Annual Run for Ryan in honour of Ryan Shtuka on Sunday, seven years after Sun Peaks disappearance

Run for Ryan this weekend

Photo: KTW file photo

Ryan Shtuka

Sunday marks the annual Run for Ryan in Sun Peaks — an annual ski event aimed at honouring and remembering Ryan Shtuka.

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

Mounties have not ruled out foul play but his disappearance remains a mystery.

At 3 p.m. on Sunday, Shtuka’s family will host the Run for Ryan ski event, designed to gather the Sun Peaks community to and show support for the Shtuka family while keeping Ryan's case top of mind.

“We’re incredibly grateful for all the support we’ve been given,” Heather Shtuka, Ryan's mom, told Castanet.

“It's not a lot of people that have gone through this sort of ambiguous loss of a child that's missing, and we have just been surrounded by this community that has been so engaged and supportive, and I think that props us up on the days I don't think we know how to stand — they give us that strength.”

As the years have passed since he vanished, Shtuka said the family has pared down the activities and events they do in Sun Peaks to honour his memory, but Run for Ryan remains.

The event begins with a meet at the top of the Sunburst Express chairlift at 3 p.m. for a group ski down the 5 Mile run.

Once the group reaches the village, participants are invited to ride the Village Platter or Village Carpet up to the top, where Ryan was working during his season in Sun Peaks. Complimentary hot chocolate will be provided at the top of the Village Platter lift.

Mystery remains

Ryan Shtuka arrived in Sun Peaks on Dec. 1, 2017, to spend the season snowboarding. He was planning 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 the party to walk the short distance to his home in the village, but did not show up at work that day and wasn’t active on social media or on his cellphone.

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 the case, contact Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000.

Castanet will have a full story on Monday, the seventh anniversary of Ryan Shtuka's disappearance, detailing the latest efforts to find out what happened to him.