Authorities said a 3-year-old boy from Montana was discovered alive after the boy went missing and was lost in the wilderness for two days.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office identified the child as Ryker Webb. The alarm was raised on Friday afternoon when he went missing from a property south of Troy and east of Bull Lake after last being seen playing with the family dog, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office
Authorities claim that “extremely poor weather circumstances” that included rain, low visibility, and a low ceiling complicated the first search for Ryker utilizing drones and helicopters. They also claimed that the extensive vegetation in the area complicated the search.
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 low ceiling.”
A code red alert was sent out to all neighbors nearby, asking that they search their properties and structures.
Ryker was discovered in Sanders County, just 2.4 miles from where he went missing, on Pine Ridge Road and South Fork Bull River Road on Sunday, while 53 people were actively looking for him.
Rescuers say that they came across a cold Ryker Webb by a family checking on their cabin. They heard noises in a log-style shed on their property.
The sheriff’s department said that Ryker was “in good spirits and apparently healthy, although hungry, thirsty, and cold,” when he was found.
The boy was taken to an area hospital as a precaution but has since been released.
The reason his parents waited two hours to report him missing is still under investigation, the news report states.
The rugged West can be both alluring to explore for children but also dangerous. Utah has had its share of cases.
Several years ago, Malachi Bradley, 10, tapped his survival skills after becoming separated from his family in the High Uintas. Although he was missing for 29 hours and cold, he was reunited with his family unharmed.
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Sources: Westernjournal, Mirror, Outdoorlife