Mystery deepens as missing Houston woman’s cross-breed dog is miraculously found wandering alone in storm – nine days after the 27-year-old vanished while walking her pet

Police searching for a woman who went missing while walking her dog have found a puppy named Max wandering alone in a storm seven miles away.

Former junior tennis champion Christina Johnson, 27, disappeared on March 6 after taking her small 10-year-old crossbreed pet for a walk in Houston, Texas.

She did this every morning, but she has now been missing for fourteen days.

Her father raised the alarm when she did not return home and on Friday Max was discovered walking alone during a heavy storm, looking lost and scared.

Christina’s father, Emmanuel Johnson, said the fact they found the dog, but not his beloved daughter, was “very alarming” because she “always has Max with her.”

Police have expanded their search and appeal, but have yet to find any signs of her. Emmanuel told KHOU: ‘Something is wrong. It’s clear she’s in danger.’

Christina had recently graduated from Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia and moved back to her father’s house while she decided what to do next.

Emmanuel said she developed a routine where she would grab her laptop and walk with Max to the nearby Jack in the Box or the Hackberry Community Center.

So when she didn’t come home from her walk, he became concerned and reported her missing on March 9.

He Khou said he felt a “real confusion and sense of loss” at this moment, saying, “I don’t understand where she is.”

“She usually comes home before evening, but she didn’t come back that evening.”

He said he was concerned when she left the house without her phone and that she was going through a “little depressive state.”

The woman who found Max, Callie Clemens, shared a photo of him on Facebook and said: ‘Max was found 7 miles away tonight. Emmanuel came along and grabbed it!’

She said she saw him wandering alone this weekend during a heavy storm in a neighborhood on Cedar Creek Drive.

She said she called his name and he came to her so she could pick him up and put him in her car. The dog was soaking wet and shaking from exhaustion and fear.

Johnson’s father said he hasn’t been the same since he came home, and that he hid under the table and seemed scared.

He told Click2Houston: ‘I think he’s been there alone for maybe eight days, so obviously he’s in a tough condition right now.

‘But we’re looking forward to getting him taken care of. He is not behaving normally. He’s almost scared.’

He added: ‘He’s a house dog, he’s never been so alone.’

When he announced that the dog had been found, he again appealed to his daughter, saying, “Come home. Your father and mother miss you.

“Your brothers miss you. They come here from out of town. We all want to make sure you’re safe.”

He added: “I just spoke to the detective. They may get sightings another ten miles from here.

“It covers a wide range and they do drone searches. Let’s see if they can keep an eye on her quickly.’

He added: ‘I think she’s a bit depressed to some extent and she’s just, I think, anti-social.

“She’s not really with the friends and things like that that she communicates with, as far as we know.”

He said Christina was last seen wearing a sweatshirt, shorts and Crocs with colorful socks and a backpack with a stuffed animal on it.

If you have any information regarding Christina’s disappearance or whereabouts, call HPD’s Missing Persons Unit at 832-394-1840 or Crimestoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS.