Southwest
What happened to Jason Landry? Texas pastor prays for answers after son's mysterious disappearance
Jason Landry, a freshman student at Texas State University, has been missing for 3 ½ years after authorities found his car wrecked and abandoned about a mile from where he was last seen – abandoned in the opposite direction of where he was heading.
His family is still waiting for answers – praying someone comes forward with information or that police can crack what has become a cold case.
“They don’t even know if he’s missing in the sense of a crime – or missing, and he hasn’t been found,” his father, Kent Landry, told Fox News Digital.
His son was last seen leaving his apartment in San Marcos on the evening of Dec. 13, 2020. He was headed home to Missouri City for Christmas break after his first semester, according to his family.
MAN FOUND UNCONSCIOUS WITH NO ID IN NEW YORK CITY IS NOT MISSING TEXAS STATE STUDENT JASON LANDRY, POLICE SAY
Kent Landry at a booth dedicated to his missing son Jason at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville. Jason Landry was last seen leaving Texas State University for Christmas break in December 2020. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
He never made it.
A volunteer firefighter found his abandoned car in Luling, Texas, after midnight on Dec. 14. The vehicle was about a mile off course from Landry’s route home, in the wrong direction.
Kent Landry, a former lawyer turned pastor, has been counting days since his son was last seen – 1,266 had passed when he spoke with Fox News Digital.
The Landry family is one of several from around the country who converged on Nashville, Tennessee last month to attend CrimeCon in the hope they could raise awareness of their loved one’s case and maybe gin up leads.
TEXAS COLLEGE STUDENT GOES MISSING ON WAY HOME FOR CHRISTMAS BREAK; WRECKED CAR FOUND ABANDONED
Jason Landry in an undated photo. (Texas EquuSearch)
“We pray and hope that law enforcement will find someone, or if there’s any person who knows something, they come forward,” he said. “They can do it anonymously or they can contact law enforcement to help give us answers in closure.”
The elder Landry says he understands investigators’ frustration in the case – they are dealing with tens of thousands of missing persons a year with limited resources.
As a result, his family and many others are sitting by, hoping and waiting for answers, he added.
A point of frustration in his son’s case is that while evidence was recovered, it didn’t lead to those answers, just more questions.
Police found his wallet, some of his clothes and his phone. But follow-up searches turned up nothing else.
A man with no ID found unconscious and unresponsive in New York City shared an uncanny resemblance with missing Jason Landry. However, the NYPD later identified him as a resident of nearby Yonkers, and Landry’s whereabouts remain unknown. (Texas Attorney General, NYPD)
“They’ve investigated everything that they have to hand,” he said of the Texas Attorney General’s Cold Case unit. “They’re still willing to investigate more, do more, if it comes to light. But that’s about where they stand…kind of in a holding pattern.”
In July 2022, the family got a glimmer of hope after a man with a striking resemblance to Landry was discovered unconscious on the other side of the country. However, the NYPD eventually identified the man as a missing resident of the neighboring city of Yonkers and reunited him with family there.
There is a $20,000 reward offered for Landry’s whereabouts.
He is described as 6 feet, 1 inch tall with brown eyes and light brown hair. He weighs around 170 pounds and sometimes wears a goatee. He has scars on his right ankle and the right side of his neck, according to authorities.
Anyone with information can call the Texas Attorney General’s Office at 512-936-0742 or the anonymous tip line at 726-777-1359.
As the Landry family continues to hope for answers, his father is encouraging supporters to not only share his son’s missing person flyer, but also to share flyers for people who have vanished in their own communities.
He also shared a note of advice for parents along with a photo of him dropping his son off at school as a child.
“Make sure that you take time this summer to enjoy the little things with your kids,” he wrote.
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A former Riverside County man was found guilty of sex trafficking a female victim and forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts along L.A.’s notorious Figueroa Corridor.
Elias Abdul Shabazz, 34, formerly of Perris, was found guilty by a jury following a five-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Shabazz had led the victim to believe they were in a romantic relationship before he turned physically and sexually violent. He began demanding that the victim engage in commercial sex acts from May to October of 2021, court documents said.
He carried a handgun with him and, on occasion, was accused of using it to pistol-whip the victim. He also fired the gun at her feet while threatening to kill her, prosecutors said.
At trial, the victim said Shabazz demanded that she meet a daily quota of commercial sex proceeds and that she was terrified of the consequences of not meeting that quota.
She testified that Shabazz compelled her to work in the notorious Figueroa Corridor in South L.A., a dangerous area known for human trafficking and prostitution.
Shabazz had confiscated her identification card, Social Security card and birth certificate. He constantly monitored her cell phone to stop her from communicating with any friends or family.
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On June 26, 2026, Shabazz was found guilty of one count of coercing or enticing interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6, where he faces 15 years to life in prison.
“Sex trafficking matters rank among the most tragic cases our office prosecutes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant will now face many years in a federal prison cell for his sick, disgusting, and disturbing behavior.”
“Elias Shabazz preyed on a vulnerable victim using physical and sexual violence and cruel psychological coercion to compel commercial sex acts for his own profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “There is no place for this type of conduct in civilized society. We deeply respect the victim’s courage to face her trafficker in court. The Criminal Division will continue to bring these cases and try them.”
Anyone with information about human trafficking can report tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888
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