TX TX - Jason Landry, 21, enroute from TSU to home, car found crashed at Luling, 14 Dec 2020 #4

[Rosiebones]

When I use Waze, the address I enter is put in and kept on a list so that if I want to go there again I just click on it as a destination. Wouldn't LE be able to contact WAZE and get this information from them? They could see what his last destination was and where he had traveled before. Perhaps there was a pattern.

 

[Gobstopper]

Thanks for this visual. So if he cut someone off or was noticed on the road by someone with bad intentions they could've watched his movement on Waze without knowing who he is?

 

[Rosiebones]

I took a Google Street drive down from San Marcos again just to have a sense of what he saw on his way down. I was struck by how flat and straight the drive is and more importantly, that there were no street lights for most of the trip.
We have been talking about how dark Salt Flat Rd. was but the drive down wasn't much different. The intersection where he was to have turned right is also the first well lit intersection. It seems that it would be hard to miss it, particularly if you were looking for a right turn to I-10.

 

[Finlay]

A few years ago when I used to travel more, I had a cell phone that could tend to overheat if I was running Google Maps to navigate - especially if I was in an area with poor reception. If I didn't get it cooled off or some other background apps shut down it would shut down on its own so it could cool off. I'm not sure if newer phones these days still ever overheat but, IF Jason's did, I could envision a scenario where his phone overheated and shut down and possibly have caused him to miss that last turn. If that happened, depending on how the phone shut down and the sequence it may have shut down apps, it may even have made it appear that his Waze app shut down and switched to Snapchat before that & any other open apps may have shut down as well. So - purely speculating here - that could have left him continuing on thru that intersection with a phone that was no longer active or "trackable". If that had happened I could also believe that he maybe thought he'd just keep going a while until he could turn his phone back on. I'm sure many would think that you'd want to pull off until the phone came back on if you weren't sure where you were going (& I don't completely disagree) but perhaps it took a few miles before he realized that he was on a gravel road and was off course. So in this hypothetical scenario he was maybe a few miles down the gravel before he starts thinking he needs to check his Waze app, realizes the phone is off & not navigating, and tries to turn it back on. Perhaps that could even be when he dropped the phone between the console & seat and ran off the road while trying to retrieve it.

A much simpler version of a similar scenario would be that he switched to the Snapchat app for a minute at that intersection and then somehow accidentally shut the phone off without realizing it. After that, the same scenario could have played out where he eventually realizes the phone isn't navigating any longer and drops it and goes off the road while trying to turn it back on.

Of course this doesn't help locate Jason now, but it could be a very simple scenario that explains why he was off course with a phone that was found turned on but not leaving any digital footprint after that corner where he maybe missed his turn.

All speculation & MOO of course.

 

[Seattle1]

Brilliant -- thanks for the visual. You're very brave (I don't like technology in my vehicle while driving)!

ETA: @swedeheart -- don't know why the quote did not attach..

 

[Seattle1]

A few years ago when I used to travel more, I had a cell phone that could tend to overheat if I was running Google Maps to navigate - especially if I was in an area with poor reception. If I didn't get it cooled off or some other background apps shut down it would shut down on its own so it could cool off. I'm not sure if newer phones these days still ever overheat but, IF Jason's did, I could envision a scenario where his phone overheated and shut down and possibly have caused him to miss that last turn. If that happened, depending on how the phone shut down and the sequence it may have shut down apps, it may even have made it appear that his Waze app shut down and switched to Snapchat before that & any other open apps may have shut down as well. So - purely speculating here - that could have left him continuing on thru that intersection with a phone that was no longer active or "trackable". If that had happened I could also believe that he maybe thought he'd just keep going a while until he could turn his phone back on. I'm sure many would think that you'd want to pull off until the phone came back on if you weren't sure where you were going (& I don't completely disagree) but perhaps it took a few miles before he realized that he was on a gravel road and was off course. So in this hypothetical scenario he was maybe a few miles down the gravel before he starts thinking he needs to check his Waze app, realizes the phone is off & not navigating, and tries to turn it back on. Perhaps that could even be when he dropped the phone between the console & seat and ran off the road while trying to retrieve it.

A much simpler version of a similar scenario would be that he switched to the Snapchat app for a minute at that intersection and then somehow accidentally shut the phone off without realizing it. After that, the same scenario could have played out where he eventually realizes the phone isn't navigating any longer and drops it and goes off the road while trying to turn it back on.

Of course this doesn't help locate Jason now, but it could be a very simple scenario that explains why he was off course with a phone that was found turned on but not leaving any digital footprint after that corner where he maybe missed his turn.

All speculation & MOO of course.

