, well, this is, this is a positive reinforcement as far as what his mental state could be at that time.

[Nick]

Yeah. And we have a good solid list of Jason's confirmed or in some cases believed movements and actions for the night in question. Before we go down that road. San Marcos, where Jason was living at the time, is a city in Hays County, Texas. The city is a part of the greater Austin metropolitan area. San Marco city limits extend into Caldwell county and Guadalupe county, which we will be talking about Caldwell county quite a bit during this true crime story. San Marcos is on the Interstate 35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. Its population was just over 67,000 people in 2020. And of course, it's the home of Texas State University. So this is a 160 mile trek eastbound as Missouri City is right near Houston. This timeline of confirmed or in some cases believed movements and actions for the night in question is a mashup from a few different timelines that are out there. So for more detail, and this is from Fox 7 out of Austin. Jason Landry FaceTiming his friend the friend was in Missouri City approximately one hour before leaving his San Marcos apartment. Caldwell County Sheriff's Department Captain Jeff Ferry said Landry's friend screen recorded the conversation because, quote, jason was so messed up that he didn't think he was going to remember it later.

[Captain]

Now, that's not a good sign.

[Nick]

No. And, and so the, the way I take this is that the friend's like, oh, I'm gonna show this to him later. We'll all have a big laugh about it because I don't think he's going to recall the conversation.

[Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

This report, too, says Jason spent 45 minutes talking to the friend on FaceTime. Texas Monthly says at some point that night, Jason decided to drive home. He packed a bag of toiletries, a PlayStation game console, a laptop, and a handful of joints hidden inside a pill container because the police never look inside the pill container. He stuffed all of this into a black backpack. He placed his Siamese fighting fish, Sparky, into a plastic tumbler that he used as a pet carrier, and then he was going to be on his way.

[Captain]

Does this crack you up at all?

[Nick]

He.

[Captain]

He packed up his fish.

[Nick]

That tells me he's going to be gone for an extended period of time. Yeah, that's, you know, somebody needs to feed the fish and take care of the fish, so he's just going to take his pet with him back home.

[Captain]

Well, but let me tell you what concerns me a little bit, is some people think, well, you can't drive drunk, but you can drive high. And that's not always the case. I would just say if you're impaired, you're impaired. I mean, I've. I've taken allergy medicine that's made me sleepy and has probably just as dangerous if I would have been driving drunk or high. So I don't like this, and I don't like him leaving so late. And I understand he's going to a friend's house, but this is very late. But again, he's in his early 20s. We all make stupid mistakes.

[Nick]

Another thing that should be of concern as well, and does depending on who you talk to, play a big role in this mystery, is that a cold front was moving into the area. In fact, it already moved in earlier. There was. There was high winds and the temperature plunged into the 30s that night. So it was particularly cold for this area. Jason set out on his trip back to Missouri City. He was dressed for the car ride, but not dressed for being out in the elements. This message is sponsored by Greenlight. Remember summertime as a kid, the freedom of nature, opportunities born from boredom, rites of passage like riding a bike, setting up a lemonade stand, and even learning to earn and manage a buck. With school out, summer is the perfect time to teach your kids real world money skills they'll use forever. Greenlight is the easy, convenient way for parents who raise financially smart kids and families to navigate life together. Maybe that's why millions of parents trust and kids love learning about money on Greenlight, the number one family finance and safety app. If you give your kids an allowance, don't hand them cash. It's 2025. Give them green Light. Teach them how to save money. Teach them to be financially responsible. Teach them to save money and to set goals for the money that they save. Also, keep an eye on your kids spending with Green Light. Don't wait to teach your kids real world money skills. Start your risk free Greenlight trial [e-mail] garage. That's greenlight.com garage to get started greenlight.com garage summer's winding down and whether your kids are just soaking up the last few weeks or already asking when school starts, this is the perfect time to ease back into learning with ixl. IXL is an award winning online learning platform that helps kids truly understand what they're learning through fun, engaging and personalized content. IXL is used in 96 of the top 100 US school districts and is the perfect tool to keep learning going without making it feel like school. I love ixl. You're going to get the results that you want. I did tutoring when I was a kid and it was incredibly inconvenient. You had to get a date, a time, a location, a ride. IXL is incredibly convenient because it's online and it's a fraction of the price of traditional services. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and True Crime Garage listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com garage. That's ixl.com garage to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price, you know what doesn't belong in your epic summer plans? Getting burned by your old wireless bill. While you're planning beach trips, barbecues and three day weekends, your wireless bill should be the last thing holding you back. Make the switch to Mint Mobile. With Mint, you can get the coverage and speed you're used to, but for way less money and for a limited time, Mint mobile is offering three months of unlimited premium wireless service for 15 bucks a month. So while your friends are sweating over data overages and surprise charges. You'll be chilling, literally and financially. I have had many cell phone service providers over the years and I can tell you if you make the switch to Mint Mobile, one of two things is going to happen. Either you will get better, more reliable service than you currently have and save a bunch of money. Or you'll get the same quality of service that you currently have and save a bunch of money. Either way, you win this year. Skip breaking a sweat and breaking the bank. Get this new customer offer and your three month unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com tcg that's mintmobile.com tcg upfront payment of $45 required equivalent to $15 a month limited time. New customer offer for first three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan taxes and fees. Extra cement Mobile For Details with summer.

