Julia McCullough, 64, Missing Since 3/18/09, Hobbs, NM [LOCATED]

[Faith]

Search Team Created To Find Missing Woman

03/30/09

http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/myfox/photo_servlet?contentId=8391082&version=1&locale=EN-US&subtype=MIMG&siteId=1051&isP16=true

A search operation is in the works for a Denver City woman missing for 12 days now.

64-year-old Julia McCullough, better known as Judy McCullough was last seen March 18th in her car on a Gaines County Road.

Her family says she has no money or credit cards with her and may be disoriented. Volunteers will fan out from the Home Depot parking lot in Hobbs at 10 a.m. this Wednesday.

Organizers are requesting volunteers with 4 -wheel drive vehicles and horses to search fields and pasturelands.

Family members say she rarely wears her dentures so she may look much older. Her car is a white or cream colored 2005 Chrysler 300 with Texas license plate Z61JZD.

If you have information on McCullough or the whereabouts of her car contact Denver City Police or local law enforcement.

http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8391067&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1

[Faith]

Woman missing on road trip
Last seen in Hobbs

Updated: Friday, 27 Mar 2009, 6:00 PM MDT
Published : Thursday, 26 Mar 2009, 9:56 PM MDT

http://media2.krqe.com//photo/2009/03/27/missing_krqe_judy_mccullogh_20090327_2009032717165 7_320_240.JPG



HOBBS, N.M. (KRQE) - Police are asking the public's helping in locating a woman who drove out of Hobbs last week and may be disoriented.

Police in Denver City, Texas, report Julia McCullough, 64, was headed to that West Texas city when she disappeared. She left Hobbs on March 18 and may have been disoriented at that time.

McCullough has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has been off her medication for some time, according to police.

Police initially said they believed she might be headed to Albuquerque instead. Since then they've reported another sighting of the woman late in the afternoon of March 18 approximately 50 miles southwest of Denver City.

She is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall with brown hair and green eyes and weighing 130-160 pounds. She was driving a white 2005 Chrysler 300 with Texas license plate Z61JZD.

Anyone who has seen McCullough is asked to contact a local police agency

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/crime_krqe_albuquerque_woman_missing_on_road_trip_ 200903262156

[Faith]

3/27/09
Family still searching for Judy McCullough

http://kcbd.images.worldnow.com/images/static/video/gfx/icon_video.gif (javascript:playVideo('3595299',%20'Family%20still %20searching%20for%20Judy%20McCullough',%20'v',%20 'News',%20'130333',%20'News',%20'',%20'','flv');) Family still searching for Judy McCullough (javascript:playVideo('3595299',%20'Family%20still %20searching%20for%20Judy%20McCullough',%20'v',%20 'News',%20'130333',%20'News',%20'',%20'','flv');)

http://kcbd.images.worldnow.com/images/10086874_BG2.jpg
LUBBOCK, TX, (KCBD) - It has been nine days since 64-year-old Judy McCullough was last seen and her family needs your help. There are new developments in the search for the missing Denver City woman.


Denver City Police received a tip Friday morning -- giving McCullough's family a little more hope, and direction as to where she might be. "I just can't even imagine where she's at or what's going on. It just leads me to the worst," says Keri Fenton of her missing mother. She remains hopeful that her mom, 64-year-old Judy McCullough will show up. "I thought from the beginning she just took a wrong turn," says Fenton. And that's what one tip police received Friday confirmed. McCullough was sighted last Wednesday in South West Gaines County which mean she took a wrong turn on her trip from Hobbs, New Mexico to Denver City - heading south instead of north.



"She has a terrible sense of direction and she has been having some problems with confusion I wasn't aware of," says Fenton. Her mom's sense of direction isn't the only thing that alarms her though. "If she doesn't have a credit card and money, where's she staying and who is feeding her. My mom's never met a stranger. She'll talk to a rock. It makes me nervous that she'll talk to anybody," says Fenton


McCullough was last seen driving a cream 2005 Chrysler 300 with Texas license plates Z61- JZD. Fenton says she can't imagine where her mom could be, "I guess at this point it's just a matter of keeping hope, that's all you can do until you know something for sure."


