Where is Ryan Larsen?

One year ago, on May 17th, twelve-year-old Ryan Larsen walked out of La Vista West Elementary School and vanished. 

Shocked and hopeful, the community came together to search by land, air, and water for the young boy. Through press conferences and interviews, the public learned that Ryan is autistic and had gotten away from adult supervision a few times previously but had always been found safe. We were told that Ryan liked the Walnut Creek Recreation Area, and it was searched extensively in the days following his disappearance. 

Today, on the first anniversary, authorities went back out on the lake in a boat equipped with a sonar and underwater drone. The target area is the same where a cadaver dog picked up on the scent of human remains last year. Although authorities lowered the lake to search for evidence, the efforts yielded no results. At the time of this writing, nothing more has been discovered. 

La Vista Police Department have kept those of us who are waiting with bated breath for any clues about Ryan’s whereabouts updated with periodic press releases. Last July, Chief Bob Lausten expressed confidence that the department handled this missing child case appropriately. Lausten pointed out that two businesses withheld video footage for over 60 days, which prevented LVPD from immediately honing in on areas around 84th and Harrison Streets. 

To date, no information has been released from the police indicating evidence that Ryan was abducted or harmed. However, Ryan’s mother, Tammi Larsen, said in her first public interview on September 26th, “I think if he was stuck somewhere, they would have found him by now, but if I had to put a theory, someone took him.”  

In speaking with the media, Chief Lausten placed a call of action out to anyone holding information about what happened to Ryan. 

Lausten said, “This is about him. This isn’t about someone who may have information that is scared, and that is thinking they will get in trouble. Somebody knows something, and somebody needs to tell us,” he continued. 

In response to Ryan’s disappearance, LVPD launched the Take Me Home registry to get a jump on missing person cases in the future. The registry is where family and caregivers can enter pertinent information about their loved ones with special needs or vulnerable adults. That information can include favorite places, whether they’ve gone missing before, and where they’ve been found in those instances. The capability to upload photographs is a valuable feature of the Take Me Home program. Being that the first hour after a disappearance is the most critical time of an investigation, officers must have as much helpful information as possible to set out to work. 

Since last May, the Larsens have missed celebrating holidays and birthdays with Ryan. Their meal times have had one important face missing from the table. Every morning for a year, they have surely awoken with an immeasurable void in their lives. Please continue to lift them up in prayer. Having a child vanish without a trace is a fear parents carry, but many are fortunate enough never to experience firsthand. As a community, we’ve all looked to the media for updates on Ryan’s whereabouts. Many of us hope that each new day will be the day that Ryan is found. We will not lose hope. We will not give up. We will share Ryan’s story until he is located. 

Hug your loved ones tight and remember to cherish your time together.  

Please join the conversation. What was your initial reaction when you heard this young child vanished? Did you join in on the search for Ryan? 

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