Father disappears driving back to Austin after visiting children in North Texas

SOUTHLAKE, Texas - A father has been missing for seven months after visiting his children in North Texas.

Perry McCauley Jr., 35, was last seen in Christmas 2023 in Southlake, Texas. The father of three was there to visit his children before heading back to Austin, where he lives.

"I don't know if he ever made it or not. He didn't check in that evening. Then weeks went by, and I started reaching out to people, his father, his brother, a few friends that we know, and no one had heard or seen from him," Rachel McCauley, Perry's ex-wife, said.

Perry is described as 5'11" and 190 pounds and was last seen wearing black shorts and a green 7-Eleven hoodie. While he wasn't in touch daily, he would reach out every few weeks and for special events.

Perry McCauley, 35

"Once we started hitting a month of nothing, month two of nothing, I started thinking something was wrong," Rachel said. "He never missed big stuff. Our oldest plays football and he's always there for football stuff. He started missing sporting events and everything. It just starts becoming a realization that, hey, something's not right."

Perry was driving a maroon Chrysler 300 rental with Washington plates. 

"We don't know which rental company it came from in Austin and everywhere between there and Dallas, there are thousands of places you could rent a car," Rachel said.

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Southlake Police confirmed a report was filed, and they're investigating the case.

As each month passes, "my children are having a hard time. My smaller kids, they're seven and four, and they kind of understand that he's not around. He's not called them, and he's not talking, but my 13-year-old is the one who's taken it the hardest. One minute he's sad, he misses his dad, and the next minute he's angry because how do you go this long without talking to your kids?" Rachel said. "I've been trying to be strong, but it's hard to watch them hurt. That's the main thing, my kids are hurting."

All they want to know is that their father is safe.

"He's a really great person. He's full of life and always smiling and laughing, so if somebody has done something to hurt him, I can't imagine. He's always made a friend in whatever room he went into," Rachel said. "If he sees this, please just reach out to your kids so they know you're okay."