'It's a true mystery': Texas man Justin Urrutia's disappearance gets cold after more than three months

SUGAR LAND, TEXAS: A 41-year-old Texas man is still missing for more than three months after he disappeared. The Pecos County Sheriff's Office has been looking for Justin Urrutia since November 2023.

When he was first reported missing, authorities said they conducted “extensive” searches of the area by “helicopter, drone, UTV and foot” around mile marker 325 off of Interstate 10, but to no avail. "It's a true mystery," Pecos County Sheriff TJ Perkins told CBS-affiliate KHOU on Tuesday, February 20. "We don't know what happened to him," Perkins added.

When was Justin Urrutia reported missing?

Justin was reported missing after his vehicle was found abandoned on another individual’s property, according to KHOU and NBC KWES-TV. PCSO Chief Deputy Tulon Murphy told KWES-TV that Justin “broke down and drove through a gate” near the interstate before his car became disabled “because of the terrain.”

What did the authorities find upon arrival?

Many of Justin’s belongings were found in the vehicle, including a cellphone, and his wallet. One deputy saw “a Bible on the passenger seat and the waller in the driver seat” when they arrived at the scene, Perkins said, as per KHOU. Police did not see any blood inside the vehicle which Perkins described as “clean,” the outlet reported on Tuesday, February 20.

What did Justin Urrutia's mother Vicki say?

Justin's mother Vicki told the outlet she saw blood in his car before it was turned over to authorities in late January. A private investigator used a bottle of Luminol from Amazon to uncover traces of blood, Vicki claimed. “It was almost like an ‘aha’ moment, and shocking actually,” she added.

Vicki last saw her son at around 5.30 pm local time at his home in Sugar Land on November 6, according to FOX-affiliate KRIV. 

The GPS in Justin’s Hyundai showed that the missing man searched for a convenience store in Seguin which is hours away from his home, a short time after his mother’s visit, and drove there.

Justin Urrutia’s credit card was used at a truck stop sandwich shop

Justin’s credit card was used at a truck stop sandwich shop in Seguin that same night, records show, as per KRIV. It was also used at 4 am at another truck stop in San Antonio, just hours before his car was found in Pecos Country at around 11 am. The credit card used in these transactions was reportedly found inside his car. 

Authorities recently learned that Justin had been taking medication for some undisclosed “mental problems,” Murphy said in November, as per KWES-TV. Justin and his fiancee also broke up earlier this year, according to KRIV.

The devastated mother is “waiting on Sugar Land investigators” to let her know what they found, if anything, according to KHOU. Vicki told KRIV that she recently realized that she must accept that her son might not come home. “It’s hard to find peace at all now,” she explained.

Anyone with information about Justin is asked to contact the PCSO at (432) 336-3521.