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 the pup named Max - who was wandering alone in a storm seven miles away.

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

This was something she did each morning - but she's now been missing for 14 days.

Her father raised the alarm when she did not return home and then on Friday, Max was discovered walking on his own in a major storm, looking lost and afraid.

Christina's father, Emmanuel Johnson said the fact they'd found the dog but not his beloved daughter was 'very alarming' as she 'always has Max with her'.

Police have widened their search and appeal, but are yet to find any signs of her.  Emmanuel told KHOU: 'Something ain't right. Obviously, she's in danger.'

Christina Johnson went missing on March 6 while walking her dog in Houston as she did every day

Emmanuel Johnson said Max had been nervous and hiding under the table since he was brought home

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

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

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

He told Khou he was feeling a 'real confusion and a sense of loss right now,' saying: 'I don't understand where she is.'

'She usually comes home before the evening but didn't come back that evening.'

He said he was worried as she left home without her phone and he said she had been 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 tonight 7.5 miles away. Emmanuel came by and got him!' 

She said that she had found him wandering around on his own during a ferocious storm over the weekend in a neighborhood on Cedar Creek Drive.

Police are searching for the missing woman and asking anyone with information to come forward

Callie Clemens found Max wandering on his own in a storm 7.7 miles away from their home on Friday

Johnson went missing while walking her dog from her father's home in Houston as she did every day

The former youth tennis champion had moved back home after graduating from university

Her father said he is worried she is in danger as he says she would never leave Max

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

Johnson's father said he hasn't been the same since coming home, and has hidden under the table and seemed afraid. 

He told Click2Houston: 'I think him being out there on his own maybe eight days, so obviously he's in a rough condition right now. 

'But we are looking forward to getting him groomed. He's not acting normal. He's scared almost.' 

He added: 'He's a house dog, never been on his own like that.'

Announcing that the dog had been found, he issued another appeal to his daughter, saying: 'Come home. Your father and your mother miss you. 

'Your brothers miss you. They're down here from out of town. We all just want to make sure you're safe.'

Clemens captured footage of the moment she found Max in the middle of the storm on her dashcam 

The little dog was soaking wet with matted fur

Christina was last seen wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans, and a backpack, according to Houston Police

He added: 'I was just speaking with the detective. They're getting sightings possibly another ten miles from here. 

'It's covering a wide range and they're doing drone searches. Seeing if they can get any quick eyes on her.'

He added: 'I think she may be going through a little depressive state to a certain extent and she just, I guess, has antisocial. 

'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 information on Christina's disappearance or whereabouts, call HPD's Missing Persons Unit at 832-394-1840 or Crimestoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS.