Missing Texas A&M student’s car found unoccupied in Austin

The car belonging to missing Texas A&M student Tanner Hoang was found unoccupied in a parking lot in Austin, according to the Texas Department of Safety. Authorities declined to say where the car was found Thursday.

Hoang, 22, was last seen Dec. 16 at his apartment in College Station, the same day as Texas A&M’’s graduation. His family was in town to attend the ceremony and alerted authorities after he did not arrive for lunch. He did not answer his father’s messages from around 8:30 a.m. and left them on “read.” His phone was then turned off.

The family then learned from the university that Hoang did not qualify for graduation.

Hoang traveled west in his car, a Lexus ES 350 with Texas plates, according to a missing persons alert from the Brazos Valley Amber Alert Network, and stopped for gas around noon in Caldwell, DPS learned. The car then traveled through Elgin on Highway 290 later that afternoon.

The Finding Tanner Hoang Facebook group has provided updates throughout the course of the investigation. The Austin Police Department and DPS said it is unknown how long the car was parked, according to a post.

Hoang is 6 feet tall, about 175 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes.