News Release

Search Continues for Missing Hiker

News Release Date: November 17, 2023

Contact: Tom VandenBerg, 432-477-1107

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, TEXAS - The search for a missing hiker, Christy Perry, continues today. Christy Perry is a 25-year-old female, 5' 2" tall and weighs 100 pounds. She has brown hair and a fair complexion. Her last known location was the beginning of the Lost Mine Trail.

Today, search teams made up of NPS employees, U.S. Border Patrol, Texas Game Wardens with 2 K-9 teams, and Los Diablos fire crew continue to comb the rugged area around the Lost Mine Trail and surrounding canyons and ridges. Aerial search will be provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter from Alpine, TX.

Perry traveled to Big Bend National Park from Houston, TX. She picked up a rental car in Midland, TX and arrived in Big Bend National Park on November 9th. She did not show up at her campsite that evening in the Chisos Basin Campground. Perry's vehicle was located at the trailhead for the Lost Mine Trail.

The Lost Mine Trail is currently closed until further notice to allow searchers room to work efficiently and quickly. 

The Lost Mine Trail (4.8 miles round trip) is a very popular Big Bend hiking trail. It climbs steeply through the woodlands of the Chisos Mountains and offers magnificent views of the rugged mountains and deserts of Big Bend and Mexico. 

A new press release will be issued as additional information becomes available. 

-NPS-

View from the Lost Mine Trail

NPS / C. Hoyt