If you have any information on 64-year-old Judy McCullough or have seen her vehicle you are encouraged to call the Denver City Police at 806-592-3516.

http://www.kcbd.com/global/Story.asp?s=10086874

[sarahhod]

Wednesday search planned for missing Denver City woman

Posted: March 30, 2009 08:14 PM

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - The search intensifies for a missing woman with ties to Lubbock.

Julia Weir McCullogh, better known as Judy, was last seen March 16th headed from Hobbs, New Mexico to Denver City, Texas. She never made it. Now the family is organizing a search on April 1st.

Volunteers are needed at the Home Depot in Hobbs. If you can, please arrive at 10 a.m. Texas time, or those of you who work are welcome to show up anytime that you can.

http://www.kcbd.com/global/Story.asp?s=10098302

[sarahhod]

Search for woman continues

By Walt Nett | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Story last updated at 4/1/2009 - 1:36 am

http://images.morris.com/images/lubbock/mdControlled/cms/2009/04/01/420615959.jpg (http://lubbockonline.com/slideshows/040109/420615925/slide1.shtml)
McCullough



Keri Fenton's worried vigil for her missing mother now spans 14 days.
"My hope is that she's just sitting around with someone drinking tea and they haven't bothered to call," said Fenton, a nursing unit director at University Medical Center. http://us.bc.yahoo.com/b?P=63ff4c02-1ebe-11de-a81c-f7c4ef4ef3f0&T=19cjocqs8%2fX%3d1238591393%2fE%3d2022775853%2fR% 3dncnwsloc%2fK%3d5%2fV%3d8.1%2fW%3d0%2fY%3dPARTNER _US%2fF%3d1047142761%2fH%3dYWx0c3BpZD0iOTY3MjgzMTU 0IiBzZXJ2ZUlkPSI2M2ZmNGMwMi0xZWJlLTExZGUtYTgxYy1mN 2M0ZWY0ZWYzZjAiIHNpdGVJZD0iMTA3MTA1MSIgdFN0bXA9IjE yMzg1OTEzOTM3OTgzNzIiIHRhcmdldD0iX3RvcCIg%2fQ%3d-1%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3d28558862&U=13ukbd8ut%2fN%3dL4VlAGKIVIg-%2fC%3d600086369.600090140.400962460.400962460%2fD %3dLREC%2fB%3d1722120653023785134%2fV%3d2
Her mom, 64-year-old Julia McCullough, was last seen March 18 driving from a friend's home in Hobbs, N.M., to her home in Denver City about 40 miles away.
Several law enforcement agencies have been searching the area between Hobbs and Denver City on horseback and from the air for McCullough's cream-colored 2005 Chrysler 300.
The search will continue at 10 a.m. today with volunteers gathering in the parking lot at the Home Depot in Hobbs, 900 Joe Harvey Blvd., to launch a ground search.
"My husband and I are going to be there," Fenton said.
There's been one possible sighting Fenton considers fairly reliable.
A family friend reported seeing McCullough and the car in southwest Gaines County on the afternoon of March 18.
"My mom and dad were pretty well known because they'd farmed in Gaines County for years and years," Fenton said, noting the sighting suggested her mother might have become disoriented on the drive back.
"Denver City is north and east of Hobbs," Fenton said. "Gaines County is more south and west."
Difficulties could have arisen as early as the first turn after leaving her friend's house in Hobbs, Fenton said. "She could have turned left instead of right and become confused."
Fenton has thought about the possibilities.
"My mother has a very trusting nature, and she might have encountered someone who took advantage of her."
When she left Hobbs, Fenton said, McCullough had no cash or checks, and her credit cards have not been used.
McCullough's hometown police department has put a lot of effort behind the search, as has the Gaines County Sheriff's Office, said Denver City police Sgt. William Gardner.
"We've covered this half of Texas and New Mexico," Gardner said, referring to the number of police and sheriff's offices Denver City police have contacted. "Texas is a pretty big state, and there are a lot of old roads."
He estimated that they've reached out, by telephone and by fax machine, to agencies within a 600-mile radius at least once. Most of their contact has been with agencies up to 200 miles from Denver City, Gardner said.
"We don't just want to put it out on the teletype and hope they tell their officers," Gardner said, adding they're also coordinating with Hobbs police and Lea County, N.M., sheriff's deputies in the search.