[Captain]

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[Nick]

Cheers to you Captain. Raise them high. Raise them proud. Tall cans in the air. To everybody out there listening as we said earlier. 10:55 Landry leaves his San Marcos apartment for his parents home home city of Missouri City where he is expected to spend the holiday break from my understanding here. And this seems to be the general consensus. Captain Landry had driven home only twice prior to this trip, which makes a lot of sense because he's in his first semester there at Texas state, right at 11:05pm this is according to the Caldwell County Sheriff's detectives. They say that Jason is driving his Nissan Altima on Texas Route 80 and passes under Interstate 35 in San Marcos. And then he continues south on Texas 80 into Caldwell County. And he is in the Martindale area around 11:11pm Four minutes later at 11:15, Landry continues on Texas 80, passes Texas 130 and goes through several small towns including Stairtown, Prairie Lee and Fentress. Texas Monthly tells us that Jason spent some portions of this drive communicating with a friend and also communicating with an ex girlfriend on FaceTime and on Snapchat. Just pointing out the obvious here. If his friend was correct about filming the FaceTime, Jason was so messed up he wouldn't remember it. We now have a guy that is potentially driving impaired communicating on both FaceTime and Snapchat with at least two other individuals. That's what's been reported. And he's also using his Waze app to guide him on his route.

[Captain]

I hate distracted driving. Put your damn phone down and just drive the damn car.

[Nick]

Yeah, not to criticize, but there's a lot of shit going on in this car. A lot of stuff going on in this car. And not all of it has to do with focusing on the road, driving safely.

[Captain]

Where we're going, we don't need no roads.

[Nick]

Now I will say regarding his outfit, I'm the kind of guy, if I know I'm driving a three hour trip, I like to travel comfortable as well. So I didn't find anything strange about his, his outfit. While it's not great for being out in the cold, to me that tells me either A, he's not thinking clearly, which could be the case according to his friend, or B, he has no intention of leaving his vehicle until he gets to a warm, comfortable place that is his friend's house at the other end of his trip.

[Captain]

Yeah, I'm not saying it's a negative thing. I'm just saying that it's a sign of his age. I mean, you know, you're, you're approaching your midlife crisis when you start making sure that you're car has a spare jacket in it the whole time.

[Nick]

At 11:24pm he's about, well, so he's roughly a half hour into his drive Jason enters Lawling from Texas 80 as he moves through the intersection. This is one of the key points here. This is something that's always highlighted in every story about this case. And it states, as he moves through the intersection of Hackberry street, where Texas 80 becomes Austin street, he turns off the Waze app and begins using the Snapchat app. This is according to the police.

[Captain]

Well, one of the things that's fascinating about this case is how much data that we have from his cell phone. So we know a lot about his movements.

[Nick]

Yes. And the reason why I said that leading into our timeline in that kind of weird fashion, is what we're tracking here. We're getting a lot of this information from his phone. That, to me, I can't. I won't say that we can definitively say that these are every one of his movements, and I will not definitively say that he is alone during all of this. I think to do both, to do either would be irresponsible. I think the probability. I think it's most likely that, yes, he. These are his movements, and most likely he was alone during most of this trip, if not all of it.

[Captain]

Yeah, I don't believe we have any evidence that there was a second person.

[Nick]

According to the information from police, Jason then continues on Austin street to Magnolia Avenue, where his digital footprint ends. Authorities believe that instead of turning right on Magnolia, Jason drove straight through the intersection on East Austin street to Spruce street, which turns into Salt Flat Road. Okay, we'll. We'll go back to Salt Flat Road here in a second. But to hone in on this part of our timeline a little bit, this is where we can really start to throw in a lot of speculation. He's turned off the Waze app. Was this an accident? He's only made this drive twice before, or was this intentional?

