The discovery of the umbrella has unfortunately, in my mind, not cleared anything up in regards to what may have happened to poor Ryan. The biggest takeaway I had was the umbrella wasn't turned in until
3-4 days after his disappearance. Searchers would have been scouring the area so why did it take that long to have someone locate it? Was it hidden somewhere, causing the delay in discovery? Did Ryan hide it himself in anticipation of returning for it? Did someone have it who was unaware of its importance in a missing persons case?
On one hand, it's very difficult imagining he would part ways with this umbrella willingly; its sentimental value to him seems significant. On the other hand, Ryan could have been entirely preoccupied with hiding and the umbrella didn't work its way into that mindset?
I was curious what Ryan would have seen in his internet searches when it comes to hiding from the police. I have no way of knowing what pages or videos he viewed but a common theme in the sources I visited was to
discard items on your person that visibly stick-out or make it easier to identify you. I don't know enough about autism or Ryan's cognitive ability, but I wonder if he understood that his polka-dotted umbrella may qualify as that type of item.
The other common theme I discovered was the suggestion to
hide underground to avoid detection
It's none of my business but I would be very curious to know how Ryan handled his sister moving out and if it acted as an emotional trigger for him. Did his sister move far away? Was Ryan, in his mind, trying to get to her?
I hope this poor little guy makes it home safely. The lack of information gleaned by investigators from the video surveillance in that area is very, very concerning to me.