Willy, a missing Texas rodeo goat, is found after two weeks on the lam

Panic rose in Veronica Herrera’s chest when she heard her 10-year-old shout.

“I think we’re missing a goat,” Travis yelled.

Inside a rodeo arena in Willacy County, Tex., last month, Herrera paused and asked her son what he meant.

Travis had been loading five goats into a trailer after a youth rodeo. He’d rounded up four of them. But the fifth was nowhere to be found.

A search ensued.

A close-knit community, Willacy County would soon find nationwide support in its efforts to find the missing goat. It took more than two weeks – complete with daily hunts, a few failed chases and a growing prize pool – to catch the elusive animal. On Monday, two local cowboys brought “The Great Goat Race” to an end, finally wrangling Willy, who was named after the county that searched day and night since she went missing July 15.

A goat contractor had loaned Herrera the animals for competitions she was hosting for Riders N Ropers, a youth rodeo organization that’s part of the nonprofit Willacy County Livestock Show and Fair.

For decades, the annual livestock show and its events throughout the year have been popular in the area, supported by families who raise animals and compete in rodeos with them.

Herrera, now 39, has been participating in rodeos on the fairgrounds since she was around 10, but she’d never heard of an animal escaping before.

When her son told her the goat was missing, she felt guilty. The animal had been loaned to her, and she was nervous she wouldn’t be able to return it to the contractor – or that the goat would be found injured or dead.

Herrera, a colleague and her family searched for hours. They circled the show grounds and scoured the wooded areas nearby. Willy had probably escaped through a spot in her holding pen where a panel was missing, Herrera guessed.

While Herrera’s colleague searched the show ground’s perimeter, someone drove by and yelled.

“Alguien perdió un chivito?” he asked. Did someone lose a little goat?

The driver said he’d seen a brown goat running along the highway. Herrera and her colleague hurried along the road and soon spotted Willy.

They tried to corral her back to the show grounds, but by then, it was too dark to see. Willy escaped from Herrera’s reach again.

It’s OK, Herrera thought. The goat will have to come back for water tomorrow.

But Willy didn’t return. News of her escape spread quickly through Lyford and Raymondville, the cities closest to the show grounds.

On July 19, a Lyford resident posted on a community Facebook page that she’d seen the goat. Herrera and her family headed to the area, which was near the show grounds.

But when Willy saw them, she bolted.

As more people caught wind of the search efforts, they joined in.

Families brought their children out in the evenings to look. People sent videos to the fair’s Facebook page, which started posting updates on Willy sightings.

Though vigilant, many residents had the same fate as Herrera and her family – they saw Willy, usually near the show grounds, but couldn’t catch her.

“She was too fast,” Herrera said. “But she was always in the same area. It was kind of funny.”

As each day without a capture passed, residents and businesses started putting out rewards for whoever caught the goat.

The prize pool started on July 20, when Los Gordos BBQ offered up a brisket and a slab of ribs. Then came offers of coffee, sweets and beer. There were gift cards and customized items – clothing, haircuts and even a tattoo or piercing. Ashley Dominguez, who owns a photography business, offered a photo shoot – with or without Willy. Others donated directly to the livestock show for repairs that would prevent animals from escaping again.

As the search went on, stories about Willy surfaced in news outlets throughout Texas and across the country.

Though the online buzz reached far, Herrera turned to those close to her, who she thought might have the best shot at catching Willy. One of them was her cousin, Sammy Ambriz, a cowboy. Another was Ricardo Rojas III, a 16-year-old who’d won many of the youth rodeo events.

“I had faith in those boys,” Herrera said.

Both assured her they would help.

Around noon this past Monday, Ambriz was doing some welding work when Rojas’s father ran over and said that someone had posted about the goat seven minutes earlier.

It was in the pasture behind the Rojases’ house and farm. Ambriz and Rojas grabbed ropes and leveraged a baby goat to try to lure Willy into the open with its calls.

But again, Willy ran. Ambriz and Rojas chased after her, throwing loops with their rope. Finally, they cornered her near a fence that she couldn’t slide beneath or jump over.

Ambriz grabbed her as Rojas tied the rope around her legs.

Herrera was overjoyed.

And after all the attention and gifts Willy had brought, Herrera knew she wanted to keep the goat.

“We were definitely not going to let her go,” Herrera said. Thankfully, the contractor agreed to let her keep it.

Next week, the rodeo arena will be repaired using donations from the search. Herrera also plans for Willy to become a mascot for the show.

Ambriz and Rojas still plan to cash in on their prizes. Rojas is most excited for the brisket; Ambriz, for the photo shoot, which he hopes he’ll be able to do with his 1-year-old daughter and the goat.

Ahead of the photo shoot, Herrera has a more immediate task in mind for Willy.

“She definitely needs a bath, that’s for sure,” Herrera said.