James Preston Davis

Age: 37 years old at time of disappearance

Ethnicity: Black/African American

Gender: M

Type of Crime: Missing Persons

Date of Incident: March 2, 2006

Summary of Case:

San Antonio, TX (March 2026) – James Preston Davis, known to his loved ones as “JYD” or “Junk Yard Dog,” was a 37-year-old father and skilled mechanic when he vanished from San Antonio, Texas. A former standout athlete at Edison High School, James was recognized by his family and peers as a deeply caring individual who often went out of his way to help those in need, once even walking miles home after giving his bus fare to a stranger. Despite living with chronic pain from previous injuries, James remained devoted to his mother, Angela Walden, and his young daughter.

On the evening of March 2, 2006, James left his mother’s residence on Glen Mont Drive, telling her he was going to collect payment for a mechanical job he had recently finished. He never returned. While Reverend Angela Walden initially believed he might be with friends, her concern quickly turned to alarm as time passed without word. His disappearance marked the first adult case taken on by the Heidi Search Center, yet the investigation saw limited resources in its early years. While witnesses reported potential sightings of James at a tire shop on Austin Highway in the days following his disappearance, no concrete leads ever materialized.

For twenty years, James’s family has fought to keep his memory alive, with Reverend Walden now advocating for her son from Anchorage, Alaska. To mark the two-decade anniversary of his disappearance, a new billboard campaign, sponsored by Season of Justice, has been launched along Austin Highway on the Northeast side of San Antonio. The billboard is strategically placed near the location of those last reported sightings to jog the memory of potential witnesses. The family’s goal remains clear: to find the answers necessary to finally bring James home and lay him to rest. The billboard will remain up through June 2026.

Anyone with information regarding the disappearance of James Preston Davis is urged to contact Search and Support San Antonio at 210-338-0027 or the San Antonio Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit at 210-207-7660.