My iPhone 6 contacts are missing but can access through text messages, where are they being stored?

When I search for a contact in contacts the contact isn't listed. If I go to text messages and try to compose it isn't listed. But if I pull up a previous texting thread with this person and click on details and info the full contact comes up. There are only a few contacts that I have this problem with. I've tried going to contacts/groups/ hide all and then show all. Where is this contact being stored?

Welcome to iMore! This is a common issue that's usually resolved by opening the Contacts app, tapping on GROUPS in the upper left corner, unchecking all groups, then re-checking all groups.
Try that out and let us know if you're still experiencing issues!