Of course, the knowledge that her courage changed her status dramatically led to her possible conviction that had she shown such elan from the onset, her child would be alive. That haunted her. What she did not know at this point, was that her captivity was coming to an end. Her father's desperate efforts to find her had finally begun to pay off. He had located Comancheros who were willing to go and trade for her, and his instructions were to ransom her at any cost. The Comanches were camped north of Santa Fe when they were approached by Comancheros who wanted to ransom Rachel in accordance with the instructions of her father. She wrote in her book of the agony of believing that the traders had not offered enough to buy her freedom - and her not knowing that in fact, they were simply trying to get the best bargain, because her father had told them to pay any price, no matter how high, to rescue her. She was sold to them on June 19, 1837. Her rescue had been arranged by Colonel and Mrs. William Donaho, acting for the Parker family, and to whom she was delivered in Santa Fe after a journey of 17 days. Two weeks after her arrival, the Donahos, fearing trouble as the native population of Santa Fe was in virtual rebellion, fled some to Independence, Missouri, with Rachel with them. Three months later, Rachel's brother-in-law, Lorenzo D. Nixon, escorted her back to Texas, since her father was still out in the Comancherio searching for her. She was reunited with her husband on February 19, 1838, nearly two years after the Fort Parker Massacre. She was gaunt to the point of near starvation, covered with scars and sores, and in very poor health.