Ryker Webb is a 3-year-old boy who lives with his parents in Troy, Montana. On a Friday afternoon in June 2022, he was playing in his backyard with his father and dog. His father went inside the house for a short while. When he returned, he found that his son was no longer in the backyard.
On the afternoon of June 3, 2022, local authorities were informed that Webb had gone missing from the Bull Lake area, south of Troy, Montana.
According to authorities, immediately after the missing person report was filed, ATVs, drones, dog teams, and a boat were deployed to search the areas surrounding Bull Lake.
Dozens of people assisted in the search. On Saturday, Montana Air National Guard helicopters joined the search, along with additional dog teams and ATV assistance.
The sheriff’s office said, “It was extremely difficult to get the additional air assets into the Bull Lake valley due to very poor weather conditions, which consisted of rain, low visibility, and a low ceiling” .
Authorities issued a Code Red alert to all neighbors in the area, instructing them to check their properties and structures. One family heard a child’s voice coming from the shed behind their cabin, where they kept the generator.
When they went to check, they found Webb there. Webb was found on Pine Ridge Road, approximately four kilometers from where he had disappeared, two days after he went missing.
When Sheriff Darren Short reached Webb, he found him curled up. Short asked Webb how he got there, and Webb said he had gone on a long walk alone and then got tired. “He was very, very scared,” Short said, noting that mountain lions and bears inhabit the area.
There were also severe thunderstorms on the evening Ryker went missing, and temperatures dipped into the 40s. The shed where Webb took shelter was a very old log cabin-type structure .
According to authorities, despite hunger, thirst, and cold, Webb appeared to be healthy. They said Webb survived because he took shelter in the shed. Webb was then taken to the hospital by ambulance.
“He had the wide-eyed scared look until he got back to his mom and dad,” Short said .