Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Wikimedia Commons and B.C. RCMP
May 30, 2024 - 7:00 AM
It has been over six years since Ryan Shtuka went missing from Sun Peaks Resort, and while his case remains unsolved, his story is still fresh in the eyes of the public who continue to provide tips on his disappearance.
“Tips on his case have lessened over the years, but the moment we do a post or his name is out front, tips roll in like crazy,” Please Bring Me Home executive director Nick Oldrieve said.
Please Bring Me Home is a non-profit organization that gathers anonymous tips on cold missing person cases across Canada and has been helping with Ryan’s case since he went missing from Sun Peaks Resort on Feb. 17, 2018.
On May 13, the organization put out an appeal on social media for a tipster who left messages last month to contact them again so they could verify the information.
“We have connected with the tipster since our post and have more information,” Oldrieve said, but he was unable to provide any details.
Ryan’s mother Heather Shtuka said she is grateful for Please Bring Me Home that fields the information coming in for the family.
“We set a strict guideline around where information should go and what we’re going to do with that information,” Heather said. “We wouldn’t be able to provide context or answers for the information coming in, and it’s the best thing for our emotional well being.”
Although not as frequently as in the first two years of the tragic ordeal, Heather still receives direct messages from people who call themselves "intuitives."
“People feel the need to reach out and it is never about anything good, it will always surround the worst-case scenarios that could’ve happened to Ryan,” she said. “It can shatter you to your core when you open an email and someone is saying they’ve had a dream that your son has been brutally murdered and dumped.”
Heather is in constant communication with the RCMP and Please Bring Us Home. They let her know tips are still coming in but don’t provide unnecessary details.
“Unless there is verification we talk in generalities and if we have questions we ask when we are mentally prepared for the answer.”
Oldrieve said working with families is of the “utmost importance.”
“We can help field those tips as necessary, I cannot imagine the pain of seeing some tips that come in as a family member, let alone a parent of a missing child,” he said. “We will adapt to whatever assistance they need.”
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While Heather is grateful that tips are still coming in, she said it is best for the family, for logical and emotional reasons, that tips are delivered to Please Bring Me Home, RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
Please Bring Me Home was founded in 2018 by Nick Oldrieve, Matthew Nopper and Melissa Harwood. The team and its volunteers have help to find 17 missing people. The team accepts anonymous tips, are active in the field and are in touch with families and friends of missing loved ones.
“If you know something, say something," Oldrieve said. "Please call, email or send anonymous tips. Everything helps.”
To leave tips with Please Bring Me Home call the anonymous tip hotline at 1-226-702-2728.
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