HOUSTON — The search for a Houston couple continues after they went missing on their annual trip to Moab, Utah. 

What You Need To Know

  • Houston Independent School District teacher Maranda Ankofski and her husband Raymond Ankofski disappeared near Moab, Utah, after severe weather blew through the area on June 21

  • A vehicle linked to the couple was reported abandoned near an off-road trail to law enforcement in Grand County on June 24

  • An official with the sheriff’s office told FOX 26 in Houston that he fears the flash flooding may have swept the couple away because their belongings were scattered over a three-mile area

  • A GoFundMe was started by the children of the couple to help fund the search efforts

Houston Independent School District teacher Maranda Ankofski and her husband Raymond Ankofski disappeared near Moab, Utah, after severe weather blew through the area on Friday, June 21, causing flash flooding and rock slides. 

Alarm bells went off about the couple after a vehicle linked to them was reported abandoned to the Grand County Sheriff’s Office on Monday, June 24. The vehicle was found in the area of the Steel Bender trail, an off-road loop route south of Moab, according to a Facebook post from the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.

“A Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) belonging to the reported overdue party was subsequently located in the Steel Bender trail area,” the post said. 

An official with the sheriff’s office told FOX 26 in Houston that he fears the flash flooding may have swept the couple away because their belongings were scattered over a three-mile area. FOX 26 reported that the couple were last heard from on Friday and were supposed to return to Houston on Monday. 

Search and rescue operations immediately began for the Ankofskis, which included ground search teams, helicopters, dogs and other specialized equipment. 

But the search had to be put on hold Thursday because of another round of flash flooding in the area, according to Al Cymbaluk with the Grand County Sheriff’s Office speaking to KUTV.

Cymbaluk told KUTV that once the storm has passed, the team “will come up with a different plan” to find the couple. 

A GoFundMe was started by the children of the couple to help fund the search efforts. 

“My parents were 2 amazing people doing something they loved and we are devastated that this is the current circumstances,” the GoFundMe said. 

As of Friday morning, the GoFundMe has raised over $22,000.