Family of missing Katy grandmother last seen walking dog feels they're 'steps behind' her

Sherry Noppe was last seen on Tuesday, May 3, walking her dog on Sparrows Ridge Drive near Pattison Elementary in the Katy area.
Thursday, May 5, 2022
KATY, Texas (KTRK) -- The family of 63-year-old Sherry Noppe is hopeful she will be found soon. Search crews are following a lead into a neighborhood near George Bush Park.

The Katy-area grandmother was last seen Tuesday afternoon while out on a walk with her dog.

Her son said she has a mild form of dementia and left the house without her cellphone.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Search continues for missing Katy woman Sherry Noppe at George Bush Park
Where's Sherry Noppe? Katy woman last seen Tuesday afternoon


Texas EquuSearch launched an operation to find Noppe at George Bush Park on Wednesday, and the search continued Thursday.

Crews hoped to find her ahead of incoming rain, but winds alone made it difficult for K-9s to track a scent.

The weather on Thursday afternoon suspended the search, but volunteers and search crews will return to the area on Friday morning to continue their efforts.



On day two, TexasEquuSearch expanded the search perimeter to nearby neighborhoods.

"We feel like we are just hours and steps behind her," one family member said.

Noppe's family remains hopeful she will be found safe.

"It's been really hard on us. We want to thank the community. It's been amazing support," said Courtney Noppe, one of the woman's daughters.

Volunteers have been searching the park on foot and on ATVs, hopeful that there will be a happy ending.

EquuSearch and Harris County Precinct 5 officials searched the park on foot and used drones for hours on Wednesday.

"There's not a lot of things on our side," said Tim Miller, the director of Texas EquuSearch. "But we're going to keep doing what we do."



"Every sighting we received we followed up on," Mark Edwards with Texas Equusearch said. "We left the park at 11:40 p.m. after receiving a lead of a possible sighting of the dog. We found it was a feral hog."

Noppe went missing while walking the family's black Labrador retriever, Max.

She was last seen on security camera footage on Tuesday afternoon, walking on Sparrows Ridge Drive near Pattison Elementary in Katy on Tuesday afternoon. Since then, no one has heard from her.

Her family believes she was likely walking with Max to George Bush Park.

The family is now focusing their attention on searching in nearby neighborhoods after a tip that Noppe may have been spotted sleeping under a bush with the dog in the Nottingham neighborhood.

They are asking everyone in the area, which is between Mason and Highway 6, north of Westheimer Parkway, to check their property and keep an eye out for their mom.

"If you do see her, take a picture and follow her, call 911. Just don't let her get by you," Jessica Noppe said.

If you want to help, they are asking volunteers to meet at the Walgreens on Fry and Highland Knolls, and officials will send you to an area that needs to be checked.

Noppe is described to be about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs about 115 pounds. She was last seen wearing jean shorts, white sneakers, a T-shirt, sunglasses and her blonde hair pulled into a ponytail.

Anyone who has seen Noppe or her dog Max is urged to call Harris County Sheriff's Office at 713-755-7427 or Texas EquuSearch at 281-309-9500.

Sherry Noppe is the woman who went missing May 3, 2022. A home security camera image shows what could be Noppe and her black Labrador retriever.

Texas EquuSearch/Harris Co. Precinct 5 Constable's Office

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