UPDATE: 8:12 a.m. - June 6, 2002
LIBBY - A four-year-old boy was found safe over the weekend after going missing for more than 24 hours in the wilderness of Lincoln and Sanders counties.
Ryker Webb was reported missing late Friday afternoon from his family's yard on Highway 56 south of Troy in the east side of Bull Lake. He had been gone two hours.
Ground searchers, ATVs, several drones, and dog teams helped in the immediate search on Friday and then two Montana Air National Guard helicopters and drones from Flathead County and the Spokane Police joined the search.
Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short reports that although the search was hampered by very poor weather conditions, Ryker was found Sunday morning in the area of Pine Ridge Road off South Fork Bull River Road in Sanders County.
Authorities report Ryker was in good spirits, apparently healthy, although he was hungry, thirsty, and cold. Ryker was taken to Cabinet Peaks Medical Center in Libby for evaluation. More than 50 people were involved in the search.
(second report: 12:40 p.m. - June 5, 2022)
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office reports that four-year-old Ryker Webb "has been found alive and in good health."
The Sheriff's Office said no further details would be released at this time. We will update you if we get more information.
(first report: 9:31 a.m. - June 5, 2022)
Law enforcement in Lincoln County is searching for four-year-old Ryker Webb, last seen on the afternoon of Friday, June 3, 2022.
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said on social media that Ryker has red hair and blue eyes and was last seen playing with the family dog in the yard outside the family home, located around mile marker 18 south of Troy, on the east side of Bull Lake.
It is not known what clothing or footwear Ryker was wearing at the time, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office provided the following information:
"In addition to a steady presence of ground searchers and ATVs, several drones and dog teams were able to deploy yesterday following the initial report, along with a boat unit on the lake. Two Bear Air attempted to deploy yesterday, but had to turn back due to poor weather moving in. Today, two Montana Air National Guard helicopters and several drones from Flathead and Spokane were able to deploy, in addition to more dog teams and continued ground and ATV searching. It has been 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 low ceiling. These assets continue to monitor weather for additional flight openings. The dense vegetation in the area has also proven to be extremely difficult to search."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at 406-293-4112, ext. 0.
