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Ridge Cole, a missing father from Oklahoma, who was in Texas for his son’s liver transplant, was found dead in Brays Bayou.
As per ABC13, a body has been recovered in the search for a missing 28-year-old father, Ridge Cole. He disappeared on November 11, 2022, after he went for a walk along Brays Bayou.
On Tuesday, November 15, Texas EquuSearch crews, who were coordinating with homicide detectives, found a body in Brays Bayou near MacGregor Park, Texas.
While investigators have confirmed that the body was recovered, they haven’t officially identified the remains. However, volunteers at EquuSearch said that the description matched the missing father, Ridge Cole.
Ridge Cole was last seen at Texas Medical Center
According to Texas EquuSearch, Ridge Cole was last seen on November 11, 2022, in the 1900 block of Holcombe Boulevard at the Texas Medical Center. Cole reportedly left the center to go for a walk along Brays Bayou, where some of his belongings were found, including a shoe, before search crews discovered his body.
Ridge Cole and his family stayed at the Ronald McDonald House Charities after they arrived in Houston two weeks ago. The family was in Texas as Cole's 13-month-old toddler was slated to undergo liver transplant surgery.
When Cole failed to return home, his wife reportedly tried to find his location using an app on her phone that later helped track down some of his belongings near the bayou. Tim Miller, who founded Texas EquuSearch, said that Cole might have slipped into the bayou while out on his walk.
Mark Edwards, with Texas EquuSearch, told ABC 13:
"He somehow slipped into the bayou. It's a terrible vertical ledge, and we found personal effects on the bank where he had been sitting, and it really pointed to the fact that he had entered the water. "
The search team was reportedly waiting for authorities when they went out and spotted something in the water. After the body was found, investigators informed the family, who was devastated by the news.
They said:
"Mom is devastated, but there is also an obvious sense of relief. Her biggest fear was going back home to Oklahoma without her baby. And she doesn't have to do that now."
Ridge Cole's family is now expected to return home to Oklahoma with the toddler. Edwards said that the family had sent him a message “to thank everybody, the media, Houston Police Department, and missing person's detectives.”
Cole’s family also expressed their gratitude to Texas EquuSearch for aiding the search for the missing father and to the Ronald McDonald House for their hospitality during this difficult time.
Authorities are still waiting for the medical examiner to identify the remains. However, the search team remained confident in their belief that the remains belonged to Cole.
