BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — Where Long Trussel Road meets the Navasota River in east Brazos County, is where the Buick of Jerry Gayle Woodard was found abandoned 30 years ago.
To this day, police still don’t know what happened to the 37-year-old Bryan man.
Woodard seemed to vanish off the face of the Earth.
Brazos County Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace Kenny Elliott was a Brazos County sheriff's deputy at the time Woodard disappeared.
“The area his car was found, I know they conducted searches out there with dogs and people, and to no avail," Elliott recalled. "They never found anything.”
Elliott picked up the case in the mid-nineties after it stalled.
According to the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office, his notes on the investigation spanned hundreds of pages.
“I got [Woodard's] dental records," said Elliott. "Over the years we’ve compared his dental records to skeletal remains around the country... I got a call from an agency in Louisiana maybe two months ago, if not that long. They had some skeletal remains and wanted to do a comparison. It turned out not to be Mr. Woodard.”
Brazos County Crime Stoppers Coordinator Robert Santarsiero said he could list hundreds of cases like Woodard’s that remain unsolved in the Bryan-College Station area, from missing persons, to unresolved deaths, to sexual assaults.
As this November marks the 40th anniversary of Brazos County Crime Stoppers, Santarsiero made the decision that, starting Monday Nov. 1 with Jerry Woodard, he would make a public appeal for 40 cases over the next 40 days.
"It’s important to every law enforcement officer who’s truly invested in what they do," said Santarsiero. "...we have to deal with the consequences of those events, and try to provide something for the family.”
For cases like the Woodard disappearance, Santarsiero believes they still can be solved.
Each day, he will publish press releases about a different case, and push out information on social media, including photographs and potential incident reenactments.
“There is likely still somebody out there who has information that may lead to us getting some closure," Santarsiero said.
Those with any information about what could have happened to Woodard can contact Crime Stoppers at 979-775-TIPS. Tipsters' anonymity is guaranteed, and they could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 if Woodard is recovered.
Tips can also be submitted online here.
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