Hiker vanishes during trip to Texas national park, family says. ‘I need my dad back’

A search is underway for a hiker who went missing during a trip to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas, officials say.

Richard Berry, 71, was last seen at the West Texas park at about noon on Thursday, Nov. 2, near the Marcus and Blue Ridge Trail Junction, the National Park Service said in a news release.

Berry told his family he was planning to hike out of Dog Canyon to Blue Ridge, officials said. He was supposed to arrive at a hotel that night but he never showed up.

Officials later found his car in the parking lot by the Dog Canyon trailhead.

Berry is an experienced hiker who visits the park several times a year, his daughter, Katie Roberts, said in a Facebook post.

“Please get the word out,” she said. “I need my dad back.”

Berry had a day pack with him and was wearing a blue jacket when he was last seen, officials said. He’s described as 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighing about 200 pounds, according to NPS.

Weather has been relatively mild at the park in recent days, though temperatures dropped into the low 50s and high 40s the night Berry went missing, National Weather Service data show.

Anyone with information on Berry’s whereabouts or who may have seen him is asked to call Guadalupe Mountain National Park rangers at 888-653-0009.

The park is home to 80 miles of hiking trails and eight of Texas’ 10 tallest peaks, including Guadalupe Peak, according to NPS. At 8,751 feet above sea level, the peak is the “highest natural point in Texas.”

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is roughly 150 miles west of Odessa.

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