Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Wikimedia Commons and B.C. RCMP

Ryan Shtuka's been missing for nearly five years and his friend found a way to keep his memory from waning.

Snowboarder London Cramer met Shtuka on Tinder a year-and-a-half before he left Alberta to work at Sun Peaks Resort and they quickly became friends.

It wasn't enough time.

"We were pretty close," she said of their friendship. "He's a good looking guy, and I may have had a little crush on him in the beginning."

READ MORE: Snowboarder creates 'Ryan's Run' signs for missing Ryan Shtuka

She's still in regular contact with Ryan's parents but she hasn't made the pilgrimage to Sun Peaks Resort yet.

Cramer hopes to change that this year when she travels to install her "Ryan's Run" trail signs on different ski hills. She erected an unofficial Ryan's Run sign at Sunshine Village Ski Resort recently, and plans to put up another unofficial one at RED Mountain Resort in Rossland during an upcoming competition.

She hopes the one she plans to put up at Sun Peaks will be legitimate.

London Cramer started an online petition to ask Sun Peaks Resort to name a run after Ryan Shtuka, whose been missing nearly five years.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/London Cramer

READ MORE: LLAMAS IN LIMBO: Okanagan sanctuary needs help

"I understand how hard it will be for Sun Peaks to rename a run... If I need to, I will raise every cent of that," Cramer said. She plans to deliver a petition with more than 2,000 signatures in effort to convince Sun Peaks.

The Kamloops area ski resort will host its annual A Run for Ryan event on Feb. 17, which will mark five years since he was last seen at the resort. The event will include a group ski down the 5 Mile Run and a book signing of Ryan's mom Heather Shtuka's new book "Missing From Me."

The addition of a trail named for Ryan would make a permanent memorial for him.

"He's not missing on just that one day, he's missing everyday," Cramer said.

Whether the petition is successful in convincing Sun Peaks officials or not, she plans to install a Ryan's Run sign somewhere one the mountain.

iNFOnews.ca reached out to Sun Peaks to ask about the prospect of a trail named for him, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Go here for past stories about Ryan Shtuka.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2023