[Captain]

That's a very good question.

[Nick]

Texas Monthly says basically the same thing. Instead of turning right, he goes straight for several blocks. The street eventually bends to the left and turns into Salt Flat Road, leading him further away from his destination, and he continued on that road for five miles. Regarding that Snapchat information, this is what I love about Texas Monthly so so much. They're only going to cover Texas cases, but when they. When they dip their toes into true crime and it's a Texas case, you get some very complete and thorough reporting on a story here. And so Texas. Texas Monthly says that that Snapchat communication was a selfie that Jason sent of himself inside the vehicle that he sent to his ex girlfriend. And in. In that picture, she says, and the other people that have seen it say that he looked calm and confident. So it doesn't. It doesn't appear that if. Whenever things started to go wrong for Jason on this trip at 11:28, it appears, based off of the evidence of that picture, that everything is fine at this time.

[Captain]

Yeah, but my concern and. And I want to know what your expert opinion is, because to me, if you look at where his school was and where he's heading to, this doesn't seem to be in the right direction.

[Nick]

Well, that's what they're saying. He.

[Captain]

This seems like a detour. And then. Then my question becomes, well, if he's rolling a bunch of joints, and, you know, spoiler alert, where they find these joints later in his car, you go, was he heading there for some other reason? I mean, because this is very late at night, was he stopping by to pick up some more marijuana or pick something else up?

[Nick]

Well, and it would seem that if he knows anybody in this area or was communicating with anybody in this area, that either that information is being kept back for some reason or there's no information telling any of the investigators or his family that he knows anybody or was communicating with anybody in this area. So it's really tricky, right? You look at this, this. This very big question mark on his trip, and you go, okay. Instead of turning right, he just continues to go straight. And then he's veering off of his route to his destination.

[Captain]

Absolutely.

[Nick]

Was that just pure accident or was that intentional? Now what. As far as reporting goes and what his family has reported and what the detectives are reporting, there doesn't seem to be anything telling them that he intentionally was going off of his route. But again, he turns off the. This is. This is where I'm going to show my age a little bit and my lack of experience on some of these social platforms. I've never used Snapchat. I said this probably 100 times throughout the time we were covering Delphi. I don't know, does it. Are you required to shut off another app to go into Snapchat? My guess would be no. Again, he's. He's trying to navigate a lot of things, right? You're trying to stay on track. You're trying to check the Waze app, you're trying to drive, and you're also communicating on social media or FaceTime with friends.

[Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

Again, was shutting off the Waze app intentional, or was that just an accident, just happenstance? What we do know is, regardless of what's going on, according to the information at 11:28, he appears calm and confident in that picture that he sends to his friend. Then the authorities are telling us that they believe that Jason crashed his car or experienced a vehicle accident at 11:34pm so this is six minutes after he appears calm and confident. But there's a whole lot of question marks here because if he did crash the car or there was an accident with the vehicle at 11:34, it's not. This vehicle's not spotted by anybody until 12:31am so we got a bunch of time that goes by where we don't really know what's happening. And again, his digital footprint had, are ended at this time. And then it appears that if he was driving and if he was traveling by himself, he was in a one car vehicle accident.

[Captain]

Yeah, it seems like his car hit a tree, but it makes you wonder, was it the distractive driving that caused that? Was he impaired to the point where, you know, he just lost control of the vehicle? Because if you look at the footage of this road, it's. It's a very rural road. Yeah. And again, some of the speculation that I think you could, again, it's just a guess, but it's like, okay, he gets off the freeway. Is he just trying to turn around? Because he was heading in the wrong direction. And so I'm just going to turn off the waves app and then try to head back to the freeway. But then this wreck happens and then we have now this, this crime scene and we have his car. It's. It's not like a little fender bender, man. He messed this car up and now he's in this location. And it could be that he crashed for another reason. Animal ran out into the middle of the road. Maybe he got into some kind of accident with another car and they drove off. Who knows?

