Abby Connolly
Five years ago, a young man was having a good time with friends at a party. While most of his friends assumed he had headed home, his family has not seen him since.
Ryan Shtuka was only 20-years-old when he went missing in 2018. Born in 1997, Ryan was raised in Alberta, Canada. His loved ones have described him as a smart and funny person they loved having around.
In 2018, Ryan was living in British Columbia and working at a ski resort in a village named Sun Peaks. He had moved there a few months prior with his best friend to work during the winter.
On Friday, February 16th, 2018, Ryan decided to spend an evening with some friends at a local pub before heading to a house party in Sun Peaks. Ryan allegedly stayed with his friends that evening in a house on Burfield Drive until the wee hours of the morning.
Ryan’s two roommates recall leaving the party before him, claiming they assumed he wasn’t far behind them. A friend at the party saw Ryan leave the house around 2:00 a.m. the following morning and allegedly assumed he was making the short five-minute walk back home.
However, Ryan didn’t show up to work the next morning, and his friends nor family had heard from him. Missing work and not contacting anyone via text or call was unusual for Ryan. Concerned, his family decided to contact the police and report him missing.
Ryan’s loved ones aren’t sure exactly how intoxicated he may have been when he left the house party in Sun Peaks. When police began their search for Ryan, there was no sign of him between the house where the party was held and his home. However, police suspect Ryan never left Sun Peaks.
Police have conducted thorough ground searches and searches of the Sun Peaks area, bringing in the help of professional K9s as well as excavators and bobcats to move and lift mounds of snow. Tragically, there has been no evidence found that has pointed to what may have happened to Ryan that early morning.
Additionally, there hasn’t been any activity on Ryan’s cell phone or social media accounts since his disappearance. Local police are now offering a $15,000 reward for information that would lead to recovering Ryan.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
