March of 2026 marked 20 years since the disappearance of James Preston Davis.
SAN ANTONIO — A mother’s two-decade search for answers in her son’s disappearance is gaining new attention, as a billboard campaign aims to generate fresh leads in a case that has remained unsolved since 2006.
This March marked 20 years since James Preston Davis vanished after leaving his mother’s Northeast Side home. Now, a new effort led by Search and Support San Antonio and Season of Justice is bringing renewed visibility to the case.
Reverend Angela Walden, Davis’ mother, said the years since his disappearance have been marked by grief and uncertainty.
“I have to be strong, but I’m a person and I hurt,” Walden said.
The billboard, placed along Austin Highway in San Antonio, highlights Davis’ case in an area where witnesses reported seeing him days after he was last heard from.
According to Walden, her son left home on March 2, 2006, telling her he was going to collect money from a job. When he failed to return, she initially believed he might be with friends or family. But as time passed, concern turned into alarm.
“I began calling around looking for him, making calls, talking to people,” she said. “Then it became real.”
Despite her efforts, Walden said support and resources were limited in the early years of the investigation. Walden says her son’s case was the first adult case picked up by the Heidi Search Center, but went unsolved.
The new billboard campaign is intended to change that, organizers say, by encouraging anyone with information to come forward. Walden said she hopes its location will prompt someone to recall a detail that could help solve the case.
“I’ve heard it from several people, so I thought this would be the best place to put it, maybe to jog somebody’s memory,” she said.
Now living in Anchorage, Walden said distance has helped her cope, but the emotional toll remains.
“I cry in the mornings and I cry at night,” she said. “I don’t want to leave this earth not knowing where my child is.”
She said her goal is simple: to find her son and gain closure.
“I just want him to come home,” Walden said. “Coming home means I can put him at rest.”
Anyone with information about Davis’ disappearance 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.