[Nick]

The report is this that at 12:31am Jason's Altima was found crashed and abandoned. The lights were still on, the keys in the ignition, and the front passenger side door was locked. The vehicle was found in the 2300 block of Salt Flat Road. A local volunteer firefighter driving through the area is the one that spots the vehicle and reports it. According to Texas Monthly, the car was wedged against a tree and facing the wrong direction. The airbags did not deploy. Significant damage to the body of the vehicle and rear window was shattered. The engine was shut off. Keys are still in the ignition, and the headlights were shining. Texas Monthly states that at 1:15 ish am police arrive. This is the Texas Department of Public Safety. Later we Would hear investigators say that they think that the car crashed into a tree and barbed wire fence. After Jason over corrected on the gravel road and spun out of control, the rear window of the vehicle was broken as a result of the impact with the tree. This one part of this case that was frustrating for me. I saw plenty of pictures of the pic of the vehicle, but none of the spot. I couldn't confirm the exact spot where this accident took place. Going off of what my eyes tell me looking at his vehicle, it actually, I think had I seen the scene, I might have in a different. I might have a different opinion. So take this with a grain of salt, but looking at the car, man, this to me looks like there's two impacts. Right. A rear impact to the vehicle and then a front driver side impact to the vehicle. I. It's hard for me to imagine, regardless of terrain, how you could do that amount of damage to these parts of the car in. In the same impact.

[Captain]

Yeah. That's why I think the speculation that it could have been an accident with another vehicle and they took off makes some logical sense.

[Nick]

I would like to have seen pictures from the rear of the vehicle to see what the. So what I can see here is the trunk is damaged beyond all. Get out, my friend. Like it. Like the. The bumper is off the.

[Captain]

Yes.

[Nick]

The rear of the vehicle's all smashed in like a. Like a crushed beer can. The back of this car and the. The rear window is. So I get what you're saying because I mean, had he stopped abruptly and some. If this was an impact with another car, he either very. At a high rate of speed, backed into somebody or backed into that tree or he slams on his brakes and somebody smashes into the back of him.

[Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

I say all that to say this, that police are adamant that they're saying we found no evidence of another vehicle at this accident scene. And I think what we can. Without having to be too imaginative, I think we all can agree that if the other car looked like his car, we should be seeing parts or pieces of that car at the scene as well.

[Captain]

Yes, I agree, but a couple things. One, when they do the investigation initially, I mean one of the smart things, and you can actually see this online, but the law enforcement keep their body cams going so you can actually see footage of them going through items. But there was a bunch of items of Jason's that people found later down the road and. And what have you. So was there pieces of another vehicle that they just didn't collect that I guess that could Be a possibility. And that's where it gets very strange. You look at his car, you look at the. The wreck, the wreckage of his car, and you go, this doesn't make a lot of sense. Unless he hit multiple things. And then his final landing point was that tree, and it smashed the back end up. But it makes you wonder, too, like, did he hit an animal or something? But it doesn't seem like we have any evidence of that either.

[Nick]

If he hit an animal, he hit several things after hitting that animal. Because an animal didn't do this damage to right car Unless it was. It may be the front. Front driver side. If it was a Sasquatch. But other than that. So what it looks like to me is it's not uncommon for people to back into something, Especially at a high rate of speed, because it's difficult to see anything behind you, right? Especially at night. This place is. This area is not well lit. And sometimes you even have situations where you might smash into something that is tall enough to smash up your bumper or maybe even the trunk of your car, but you can't visually see it from the rear window view because it's just not tall enough.

[Captain]

Right?

[Nick]

And it's in. It's kind of in that dead spot, that blind spot where you can't see it in your rear view mirrors either. And so the way I kind of visualize this potentially going down Is that he's driving. Remember, they say he continued for several miles in the wrong direction after failing to turn right. And a lot of times, where do people. How do people get lost and turned around? It's not necessarily you got turned around. It's you missed a turn, and you just keep going straight and straight and straight. At some point, I think the terrain tells him, I'm lost. I'm not where I'm supposed to be. I don't know if in a fit or. Or just trying to hurry along. He's like, slam it into reverse. Boom. Doesn't see something, smashes into something at a high rate of speed. It had to been if, If. If the. I believe it was the impact is what shattered his rear view, the rear window. It was a high rate of speed, either either hitting him or he was traveling. And I just wonder, had he slammed it into reverse to turn around? He smashes into something. And it's the natural reaction for most people when you slam into something going into reverse Is to very quickly go forward, right? And it almost looks to me like he smashed into something at high rate of speed. And then I'll Use the detectives words here, the police officer's words over corrected and tried to go forward and wasn't really looking. Still, you know, still trying to figure out what happened when he was going in reverse and then hit something. When he goes forward, we're going to find a lot of his belongings outside of the vehicle. But yet the vehicle, the lights weren't turned off, the keys were in the ignition.

[Captain]

That doesn't make any sense to me.

[Nick]

No.

