A father-of-two who went missing after going for an early morning walk has been located alive.
Colby Richards, 31, was found walking in an area called The Woodlands in Montgomery County, Texas, approximately 43 miles north of Houston, on Friday.
Medical officials are currently assessing his condition, which has not been disclosed at this time.
Family and friends of Richards, who formed a Facebook group, confirmed his safety and expressed their joyous relief.
They stated, "Hallelujah and praise the Lord!!! Colby has been found alive! We don't have details yet, but we are overjoyed at the positive outcome. We will share what we can when we can."
The discovery brings an end to the frantic eight-day search that began when Richards failed to return from a hike in the woods near his home on May 26.
His wife, Callie, immediately alerted the police, informing them that he had left behind his cell phone and keys.
Callie revealed that although Richards would occasionally venture into the wilderness for meditation or to clear his mind, he had never done so at 5 or 6am, when he typically prepared for work.
Another concerning factor was that Richards had not secured the back gate of their house, which he usually did to ensure the safety of their one-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.
Callie grew alarmed when she noticed her husband was not getting ready for work on Friday morning.
The family initiated an anxious search for answers and reached out to several of Richards' colleagues, who mentioned that he appeared extremely tired.
"I spoke with a few of his friends and his supervisor, and they all mentioned that he seemed exhausted," shared Richards' cousin, Allison Fox, in an interview with Fox News.
"Given that he has young children at home, sleep is usually a precious commodity. That's likely all it was," she added.
Richards, a beloved baseball coach who worked with promising young players in his community, had recently started a new job at an engineering firm.
His family expressed frustration and disbelief at online rumours and speculations about the disappearance of Colby.
They emphasized that Colby's children are extremely important to him and it would be completely out of character for him to abandon them.
"We see stuff online about, well, maybe he left, maybe he wanted to go run off with somebody, or just ridiculous things that are untrue," Colby's cousin, Allison Fox told the Sun. "The kids are his world... It doesn't make any sense whatsoever that he would leave them like that."
