NE NE - Ryan Larsen, 11, with autism, La Vista, 17 May 2021

[Unalienable Rights]

Nearly 3 years later, Nebraska family of 11-year-old boy not giving up on their search for answers about his disappearance

11-year-old Ryan Larsen walked out of his elementary school in La Vista, Nebraska on May 17, 2021. Ryan is on the Autism spectrum and his family asks anyone with information to come forward.

www.nbcnews.com

Dateline -- April 2, 2024

 

[elframo]

Passed the 3 year mark since Ryan's disappearance.

 

[Seattle1]

Passed the 3 year mark since Ryan's disappearance.

Ryan vanished less than two weeks before a neighboring Iowan, Xavior Harrelson, age 11, vanished from the home he shared with his mother.

Fortunately, months later, Xavior's body was located in a soybean field-- not too distant from his home. While we don't Xavior's cause of death (not released by investigators), we do know his death was ruled a homicide.

Sadly, three years later, no suspects or POI have been named, and we are still waiting both answers and justice for these lovely, young boys.

#Godspeed Ryan, where ever you are.

 

[mlhenn]

Ryan D. Larsen – The Charley Project

Last updated May 22, 2024; details of disappearance updated.

Details of Disappearance​

Ryan was last seen in La Vista, Nebraska on May 17, 2021. He was a sixth-grader at La Vista West Elementary School. After becoming frustrated with a math problem, Ryan went to another room to be by himself and calm down.

…

In early 2023, Ryan's mother, Tammi Larsen, petitioned the court to have him declared legally dead, arguing it was unlikely he was still alive due to his autism and other medical issues. She stated she intended to file a claim against the Papillion-La Vista Public School District for Ryan's wrongful death. However, in April of that year a judge threw out her petition to declare him dead, saying there wasn't enough evidence to conclude Ryan was deceased.

Instead of suing the school district for his wrongful death, Tammi sued them for violating her son's civil rights. The lawsuit was filed in federal court, and in November 2023 it was dismissed; the judge said the complaint "does not allege an unconstitutional policy of the school district." Tammi then sued the school district in state court, for negligent supervision of Ryan and negligent infliction of emotional distress on herself during and after Ryan's disapearance.

In its defense, the school district's attorneys argued that the school had followed Ryan's Individualized Educational Program (IEP), which did not require him to be constantly supervised and which did allow him to leave the school, that "the mere disappearance isn’t enough to meet damages" and that claims that Ryan was dead or severely injured were speculative. In May 2024, Tammi's state lawsuit was also dismissed.

Under Nebraska state law, a person is presumed dead if they have been missing without explanation for five years. If Ryan is not found by May 2026, his mother can have him declared dead at that time.

 

[AmyPond]

I just said this in another thread about a missing autistic child, so I’m sorry if you see that and this, I’m not trying to harp on it, but I have a 6 year old autistic brother who likes to hide. Luckily he doesn’t run (we always find him somewhere inside), but he gets into really tight spaces and just chills there when he wants to. Autistic children can also become quite obsessive once they’re interested in something. IMO, it seems like successfully escaping and hiding became a sort of special interest for Ryan (with the searches of “how to hide from police” & previous times running away), and unfortunately he got into too tight of a spot and couldn’t get out. Which, if true, would mean he may never be found. I don’t know what kind of space that would be, but it seems like Ryan was crafty so I don’t doubt he found somewhere.

I agree with others in that I don’t think a lawsuit will be successful because Ryan had ran away from home too. Of course you want school authorities to watch your child as closely as possible, and I know Ryan had a 504 plan or something similar in place, but the fact of the matter is that there are hundreds of kids to watch at a school. If he was that big of a flight risk and needed to be watched literally 1 on 1 closely at all times, then he needed to be in a special school. (Not placing blame on family here whatsoever, just stating reasons why the school likely won’t be held responsible for Ryan leaving).

Ryan, where are you??

Kids who need a 1 on 1 don't need to be put into a "special school" (whatever that means.) Why would you even think that?

This thread made me realize that I need to have my son's IEP amended to add that he must have a staff member with him at all times. He already does have someone with him but it's not explicitly written that way in the IEP. And, God forbid, something happen to him like this....I'd want the ability to sue so they can't get away with negligence on a technicality.

Him running away from home is not the same as him running away from school. At home, he had just 1 adult to watch him. And it's not physically possible to keep an eye on your child 24/7. But, in a school setting, there are MANY adults. A child shouldn't be able to just walk out the door without being following by staff.