Missing boy found after surviving 2 days alone in Montana wilderness

A missing 4-year-old boy was found safe after surviving two days on his own in the Montana wilderness in cold temperatures over the weekend.

Ryker Webb was found Sunday unharmed but “hungry, thirsty and cold” after a two-day search involving ground responders, ATV teams, canine teams, drones, helicopters and a boat unit from multiple agencies, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office announced.

The youngster was reported missing just before 5 p.m. Friday by a concerned neighbor. Deputies soon learned he’d already been missing for more than two hours at that point and had last been seen playing with the family dog in his yard south of Troy, Montana on the east side of Bull Lake.

He was alone in the wooded area as temperatures dropped into the 40s overnight Saturday and thunderstorms and heavy rainfall impacted the search effort.

Aerial search teams had to turn back due to “very poor weather conditions which consisted of rain, low visibility, and low ceiling,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Dense vegetation in the area also made the search for the little boy “extremely difficult,” the office added.

Ryker was finally found in Sanders County, about 2.4 miles from where he went missing, as a 53-person team was searching the area.

He “was in good spirits and apparently healthy, although hungry, thirsty, and cold,” the sheriff’s office said. He was brought to Cabinet Peaks Medical Center for evaluation.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office shared a photo of the rescued boy inside an ambulance. He was wearing pajamas and looked to have had a bloody nose.