Texas Woman Missing for More Than 30 Hours in Big Bend Park Walked 20 Miles Before She Was Found

Mar. 15, 2025

Debra Staples.Photo:Texas Parks and Wildlife

Texas Parks and Wildlife

A 56-year-old woman has been found safe after she was reported missing for more than 30 hours in Big Bend Ranch State Park last week.

Debra Staples was biking along with her husband when the two became separated on a trail at around 9:30 a.m. local time in the remote park in far west Texas on Tuesday, Nov. 26,according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife (TWP) news release.

When the Roanoke, Texas woman tried to catch up with her husband, she took a wrong turn off the trail. After her bike got a flat tire, she left it behind and walked in a circle for five hours before coming upon the bike again, according to the release.

Staples then took the bike and walked along a trail for 20 miles until she reached Sauceda Ranger Station, located in the park’s interior, where search crews were notified of her location, TPW said.

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Meanwhile, a multi-agency search consisting of Texas Game Wardens, State Park police officers, a K9 search team, the U.S. Border Patrol and the Presidio County Sheriff’s Office had been looking for Staples after her husband returned to the area where she went missing at around 1:00 p.m. and reported that she and her bike were not at the West Contrabando Trailhead.

Ground crews searched for her until late Tuesday when it was no longer safe to do so, while aerial crews using drone thermal technology worked into the night.

At first light on Wednesday, Nov. 27, the search for Staples resumed before she was ultimately reunited with her family, according to TPW.

The incident comes one month after a missing hiker in Big Bend met a more tragic end.

source: people.com