Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said the vehicle of missing Texas A&M student Tanner Hoang has been found in an Austin parking lot.

Although DPS and police were processing the vehicle and investigating the car on Thursday, the 22-year-old has not been located. The police department declined to provide the exact location where the abandoned vehicle was found. 

Hoang's car discovery happened a day after investigators learned that his vehicle traveled through Elgin on Highway 290 last Friday, almost an hour after stopping in Caldwell for gas.

Relatives and friends of Hoang posted a plea for help on Facebook, asking the public to keep looking for him. According to KBTX, Hoang's roommates said they last saw him at their Colgate Drive house in College Station at around 11 a.m. on December 16.

His family posted on social media that they were in town on Friday for a graduation ceremony, but he failed to show up for lunch with them.

Hoang read his dad's text at 8:30 a.m. before his phone was turned off. His family said they went from the Dallas area to College Station to see his graduation.

However, they learned that the mechanical engineering student had failed to meet the necessary academic standards and was excluded from Friday's commencement ceremonies.

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Missing Texas A&M Student's Disappearance Not His 'Characteristic,' Uncle Says

Tanner Hoang's family, hoping to celebrate his graduation, has reported him missing. His disappearance and its cause have never been fully explained, according to Express.

Hoang's uncle, Quan Hoang, told Fox 7: "I was thinking this is not characteristic of Tanner." He said his nephew always makes it to family get-togethers and had never seen him act this way.

According to Chuck Fleeger, the Executive Director of the Amber Alert Network of the Brazos Valley, Hoang's family came into town for what was supposed to be a pleasant, joyous occasion.

"And certainly, circumstances have changed to now where it's kind of a family's worst nightmare," he added.

The police think Hoang fled in a silver sedan and headed west from the city. His relatives released CCTV footage earlier this week that appears to capture his silver 2009 Lexus ES350 with Texas plates BS2 C737 on the day he vanished.

Tanner Hoang had filled up at a Shell station in neighboring Caldwell and made his way west on Highway 21.

Missing Texas A&M Student's Family Could Not Believe He Was Not Included in Commencement Ceremony

After learning that Tanner Hoang was not going to walk the stage for graduation, his family reportedly expressed disbelief. The U.S. Sun reported that Texas A&M confirmed that the missing student was not included in the graduation ceremony.

However, Hoang's family has stressed that they want him home, regardless of the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.

"We want him back home with us... We are just asking everybody to continue to pray, we believe in the power of prayer, and we are asking God to bring Tanner back to us," Hoang's uncle Tuan Hoang told KHOU 11.

Chuck Fleeger noted the car could be the key to getting the missing Texas A&M student home. Fleeger noted that the "most visible thing is going to be the vehicle," and "that's something people can be looking for."

Anyone with information about Tanner Hoang's location is encouraged to contact the College Station Police Department. The missing Texas A&M student is described as 6 feet tall and weighs around 175 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Search Continues for Missing Texas A&M Student Last Seen in College Station - From KHOU 11