http://lubbockonline.com/stories/040109/loc_420615925.shtml

[sarahhod]

Crews continue search for missing Denver City woman

Posted: April 1, 2009 06:44 PM EDT
Source: Denver City PD

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - West Texas residents headed to Hobbs, New Mexico Wednesday to help search for 64-year-old Judy McCullough. She disappeared about two weeks ago when driving from Hobbs to Denver City.

About 75 volunteers with hundreds of flyers set out Wednesday with one question, "Have you seen this woman?"

"One minute I think, you know what, we're going to find her, and the next minute I think we may never find her," said McCullough's daughter, Keri Fenton.

Family members organized a search for McCullough after two aerial searches in West Texas left them with no new leads. They decided to start on the ground where she started, in Hobbs. "We gave copies of the map with their section marked on it. When they return they give us their copy back and we mark it off on a master so we know which areas have been searched," said Fenton.

Search crews took out 4-wheelers and ATVs to look for McCullough or her car in fields or other areas the aerial search may have missed off the road. Among the volunteers, McCullough's son John searches desperately. He hopes he'll find someone who's seen his mom or her car, a cream 2005 Chrysler 300 with Texas license plates Z61-JZD.

"Today (Wednesday), just as people were out driving, there's been a couple of things that have come in," said Fenton. However, none of those tips make sense in John McCullough's mind, but he says nothing will stop his search, "No giving up. I mean, it's not in our vocabulary right now."

Family members say McCullough is not diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but may have some symptoms. If they have not found her by the end of the week, the family hopes to plan another search from Seminole on Saturday.

http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=10113876&nav=menu69_1_3

[Nut44x4]

Weekend search set for missing Denver City woman

Posted: April 3, 2009 11:18 AM EST

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - A second search for Judy McCullough will begin Saturday in Andrews County.

64-year-old Judy McCullough disappeared a couple of weeks ago after leaving Hobbs, New Mexico for Denver City.

McCullough was last seen driving a cream 2005 Chrysler 300 with Texas license plates Z61-JZD.

Volunteers for the second search are asked to meet at the ALCO at 1203 North Main in Andrews at 10 a.m. where they will search Lea and Andrews Counties.

A reward fund is in place for any information leading to the recovery of Judy McCullough.

Her family has now set up a $5000 reward fund at West Texas National Bank in Denver City for any information leading to her location or her car.

If you any information on where McCullough is, call Denver City Police at (806) 592-3516.

http://www.kcbd.com/global/story.asp?s=10125127

[Faith]

4/4/09
Search for McCullough continues

Posted: April 4, 2009 05:26 PM

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - Saturday, the search for 64-year-old Judy McCullough continued.

Law enforcement, friends, and family all gathered in Andrews to host their second search for the missing Denver City woman. She disappeared about two weeks ago when driving from Hobbs, NM, to Denver City.

As the days pass, her search party grows, burdened by the fear that she might not be found.

"We're just guessing at this point," McCullough's daughter, Keri Fenton, said.

"That's why I'm so concerned," family friend Valincia Criswell said, "Because it's been so long.

The search for McCullough turned south as law enforcement, friends, and family tried yet again to find their lost mother and friend.

"We're going to cover the southern portion of Gaines County and the northern portion of Andrews County," Denver City Police Department, Lt. Charles Higgs said.

