How Ryker Webb, 3, survived two days lost and alone in rural Montana
What happened to Ryker Webb?
The 3-year-old boy who was lost in the Montana wilderness for two days, then miraculously found safe, has been the subject of intense internet attention after a photo of him looking shell-shocked after his rescue circulated.
He survived by seeking shelter in a shed, an official told TODAY Parents.
“He was very, very scared,” Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short said in a phone call, noting that mountain lions and bears inhabit the area. There were also severe thunderstorms on the evening Ryker went missing. Temperatures dipped into the 40s. The shed where he took shelter was a very old log cabin-type structure, Short said.
What happened to Ryker Webb?
Ryker was reported missing in June of 2022 on a Friday afternoon and found on Sunday, roughly two miles from his home in the small town of Troy in northwestern Montana, according to Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short. (Authorities originally reported that Ryker is 4, but he is actually 3, Short said.)
The redheaded toddler was discovered by a family that was checking on their cabin.
“They heard a little boy’s voice from the shed out back where they keep a generator," Short said. “So they went to the shed and there he was.”
When Short arrived on the scene, he said Ryker was visibly shaken.
Short asked Ryker several questions and the little boy shared that he went for a long walk by himself and then he got tired.
Short recalled how Ryker's “eyes lit up” at the mention of being reunited with his parents.
“He had the wide-eyed scared look until he got back to his mom and dad,” Short said.
Where is Ryker Webb now?
Ryker Webb is home with his family. Attempts by TODAY.com to reach his family for updates have been unsuccessful.
After his rescue in June of 2022, Ryker was taken to Cabinet Peaks Medical Center for evaluation and was discharged. The case remained open, Short said.
“We’re still looking into why he disappeared, and why he wasn’t being watched closely,” Short said.
In a press release on Sunday, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said Ryker was located after an expansive search that involved a “steady presence of ground searchers and ATVs, several drones and dog teams.”
Ryker left some clues
Ryker was found in "good spirits and apparently healthy, although hungry, thirsty and cold."
Short told TODAY that Ryker left some “clues” as to which direction he had wandered.
“Little Ryker is very interested in bugs and insects,” Short said. “As ground searchers walked up the trail behind his house, they could tell the some rocks had been freshly turned over like a kid would do if they were looking for bugs.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com