Seven years has felt like both a lifetime and no time at all for the mother of a missing Alberta man who disappeared mysteriously in Sun Peaks in 2018.

Meanwhile, a national organization that helps families find missing loved ones says it has developed a few hypotheses regarding the Ryan Shtuka case.

On February 17, 2018, Shtuka, who was 20 at the time, vanished in Sun Peaks. He was last seen attending a house party on Burfield Drive.

Mounties have not ruled out foul play, but have not reported finding anything suspicious. His disappearance remains a mystery.

“Seven years has passed, which feels like an enormous amount of time,” Ryan’s mother, Heather Shtuka, told Castanet. “And yet it feels like no time has passed at all.”

Shtuka said her daughters, Ryan's younger sisters, are now in their 20s, and she cannot fathom what he would be like today at 28.

The Shtuka family has been in Sun Peaks over the weekend to mark seven years since Ryan went missing in the resort community.

Leads getting more specific

Sue Brown, a lawyer and investigator with Please Bring Me Home, said the organization has developed a few different hypotheses surrounding where Ryan might be.

“I don't want to speak too specifically about the details of the hypotheses that we're working on, but we do have a couple of potential theories that we believe we're getting closer to finding him,” Brown said.

Brown said Please Bring Me Home continues to accumulate tips on the disappearance. The more time that passes, she said the tips become more detailed and potentially useful.

“Tips are becoming more specific and, of course, the more specific and verifiable information we can get, the more we can act on it,” Brown said.

She said the information includes a wide range of theories from tipsters ranging from mediums to Sun Peaks residents, and people who were living in the general area at the time.

Brown said some of the information is consistent with other tips, and she’s heard both suggestions that Ryan died accidentally and that he met with foul play.

“When you have somebody who literally vanishes into thin air, it's hard to say what happened one way or another,” she said.

“There literally is not a single piece of physical evidence pointing to what may have happened to Ryan.”

Brown said people can reach out to Please Bring Me Home’s anonymous tip line, 226-702-2728 or email [email protected].

She said the organization follows up on all the tips they receive, and it’s easier to do so if people provide their contact information, which will be kept confidential.

Brown said Please Bring Me Home will continue to investigate the leads they receive about Shtuka’s disappearance, and she encouraged more people to come forward — either to them, police or Shtuka’s family.

Family kept in loop

Heather Shtuka said she has not heard from Brown in the last couple of months, but noted the organization is a valuable resource for families of missing people.

“It's comforting to know they're continuing to look at Ryan's case,” Shtuka said.

She said the family still has communications from RCMP about the case. Mounties will inform the family about some of the tips they have received and whether they are believed to be credible.

“They've been very accountable to us,” Shtuka said of the police probe.

“It's very comforting for us to know that the investigation is not considered a cold case, but it's still being actively reviewed and worked on.”

She said police will provide a general overview of the tips they receive, but, so far, nothing has stood out to her as a “red flag” that could manifest into finding her son.

“I think we still feel like it's Groundhog Day — it’s still February 17, 2018 — it's still the same thing over and over. We don't have any real new information,” Shtuka said.

Last seen leaving party

Ryan Shtuka arrived in Sun Peaks on Dec. 1, 2017, to spend the season snowboarding. He planned to return home to the Edmonton suburb of Beaumont the following spring.

Shtuka was last seen at 2:10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. He is believed to have left a house party to walk the short distance to his home in the Sun Peaks village, but he never made it there.

Shtuka was last seen wearing dark jeans, a grey/white shirt, a blue coat and a burgundy ball cap.

The family is still offering a $25,000 reward for any information that breaks the case open.

If you have any information you think could be related to Ryan’s disappearance contact Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000.

“I can't wait for him just to be found one day,” Heather Shtuka said.