Volunteers met in Andrews with a similar plan to Wednesday's search.

"Just to find someone that has seen her or spotted the car," Criswell said, "or maybe even find the car or find her."

Fenton said her mother's "lousy" sense of direction has kept them guessing her whereabouts.

"In my mind," she said, "I can't figure out why she would not be seen unless she was in a very fairly rural area or some place that somebody wouldn't be traveling on."

Two weeks and two searches later, Fenton says she is beginning to run out of options.

"It's just a roller coaster," Fenton said. "The first probably four or five days, we were pretty sure she'd turn up at somebody's house or, you know, that she would just have decided to go visit an old cousin or something like that."

She said at this point, the only thing left is hope.

"The further it gets down the road," Fenton said, " the more, the harder it gets to think that, and so it's just a rollercoaster."

McCullough was last seen driving a cream 2005 Chrysler 300 with Texas license plates Z61 JZD.

If you any information on where she is, call Denver City Police at 806-592-3516.

McCullough's family has now set up a $5,000 reward fund at West Texas National Bank in Denver City for anyone who has information related to her or her vehicle's location.

http://www.kcbd.com/global/story.asp?s=10131085

[sarahhod]

No leads on area woman gone 18 days

By Adam D. Young | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Story last updated at 4/5/2009 - 3:27 am

The search for a missing Denver City woman is still ongoing after another organized search effort resulted in no new leads.

Julia McCullough, 64, was last seen March 18 driving home from a friend's home in Hobbs, N.M., to her home in Denver City 40 miles away.

McCullough's daughter, Keri Fenton of Lubbock, and about 12 family members and volunteers met at 10 a.m. in Andrews and searched almost all of Andrews County and parts of southeast Gaines County by foot and car until about 4 p.m. Saturday.

"She just seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth at this point," Fenton said of her mother. ... "I don't know where to go from here."

Fenton said she and investigators are trying to get a bearing on what direction her mother could have driven after the last possible sighting of her on March 18 in southwest Gaines County by a family friend after she would have left Hobbs.

She said she originally imagined her mother had gotten lost or was in a car accident, but she now is starting more and more to consider the possibility of foul play occurring.

Investigators from the Denver City Police Department, Gaines County and Lea County N.M., still are looking into several leads they picked up during a ground search Wednesday around Hobbs and Gaines County, she said.

To report information about McCullough, who is 5 feet, 5 inches tall with brown hair and green eyes, call Denver City police at 806-592-3516.

PEOPLE/Volunteers conduct second organized search but find no clues to whereabouts of Denver City woman who's been missing since March 18.

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/040509/loc_426020762.shtml

[Nut44x4]

Missing Denver City woman found severely dehydrated, but alive

Posted: April 6, 2009 12:25 AM EDT

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - Denver City authorities tell us 64-year-old Julia "Judy" McCullough, who has been missing for more than two weeks, was found alive in New Mexico Sunday night. McCullough disappeared on her way home to Denver City from Hobbs, New Mexico on March 18.

She was found severely dehydrated in her car in Eddy County, which is in Southeastern New Mexico. Juveniles riding their four-wheelers spotted her vehicle stranded in the country around 8:40 p.m. CST Sunday. She has been transported to Carlsbad Medical Center.

http://www.kcbd.com/global/story.asp?s=10134003

[sarahhod]

That's wonderful news.

Praying Judy recovers quickly.

Thanks for the update Nut.

[annalyzer]

From above link, "Juveniles riding their four-wheelers spotted her vehicle stranded in the country "

Little heroes :tender:

I am glad they found her. I doubt she would have survived much longer.

[Faith]

Thank God she is alive and safe~!

[sarahhod]

Missing woman's family relieved to have her home

Posted: April 6, 2009 08:09 PM EDT
Source: Denver City PD

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - You don't always see happy endings like this one, but Monday, the family of the Denver City woman missing for nearly three weeks talks to NewsChannel 11 about her amazing recovery.

