The search continues for the missing Texas father-of-two who disappeared while out walking at 5am

The search for a Texas man who mysteriously disappeared during an early morning walk over the weekend is still ongoing. His wife and two small children are waiting for his return.

Colby Richards, 31, was last seen by his wife Callie Richards, 34, who woke up early Friday to find her six-foot-tall husband strangely missing from their bed.

The couple live in a wooded community north of Houston known as “The Woodlands,” and Richards unusually left the house through the back gate for what his wife hopes is his usual 5 a.m. workout.

Of further concern, she told reporters Monday, is the fact that the gate had inexplicably been left ajar – leading police to suspect that the father was accessing the 28,000-acre tree-covered property behind the house hiked They’ve since recovered a beloved father’s Yeti coffee mug, but otherwise gathered few leads.

With more questions than answers, local residents and law enforcement officials are now scouring the woods in search of Richards, an engineer, part-time baseball coach and father of a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.

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The search is ongoing for Colby Richards, a Texas man who mysteriously disappeared on Friday morning during an early morning walk – his wife and children are hoping for his safe return

Richards, a 31-year-old, 6-foot-1 engineer, was last seen by his wife Callie Richards, 34, who woke early Friday to find her spouse strangely absent from their bed

“It’s very bizarre. “It feels like there’s just so many things — so many possibilities — that it’s really hard not to marvel at what could have happened,” Richards said fox 26 Reporters outside their house in Musgrave Place on the fourth day of the search.

“He usually goes to work around 6:30 in the morning,” said the mother, visibly touched by the strange disappearance. “He eventually got up and I could just feel that he wasn’t there.” I go downstairs – he’s not down there. He’s nowhere.’

Callie Richards added that her husband usually gets up for work at this time, around 5 or 6 a.m., but that morning she didn’t hear him getting ready.

When she went outside to investigate, she noticed that the back gate to her home was left open — an unusual occurrence for two reasons, according to Callie.

The first, she said, is the fact that Richards usually goes through the front lines to his morning routine — and while hiking and meditating in quiet areas aren’t uncharacteristic of the missing father, it’s not part of his usual pre-work routine.

The second, she tearfully told the broadcaster, was simply the detail where the father would normally have made sure to lock the gate to the family home when he left – which raised a red flag in her eyes.

“I’m going outside — I can see the back gate is open,” she said Monday. “He never goes out the back gate.” That’s not typical.

“I knew right away something was wrong.” I called 911.’

The couple live in a wooded community north of Houston known as “The Woodlands,” and Richards unusually left the house through the back gate for what his wife hopes is his usual 5 a.m. workout

Of further concern, Callie told reporters Monday, is that the gate had inexplicably been left ajar. The police are now assuming that the father was wandering around on approximately 28,000 hectares of tree-covered property and that his whereabouts are unknown

In the days that followed, Callie was joined by countless locals and law enforcement officials who searched the surrounding woods, trails and roads near the property on a daily basis – but so far they have been unable to find anything of immediate use

Searchers are searching the forest near the couple’s home, which covers several thousand square kilometers

Since then, Callie has been joined by more than 50 locals and volunteers who searched the surrounding woods, trails and roads near the property on a daily basis.

They spent Memorial Day — and the previous weekend — searching various areas, an action that continued Wednesday when Montgomery County investigators revealed they found a Richards coffee mug standing upright at an unspecified trailhead.

The item was found on Friday and is the only lead so far released in a case being treated as a missing persons case.

“No diagnosed mental health issues, no prior disappearances — he’s never been left behind like this,” Callie said Monday, pleading for her husband’s safe return.

“It’s not normal for him.”

Speaking to The Sun, Richards’ cousin Allison Fox revealed Callie told her Nothing significant happened in the days leading up to her husband’s disappearance as she continues to search for answers.

“She’s just as surprised as the rest of us,” Fox said on Tuesday, Day 5 of the ongoing search. “He just walked out and didn’t say anything.”

Callie, meanwhile, confided to Fox 26 that Richard’s disappearance has already impacted the couple’s young children, the eldest of whom is already aware of the situation.

“My daughter knows,” Callie admitted Monday, now that her eldest daughter is aware of the situation. “Initially we tried to keep it a secret until we could get more information, but she knows.” She’s been asking questions, like pathological questions… She’s very aware of what’s going on. She added of her one-year-old (not pictured): “My son sucked me dry.”

Richards is described as weighing 6,3,195 pounds. with an athletic build, as well as blue eyes and dark blonde hair

“My daughter knows,” she admitted on Monday. “Initially we tried to keep it a secret until we could get more information, but she knows.” She asked questions, like pathological questions. She is very smart. She knows very well what is going on.’

She added of her one-year-old, “My son sucked me dry.”

Jake Stovall, head of a non-profit organization involved in the search, said volunteers will continue the search over the coming days, including using thermal imaging equipment throughout the night if necessary.

“It’s about search and rescue, not recovery,” said the director of Gulf Search and Rescue, hoping the father was alive and hadn’t been found yet.

“We strongly believe he’s still alive, that he’s still out there and that he just needs help getting home,” Stovall said.

He noted the bizarre details surrounding the man’s disappearance: “In 19 years I have never seen a case like this.” “A 31-year-old man who is in good health.”