Except he did not shut off or power off his phone or put the device in airplane mode per the CCSO. Seems that his phone activity (data/call use) ceased after he left the intersection. Perhaps search warrants will someday reveal otherwise but above is all that's been confirmed to date.

 

[SimplyCass]

Except he did not shut off or power off his phone or put the device in airplane mode per the CCSO. Seems that his phone activity (data/call use) ceased after he left the intersection. Perhaps search warrants will someday reveal otherwise but above is all that's been confirmed to date.

hold up. They've said definitely that they know the phone wasn't in airplane mode?

 

[Megnut]

hold up. They've said definitely that they know the phone wasn't in airplane mode?

....Had phone signal and was on....

Per LE.

Jason Landry search: More details released in ongoing search for Texas State student

JMO

 

[Finlay]

....Had phone signal and was on....

Per LE.

Jason Landry search: More details released in ongoing search for Texas State student

JMO

That's whats been bugging me. Since dad was the first to find the phone, I'm assuming that LE relies on a statement from him that it was found already on. (...not that he was able to turn it on after he found it.)
Beyond that, I'm curious why they say it has signal again. There are various ways to prove signal with a locked phone. I think all phones will still give u an option to make an emergency call without unlocking it. So they could have done that and shown that they can make that call. Or perhaps they've called it and seen that it rings or maybe there are incoming messages/call notifications visible on the locked screen that indicate there has been activity which required a signal. Or perhaps LE has been able to pull info that indicates when the cell phone started pinging cell towers in the area again at some point after Jason travelled thru that intersection where LE stated his digital footprint had ended that night. Maybe I've missed it but, I don't recall seeing any good(detailed) info that's been shared that helps me understand exactly when/if the (still locked) phone started to indicate that it had/has a signal again after he travelled thru that intersection. ...so, if I make an assumption that there really is proof that the phone had a signal at some point after it had been lost, I'm looking for a scenario where the signal was lost & came back again. ...something such as where an overheated phone may have temporarily shut down until it cooled off again and turned back on, or where Jason accidentally shut it off or accidentally hit airplane mode or something similar before he then later realized he was off course on some gravel road and turned the phone back on (possibly being distracted while doing so) causing the phone to start working again at the accident scene. ...but yet also be a scenario where he left the phone behind in the car after having crashed into the tree.

I completely agree that a side impact crash could have caused him to become disoriented & forget to grab the phone - or that the crash could have caused the phone to fall between the seat and cause him not to be able to find it after the crash.

Part of me actually wonders if he was disoriented and walked away from his car without his phone for some amount of time until maybe he realized that, "hey, my phone is in my car. I should just go back and get that." To expand on that, that might explain him being tracked to a point where his scent trail "just ended". Say he left the crash scene right away, walked for 20 minutes, & retraced his steps back to the scene for another 20 min. ...and by then, the hypothermia was setting in. For the temperature & conditions that night (& considering he could have had injuries of some kind), could he have been in a state where he made it almost back to the car before getting confused again and starting to undress and possibly wonder off another direction (still without the phone)? My thought there would be that a scent trail might have been strongest leading away from the car as he'd traveled that path twice- so that might/maybe lead the dogs off in that direction causing them to miss (or causing their handlers to misdirect them away from) the trail he would have left after he'd returned, taken off his clothes, & wandered off again.

Obviously all very much speculation; MOO.

 

[Kaie]

Brilliant -- thanks for the visual. You're very brave (I don't like technology in my vehicle while driving)!

ETA: @swedeheart -- don't know why the quote did not attach..

You mentioning your dislike for technology while driving just made me think of a whole lot of drivers I know, and their various relationships with navigation software. These tools aren't for everybody (some people probably still like a good old fashioned map). Some drivers only turn on navigation apps if they find themselves in an area with no more street signs to follow, or after they get lost. But for others, the people who use navigation software every time they get into their car... some of them really need it. I can think of one particular driver, with whom I am in a vehicle, with her behind the wheel, every other week, who doesn't go anywhere without navigation software giving directions. The reason is, she has no sense of direction. Even when walking around in a small shopping centre that she's been in 100 times, she will turn to go the opposite way to where she needs to be.
There's been a lot of talk about Jason taking a wrong turn, often with the disclaimer that he wasn't stupid and had to know it was the wrong way. But in my experience, a tendency to get disoriented easily, even in familiar surroundings, has nothing whatsoever to do with a lack of intelligence. Cognitive issues that affect only a few areas of functioning, are common enough. His father has confirmed that Jason constantly used Waze and did whatever it told him to do. Why was he so attached to it? Perhaps he was one of the people who seriously needed it, and who will take a wrong turn as soon as it's switched off.
If Jason did have a few issues with his sense of direction while driving, and hadn't yet put his finger on what the cause was, he may have never mentioned it anyone at all. It's the kind of thing some people want to keep to themselves, and would rather just find a solution (like Waze) and get on with things.

