Nakee Bullen and her boyfriend were driving home to Minnesota from Los Angeles with their cats Fridge and Lewis when they stopped to camp near Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado. The trip changed overnight. Bullen woke around 5:30 or 6 in the morning and discovered that both cats had escaped from the tent. Lewis was found nearby, but three-year-old Fridge had disappeared into the surrounding landscape, leaving the couple searching campsite after campsite for any sign of her.
The couple searched within a seven-mile radius before eventually facing the painful decision to return to Minnesota without Fridge. Bullen continued checking missing-pet listings and communicating with park rangers even after being told the chances of finding the cat were low. Forty days later, someone finally spotted Fridge and she was brought to Humane Colorado. Bullen received the message she had been hoping for, climbed into her car, and made a 16-hour drive back to Colorado to bring her missing cat home.
The Cats Joined a Cross-Country Trip
Bullen, a tattoo artist from Isanti, Minnesota, had been traveling with her boyfriend and their two cats while returning from Los Angeles. They planned to visit several national parks along the way rather than driving straight home.
Great Sand Dunes National Park became one of those stops. The couple camped for the night with Lewis and Fridge, expecting to continue their trip afterward. Instead, the campsite became the starting point of a search that would stretch far beyond their planned Colorado visit.
Both Cats Escaped Overnight
When Bullen woke early the next morning, she discovered that Lewis and Fridge were no longer inside the tent. Both cats had somehow escaped during the night while the couple slept.
The search began immediately. Lewis was located nearby, bringing quick relief for one half of the problem, but Fridge was nowhere in sight. The three-year-old cat had moved beyond the immediate campsite, leaving Bullen without any clear direction for where to look in the enormous landscape surrounding them.
The Search Expanded Seven Miles
Bullen and her boyfriend searched intensively around the park, checking campsites within roughly a seven-mile radius while hoping Fridge might be hiding near people, tents, vehicles, or another recognizable location.
Hours passed without finding her. Eventually, continuing indefinitely was no longer possible, and the couple faced the decision Bullen described as one of the hardest she had made. Lewis could return home with them, but Fridge remained somewhere in Colorado as they began the long trip back to Minnesota without her.
Bullen Kept Searching From Minnesota
Returning home did not end Bullen’s search. She stayed in contact with park rangers and repeatedly checked Humane Colorado’s listings for cats that had been found in the region.
The process was emotionally difficult because many listings showed cats resembling Fridge without actually being her. Each similar face created a moment of hope followed by disappointment. Still, Bullen continued checking, keeping open the possibility that someone might eventually encounter Fridge and bring her somewhere her owner could identify her.
Rangers Thought Chances Were Low
Park rangers reportedly told Bullen that finding Fridge was unlikely. A domestic cat missing in a vast unfamiliar wilderness faces a very different situation from one disappearing within its own neighborhood.
Bullen nevertheless continued monitoring rescue and shelter channels. She did not have Fridge’s exact location or a new confirmed sighting to follow, so persistence largely meant keeping watch for any animal matching her description. Days became weeks, and there was still no sign that the missing cat had reached people.
Someone Finally Found Fridge
After 40 days, the break Bullen had been waiting for finally arrived. Fridge was found alive and brought to Humane Colorado, putting her back inside a system where her owner could be reached.
The discovery ended more than a month of uncertainty about whether she was still alive somewhere around the park. Details about exactly where Fridge spent each day remain unknown, but the most important fact was clear: the missing three-year-old cat had survived long enough for someone to find her and bring her to safety.
Bullen Drove 16 Hours Back
Once Bullen learned Fridge had been found, distance was no longer going to keep them apart. She got into her car and made the approximately 16-hour drive from Minnesota back to Colorado.
After weeks of checking listings from hundreds of miles away, she could finally do something direct again. The journey ended with Fridge back in her care. Bullen described the reunion as overwhelming, filled with tears of joy after so much time spent believing every new shelter photo might—or might not—be her missing cat.
Fridge Finally Returned Home
Fridge was reported healthy when Bullen picked her up, an outcome that seemed remarkable after 40 days missing in Colorado. Bullen jokingly upgraded her cat’s reputation afterward, calling Fridge a “certified baddie” for surviving the ordeal.
The camping trip that was supposed to last one night ultimately separated them for more than a month. When the story finally ended, Fridge was no longer a photograph Bullen was desperately comparing against shelter listings. She was back in the car with her person, heading home to Minnesota again.
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