Suspicion & Online Speculation After Missing Texas Man Found On Busy Street

A missing Texas man was found ten days after he reportedly went missing from his Woodlands, Texas home. Colby Richards, 31, was located in an area, "surrounded by golf courses, shopping centers, and sprawling residential developments." It was less than three miles from his home. He was found "in a depleted mental state" malnourished and dizzy, according to his rescuer.

Is it possible this husband and father suffered a physical or mental episode that caused him to innocently wander off and hide for ten days? Absolutely. Is it also possible he somehow was missed by a massive search effort that included drones, dogs, and many volunteers? Also yes. Remember, Colby had left behind his wallet and phone so he possibly had no way to feed or shelter himself for 10 days.

But is it likely? I won't speculate, but some on the internet are saying, "No."

We won't know anything for sure until Colby is questioned, which investigators are waiting to do until Colby is in better shape.

A Reddit group that was established to discuss (and perhaps help with) Colby's disappearance is full of speculation and suspicions. Some in the group claim that the timeline and evidence simply don't add up, with some going as far as to speculate that the entire thing was a cash grab from a GoFundMe that has since been disabled.

As one Redditor puts it:

Anecdotal Evidence would be:

• Constantly changing the story of his disappearance and mental state

• Immediately starting a GoFundMe

• Heavy monitoring of tips, questions and observations on the dedicated Facebook page resulting in throttling attempts to locate him

• Quick deletion of the Facebook page

• GoFundMe sending refunds because of the constantly changing purpose of the monies

• Criminal records

Again, this is just speculation and I cannot verify if all of that anecdotal evidence has any truth to it, except that the Facebook group established by the family is deleted and the GoFundMe is disabled (I cannot know if GofundMe has issued any refunds, yet).

However, more people chimed in to point to the family's financial troubles. And perhaps the most intriguing bit of evidence that they managed to dig up is that Colby might have gone missing back in 2021 as well. However, I am unable to verify if the source they found is legitimate or not. Again, take all of this with a grain of salt.

Internet sleuths have solved cases, including missing persons, in the past and likely will again in the future. However, there is also the chance that these types of groups can do more harm than good. Remember, these are regular folks, and the Richards family could have simply experienced a very unfortunate, and also very public event. Time will tell.