 

[Megnut]

Let's pretend that Jason made it home.... just so we can compare what could've happened with what did happen.

Jason gathers up his backpack, his fish, his flip flops and his phone. He sets off late at night. Under dressed for the weather but plans to stay warm in a heated car....

30 minutes later, he's passing through or stopped at an intersection.... he's gotten that far thanks to Waze... snapchat engages..... perhaps he sends or receives messages or sends or receives selfies... his phone may be in his hand or on his thigh.... like countless drivers.... perhaps he's distracted and at that pivotal intersection, he both loses Waze, lurches forward which lurches the phone... he continues on, onto the wrong road. Figures he can use his instincts to work his way back to a familiar road, perhaps he's unaware that Waze turned off and he'd reading silence as an indication he's on an adequate, alternate route....

5 miles later, he has doubts, fumbles with his seat to search for the phone. Swerves, compensates and drives out of it, re-engages Waze and navigates home.

So.... what changed? What turned that drive into this thread?

Where is Jason?

My questions, my thoughts, my opinions...

 

[kittythehare]

Let's pretend that Jason made it home.... just so we can compare what could've happened with what did happen.

Jason gathers up his backpack, his fish, his flip flops and his phone. He sets off late at night. Under dressed for the weather but plans to stay warm in a heated car....

30 minutes later, he's passing through or stopped at an intersection.... he's gotten that far thanks to Waze... snapchat engages..... perhaps he sends or receives messages or sends or receives selfies... his phone may be in his hand or on his thigh.... like countless drivers.... perhaps he's distracted and at that pivotal intersection, he both loses Waze, lurches forward which lurches the phone... he continues on, onto the wrong road. Figures he can use his instincts to work his way back to a familiar road, perhaps he's unaware that Waze turned off and he'd reading silence as an indication he's on an adequate, alternate route....

5 miles later, he has doubts, fumbles with his seat to search for the phone. Swerves, compensates and drives out of it, re-engages Waze and navigates home.

So.... what changed? What turned that drive into this thread?

Where is Jason?

My questions, my thoughts, my opinions...

That makes absolute sense and is , I believe the most likely scenario.
And I'll even take it a step further.
He crashes, but shows presence of mind.

Manages to retrieve all his important belongings, he has given up on ever finding his phone at this stage, having spent an hour pulled in somewhere searching for it OR he thought it was in his backpack. He leaves keys in ignition because he suspects that whatever breaker yard will be called to collect it will need them.
It's dark and and he leaves car lights on to guide him on his long walk back to town/ the nearest house to get help.
What happened then?
Speculation only.

 

[moonrise]

I wonder if they checked his phone and other belongings for any fingerprints that shouldn't be there? For that matter, I wonder if they checked the car? Surely they did.

I also wonder if he happened upon a meth lab (or something else illegal) in an abandoned building or structure, while searching for shelter or help, and someone didn't take too kindly to that discovery.

Then there's the possibility that he approached a house, seeking help, and the property owner was fearful. After all, it would probably scare most people if a naked man, perhaps incoherent, showed up on their porch. They may have thought drugs were involved, which is possible if he'd inadvertently gotten some tampered-with marijuana (or had a bad reaction to "regular" marijuana), or it could have simply been due to a head injury from the car wreck. Either way, could someone have shot him out of fear, and then hid him, worried about the legal repercussions?

I'd like to think that he simply decided to start a new life somewhere else, but that doesn't make sense, either.

My gut feeling says he's still out there, perhaps holed up somewhere, and just hasn't been found yet. I hope I'm wrong.

Edited to add: I wonder if they checked to see if any dead animals were nearby. He could have lost control of the car while trying to avoid hitting an animal in the road. Something as large as a deer would probably cause damage to the car (not to mention blood on the vehicle), but hitting a small animal like a rabbit wouldn't be as obvious.

