{"id":350320,"date":"2026-06-25T19:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/350320\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T19:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:14:12","slug":"mystery-of-a-missing-texas-giraffe-deepens-as-cops-call-stories-of-recapture-false","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/350320\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery of a missing Texas giraffe deepens as cops call stories of recapture false"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The mystery of a missing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/us\/articles\/two-baby-giraffes-went-vanished-193509369.html\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:giraffe;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;giraffe&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">giraffe<\/a> in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/texas-bible-stories-public-schools-donald-trump-mandate-b3002720.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Texas;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Texas&quot;}\" class=\"link \"> Texas <\/a>has deepened as cops called stories of her recapture false.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Gracie the giraffe has been missing from the Cedar Hollow Ranch in the South Texas city of Leakey for nearly two weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Real County Sheriff\u2019s Office put out an alert Monday about Gracie\u2019s disappearance, with the alert noting that the rounded-ear giraffe was last seen on a game camera west of Leakey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">There were reports that Gracie had been found, but authorities quickly quashed those claims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThe giraffe has not been located. It\u2019s still at large,\u201d Real County Sheriff Nathan T. Johnson said in an article from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/24\/gracie-the-giraffe-found-texas\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:The Guardian;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;The Guardian&quot;}\" class=\"link \">The Guardian <\/a>published Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"The mystery of a missing giraffe in Texas has deepened as cops call stories of her recapture false (Real County Sheriff's Office)\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"1181\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4f861eb7cbfcad917fd94ac84e7f3d02.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The mystery of a missing giraffe in Texas has deepened as cops call stories of her recapture false (Real County Sheriff&#8217;s Office)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The sheriff\u2019s office also confirmed to San Antonio news outlet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysanantonio.com\/news\/local\/article\/gracie-giraffe-not-found-texas-22318572.php\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:MySA;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;MySA&quot;}\" class=\"link \">MySA<\/a> that the giraffe has yet to be found as of Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Vick Jones, the manager of Cedar Hollow Ranch, told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox7austin.com\/news\/giraffe-gracie-real-county-cedar-hollow-ranch\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:FOX 7 Austin;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;FOX 7 Austin&quot;}\" class=\"link \">FOX 7 Austin<\/a> that Gracie escaped from the ranch on June 12.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;We released her into the canyon. She actually started going up and feeding in an area we&#8217;d never had giraffes feed in before,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Gracie then went up a hill and over a mountain, according to Jones.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Jones had just hoped to get the word out about Gracie\u2019s disappearance to locals, but she soon made national headlines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I just thought whatever some of the locals out on the ranches, people that work on some of these ranches might would see it and or hear about it and give me an idea, you know, which way she might have gone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cYou know, 24 hours later, it&#8217;s all over the world,&#8221; Jones told FOX 7 Austin.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Gracie the giraffe was last seen on a game camera west of the South Texas city of Leakey (Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/368773f45906b0d9e83b6f3df625d073.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Gracie the giraffe was last seen on a game camera west of the South Texas city of Leakey (Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Some local groups on social media have poked fun at Gracie\u2019s disappearance, sharing AI-generated images of the giraffe helping the fire department or cooling off in the river to explain her disappearance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Uvalde Volunteer Fire Department shared an edited photo of Gracie in firefighting gear, standing next to a fire truck.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=1458359732989259&amp;set=a.626799906145250&amp;type=3&amp;ref=embed_post\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:wrote;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;wrote&quot;}\" class=\"link \">wrote<\/a> on Facebook alongside the image that it would \u201clike to welcome our newest probationary firefighter, Gracie the Giraffe!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cAfter being reported missing in Real County earlier today, Gracie was quickly recruited due to her unique qualifications for elevated operations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The New Braunfels Independent School District shared an AI photo of Gracie riding on an inflatable tube down a local river with some school mascots.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cYesterday, Eugene and Sampson were seen with Gracie the Giraffe enjoying some summer fun along the Comal River!\u201d the Facebook <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=1428721095941660&amp;set=a.446601367486976&amp;type=3&amp;ref=embed_post\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:post;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;post&quot;}\" class=\"link \">post<\/a> read.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The light-hearted posts about Gracie have helped bring attention to her disappearance, racking up thousands of likes on Facebook.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A $5,000 reward for information leading to Gracie\u2019s safe return has been offered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Anyone with knowledge about the giraffe\u2019s disappearance is asked to contact Jones at 830-279-5822 or the sheriff\u2019s office at 830-232-5201.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The mystery of a missing giraffe in Texas has deepened as cops called stories of her recapture false.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[10430,20455,27,9192,29,28,124416],"class_list":["post-350320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-disappearance","tag-real-county","tag-texas","tag-texas-city","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-vick-jones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}