BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas – A search is underway to find Christy Perry, a hiker who did not return home after a trip to Big Bend National Park last week.
The National Park Service described Perry, 25, as Korean, 5’2″ tall and 100 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion.
On Nov. 9, Perry drove a rental car from Midland, Texas, to Big Bend National Park, according to the NPS. She had a camping reservation at the Chisos Basin Campground for that evening, but she never arrived.
Her vehicle was located at the trailhead of the Lost Mine Trail, a popular hiking trail that rises 1,100 feet over 4.8 miles roundtrip and goes through the woodlands of the Chisos Mountains, the NPS said.
Taking hikers through the mountains and deserts of Big Bend and Mexico, the trail takes hikers an average of about 3 hours to complete, according to the NPS. They added that mountain lions and black bears inhabit the area.
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NPS officials said Park Rangers and U.S. Border Patrol Agents searched the trail Wednesday while the park pilot surveyed from the air.
More teams combed the area Thursday, according to the NPS. Two helicopters with the Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Border Patrol, plus the NPS airplane, have been searching from above.
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To help with efforts to find Perry, the Lost Mine Trail is currently closed to allow searchers to work efficiently and quickly, according to the NPS.
Park officials asked anyone who was in the vicinity of the Lost Mine Trail on Nov. 8 or Nov. 9 to please call the NPS TipLine at 888-653-0009 or email [email protected].