 

[Finlay]

You mentioning your dislike for technology while driving just made me think of a whole lot of drivers I know, and their various relationships with navigation software. These tools aren't for everybody (some people probably still like a good old fashioned map). Some drivers only turn on navigation apps if they find themselves in an area with no more street signs to follow, or after they get lost. But for others, the people who use navigation software every time they get into their car... some of them really need it. I can think of one particular driver, with whom I am in a vehicle, with her behind the wheel, every other week, who doesn't go anywhere without navigation software giving directions. The reason is, she has no sense of direction. Even when walking around in a small shopping centre that she's been in 100 times, she will turn to go the opposite way to where she needs to be.
There's been a lot of talk about Jason taking a wrong turn, often with the disclaimer that he wasn't stupid and had to know it was the wrong way. But in my experience, a tendency to get disoriented easily, even in familiar surroundings, has nothing whatsoever to do with a lack of intelligence. Cognitive issues that affect only a few areas of functioning, are common enough. His father has confirmed that Jason constantly used Waze and did whatever it told him to do. Why was he so attached to it? Perhaps he was one of the people who seriously needed it, and who will take a wrong turn as soon as it's switched off.
If Jason did have a few issues with his sense of direction while driving, and hadn't yet put his finger on what the cause was, he may have never mentioned it anyone at all. It's the kind of thing some people want to keep to themselves, and would rather just find a solution (like Waze) and get on with things.

Agreed. I have known several people (more than "a few" people, less than "many" people) that could not tell North from South if they held a compass in their hand. Some of these people would regularly use a navigation aide to drive the same stores/malls/shopping centers within a mile or two of their home which they visited weekly. It was in no way a reflection of any cognitive challenge or intelligence level.
And Jason did not take a wrong turn with Waze turned off. He simply failed to turn when he was likely not prompted to turn. That seems to support a simple scenario where the app was off for some reason, thus it did not prompt him to turn, therefore he continued straight thru that intersection to where he ultimately wound up crashing.
It makes me wonder, if he really was dependent on an app to navigate when driving, how well was he "navigating" on foot ... with a possible head injury or some other impairment.

 

[dimples37398]

I definitely think he was either messing with Snapchat, Waze and lost control, wrecked. What if he was walking in the road and someone accidentally hit him? Maybe he stepped from the grass in front of a car and they hit him. Also possible that he wondered upon someone’s property/porch/door and maybe he was acting erratic and they shot him? Could it be possible they hid or dumped the body elsewhere out of fear? I can’t imagine many more scenarios besides his body still being out there somewhere and just not found yet, maybe died due to exposure?

 

[JenniferTx]

I’m late learning about Jason so I haven’t read all the threads yet but I’m curious if anyone mentioned his grades from his semester at school? Was he passing or failing?

 

[kittythehare]

I’m late learning about Jason so I haven’t read all the threads yet but I’m curious if anyone mentioned his grades from his semester at school? Was he passing or failing?

That information has not been published as far as I know.

 

[SimplyCass]

....Had phone signal and was on....

Per LE.

Jason Landry search: More details released in ongoing search for Texas State student

JMO

Then...I am legitimately at a loss to describe how such a scenario could have unfolded - that his digital trail stops at that intersection but his phone wasn't turned off or in airplane mode. Something is not right. Something at the scene was misinterpreted or one of the given statements is factually wrong.

The only thing I can think of, which sounds absolutely ridiculous, is that the area between the car seat and center console is some kind of faraday cage. JL fumbled the phone at the intersection and it dropped through and he couldn't recover it, so his digital trail ends. Then, the impact of the crash shakes the phone loose out of that area, and the digital trail "picks up" again. (As KL was making phone calls in that area at around 6 a.m. we can infer that the crash site area isn't a dead signal zone.)

I can't even think of a scenario where JL might have done this on purpose, because his phone was in the car and he was not there at 12:31. If his digital trail had ended and his phone was nowhere to be found, I could faintly believe that there was foul play or he was trying to disappear. Unless, again, we go into high fantasy scenarios like that JL's digital trail did intentionally end, JL met foul play, and then his phone was later planted in the car.

 

[Seattle1]

I’m late learning about Jason so I haven’t read all the threads yet but I’m curious if anyone mentioned his grades from his semester at school? Was he passing or failing?

Reportedly, this was JL's first semester at TSU-- and prior to San Marcos, he was at SFASU where he proudly tweeted his acceptance letter in 2018. I believe his FB indicates he attended additional schools than those above.

Was JL struggling to find the right fit? Also, interesting tweet on Nov 26, 2020.

https://mobile.twitter.com/jasonlandry_?lang=en

 

[Seattle1]

Then...I am legitimately at a loss to describe how such a scenario could have unfolded - that his digital trail stops at that intersection but his phone wasn't turned off or in airplane mode. Something is not right. Something at the scene was misinterpreted or one of the given statements is factually wrong.

^^rsbm

It was very early that JL's dad provided that he found his son's phone inside his vehicle using an app that their family shared to find phone/friends. Reportedly, the find phone app does not work if the instrument is in airplane mode. I think authorities are confident the phone was on and transmitting when JL walked away from the crash.

MOO