Lawrence Jason Wise, 55, was found dead in a shed on a rural property near the intersection of Hutch Hopson and Hopsonville Roads about ten miles southeast of Zavalla, Texas, after a welfare check on January 23, 2024. The medical examiner’s preliminary findings reported a gunshot wound to the chest. Wise’s white Chevrolet S-10 pickup was missing from the scene.

Attention focused on Wise’s nephew, 40-year-old Jeremy Wayne Gladden, after investigators reviewed prior contacts in December 2023 in which Gladden called 911 about disputes with Wise and warned he might take matters into his own hands. Deputies located the truck near Coal Hill, Arkansas, and Gladden was arrested there on January 26, 2024, first for unauthorized use of a vehicle; statements made during interrogation led to a later murder charge. He was returned to Angelina County on a governor’s warrant and indicted by an Angelina County grand jury on May 17, 2024. The investigation remains ongoing.

If anyone knew Lawrence Wise, his movements, or has information about the pickup truck or the property near Hutch Hopson and Hopsonville Roads, please come forward.