Texas Woman Rescued After 30 Hours Missing in State Park

In a miraculous game of 'lost & found', a multi-agency search at Big Bend Ranch State Park led to the safe recovery of a woman who was reported missing for over 30 hours.

The Solved Missing Case of Debra Staples

Recently, 56-year-old Debra Staples traveled to Texas' largest state park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, with her husband to enjoy a bike ride through the Lone Star State's beautiful displays of nature.

According to a press release from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), at 9:30 in the morning, Staples' husband began riding his bike ahead of her on on the of the park's trails. In an effort to keep up, she attempted to ride after him. This was when she slowly lost sight of her husband before becoming lost altogether.

Her husband, not knowing that his wife had attempted to follow him on his ride, eventually returned, about 4 hours later, to find Staples and her bike missing.

Lost in the Woods

Staples eventually happened upon a fork in the path, the release states. Choosing to take the wrong way unintentionally, her bike eventually suffered a flat tire, forcing her to continue on foot.

She left her bike behind and proceeded to walk for a total of five hours alone in the state park. What she didn't know was that she was walking in a big circle, and after five hours, she was heartbroken to find her bike propped up alongside the path... She had gained absolutely zero progress that entire time.

After pressing on further through different paths, Staples finally found a ranger station where she could rest and alert everyone of her location.

A Safe Return

Staples was finally reunited with her husband and family at about 7:30pm the following day, almost 34 hours total of being lost in the state park.

Her safe return was thanks to a combined effort of Texas Game Wardens, State Park Police Officers, UAS pilots, K9 search team, U.S. Border Patrol, and more.