Judy McCullough, 64, disappeared on her way from Hobbs, New Mexico to Denver City back on March 18. Authorities say some kids riding their 4-wheelers on a remote canyon road in Eddy County, New Mexico spotted her stranded car Sunday night. That's about 15 miles from Carlsbad and about 100 miles from where she was last seen. Paramedics took her to Carlsbad Medical Center for treatment.

Monday, Judy is recovering from dehydration and hypothermia. Her daughter tells us she is in good condition, and they are just happy to have her back. "Shock. Honestly I wasn't sure if I should believe it at first. We did some double checking to make sure it was confirmed, and then found out that it was. Very, very happy. Relieved," said Keri Fenton, McCullough's daughter.

http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=10139941&nav=menu69_1_3

[sarahhod]

4/6/09

Family by McCullough's side in New Mexico

Posted: April 7, 2009 04:18 AM

http://kcbd.images.worldnow.com/images/static/video/gfx/icon_video.gif (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:playVideo%28%273626380%27,%20%27Family%20by%2 0McCullough%5C%27s%20side%20in%20New%20Mexico%27,% 20%27v%27,%20%27News%27,%20%27154767%27,%20%27News %27,%20%27%27,%20%27%27,%27flv%27%29;) Family by McCullough's side in New Mexico (http://javascript%3Cb%3E%3C/b%3E:playVideo%28%273626380%27,%20%27Family%20by%2 0McCullough%5C%27s%20side%20in%20New%20Mexico%27,% 20%27v%27,%20%27News%27,%20%27154767%27,%20%27News %27,%20%27%27,%20%27%27,%27flv%27%29;) http://kcbd.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/pxl_trans.gif

http://kcbd.images.worldnow.com/images/10140608_BG1.jpg http://kcbd.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/pxl_trans.gif http://kcbd.images.worldnow.com/images/10140608_BG2.jpg http://kcbd.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/pxl_trans.gif http://kcbd.images.worldnow.com/images/10140608_BG3.jpg http://kcbd.images.worldnow.com/images/static/gfx/pxl_trans.gif

CARLSBAD, NM (KCBD) - Eighteen days, two organized searches and 150 volunteers -- that's what it's been like since 64-year-old Judy McCullough went missing on her way from Hobbs, New Mexico to Denver City, March 18th. She is now with her family safe and sound. But there are still many questions.
"She said no they found her alive and I was freaking out," said Keri Fenton. It was the phone call she and her family had anxiously awaited and hoped for. "I got to the point where we might never find her, it was surreal," says Fenton. They packed their bags and drove 180 miles with their flashers on to be by her side at the hospital.
McCullough was found in Eddy County, 15 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico and over an hour's drive from where she was last seen. "A family was four-wheeling and they noticed the Chrysler in a not Chrysler friendly area. They went over there and she was there," says Fenton.
She was found disoriented and dehydrated, with an empty tank and a dead battery. Fenton says there's only one word to describe this ordeal - miracle. "All she says is I don't know and I'm sorry," she adds.
The family says they don't know where she got it or how she paid for it, but they know it's something that saved her life. It was the bottled water, snacks and chips, all empty in her car.
Captain Leon Newton with the Eddy County Sheriff's Office took NewsChannel 11 about a mile away from where McCullough was found. But due to the rough terrain - he told us that was as close as we could get.
"I don't understand how she made it that far, in her vehicle it's amazing," says Cpt. Newton. He says it was purely accidental that someone found her. "We're three miles off anything we'd consider a roadway," adds Cpt. Newton. He said her car was high-centered and stuck in a ravine.
But someone did find her and for Fenton and her family this story has a happy ending. "She could have been out there forever before someone found her," says Fenton.
But where she spent the last 18 days remains a mystery. McCullough is in good condition at the Carlsbad Medical Center where she is expected to stay a few more days.



http://www.kcbd.com/global/Story.asp?s=10140608