[Captain]

And then there's a trail heading in a direction. And I've, I've seen different reports and I think sometimes you get these different reports and they're, it's not nefarious, it's just people making a mistake. But it seems to me like they, they say at some point, well, all, all the digital evidence of his movements stop at a certain point. But I've seen people where they say, oh well his, his cell phone last pinged in this location, which was a different location than his car. But I believe his cell phone was found in his car. So it makes you wonder, does he, is he disoriented? Does he. From the crash, which we've seen this in the past, we've seen other cases where somebody gets in a bad wreck and they go missing. He's heading down this path, he leaves his book bag, he starts leaving clothing behind. And what I want to know, and I don't know this, maybe you know this, maybe you can fill us in those pictures that he's sending to his ex girlfriend through Snapchat. What shirt is he wearing and do we find that shirt on the side of that road?

[Nick]

Let's go back to Texas Monthly here. They say the wreck might have seemed unremarkable to the trooper had it not been for something else that the volunteer firefighter who called this in, right. Calls this to his attention and says about 800ft from the vehicle, Jason's black backpack was sitting on the side of Salt Flat Road. Inside was his wallet, laptop, as well as his marijuana stash and his Ziploc bags full of the toiletries that he had packed up. The plastic container, the tumbler that we had mentioned earlier that was holding his pet fish had been placed on the ground nearby. And the fish unfortunately was dead inside this container.

[Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

His clothing, Jason's clothing was lying in the middle of the road, dropped neatly into small piles as if someone had casually stripped down to get into a shower. There was a faded red T shirt from a Christian summer camp where he had worked one of the armholes facing upward. And beneath it was his Wristwatch that was facing up, Nike shorts, followed by a gray by gray underwear with a small blood stain on the waistband, a pair of black slide sandals, and two socks resting on nearby. So every article of clothing this dude was wearing is not on his body at this time and was found lying on the ground. And it seems like that shirt that you referenced is. Again, with some of the details of this case. I think we would be irresponsible to say. We can definitively say, 100% say, but everybody seems to agree that that was the shirt that he was wearing that night.

[Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

I've not seen anybody say in pictures he wasn't wearing that or, you know, everybody, everybody that knows this knows Jason and had interactions with him believe that to be the shirt that he was wearing that night. Now, none of this from, from the way I understand it, none of the first responders that are responding to this vehicle accident, this abandoned car, none of them entered the vehicle, from my understanding, and the vehicles then towed to an impound yard.

[Captain]

But again, I think one of the reasons why this case is so fascinating but also bizarre is think about how many missing person cases we have where there was a car wreck or something. But we, we can only speculate of what the cops were finding and what the cops were thinking at the time. You can watch the footage because law enforcement decided to release this information to the public.

[Nick]

And again, one thing that seems very. There's a lot of things that are strange and odd and bizarre about this case, and, and maybe we won't ever fully understand everything. Let's pretend he was traveling by himself. Let's pretend there was no other vehicle there. There's no other person there in this area. I can on the one hand go, oh, he, he maybe hit his head or he was, he was all messed up from the, the accident. That wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. And, and that's why he didn't take the keys with him or he didn't turn off the lights to the car.

[Captain]

Right.

[Nick]

But then the flip of that is he removed his backpack, his personal belongings, and his fish from the car. So the two don't go hand in hand. For me, it's, it's. Why would you do one without the other?

[Captain]

Unless he gets in this wreck, he's disoriented, he tries to gather his items, he starts heading down the road, and you know how sometimes you, you, you slip and fall and you get right back up and, and you start walking and you think you're fine. And then that fifth or sixth step, you go, oh, nope, I. I really did something to my ankle. Right. Maybe that's a. That's a possibility here. Or I just wonder if there was a collision, again with another vehicle, which doesn't make a lot of sense because we don't have evidence of it. It's like, did somebody else go through his belongings?

[Nick]

That's right. And as we said, remember, Jason packed up a bag of toiletries, a PlayStation game console, a laptop, a handful of joints hidden inside a pill container, all stuffed into his black backpack. He's got his Siamese fighting fish, Sparky, and a plastic tumbler that he used regularly as a pet carrier. All of these items were found either in the vehicle or near the crash scene. It's like Jason is the only thing that was missing.

[Captain]

So much more to get to in the bizarre missing case of Jason Landry. Join us here in the garage, back here in the garage for part two.

[Nick]

Until then, be good, be kind.

[Captain]

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[Nick]

Premiere Saturday at 8 on Lifetime.