Ryker Webb

Submission 15,978

Featured Episode

About

Ryker Webb is a Montana boy who went viral in June 2022 when, at 3 or 4 years old, he was found alive in a shed after having gone missing for two days in the Montana wilderness. The story and two photos of Webb taken before and after he was found went viral online, inspiring reactions and memes about how different and shocked he looked after being found. Webb became the subject of rumors and conspiracy theories in the months following the incident, including theories that the boy found in the woods is not the real Ryker Webb and is actually a shapeshifter or skinwalker.

History

On June 6th, 2022, the media, including NBC News,^[1] reported that a 3-year-old Montana boy, Ryker Webb, had been found safe after two days missing in the Montana woods. The report details how authorities tried to find him with drones and helicopters but were hampered by the weather. Webb was found about 2.4 miles from where he went missing and was reportedly "in good spirits and apparently healthy, although hungry, thirsty, and cold." He was brought to the hospital but discharged with no injuries.

On June 7th, Today^[2] reported that he had survived by seeking shelter in a shed. Webb was discovered by the family who owned the shed when they went out to check on their cabin, hearing his voice coming from the shed. The article mentions how bears and mountain lions are common in the area. The articles share two photos of Webb, one from before he went missing and one in the ambulance after being found (shown below, left and right).

Some reports claim Ryker was 4 at the time of the incident.

Online Presence

The Ryker Webb story gained viral spread online as a scary story, with the after-survival photo of Webb going particularly viral. On June 8th, 2022, the story and photos were posted to /r/oddlyterrifying,^[3] with the title reading, "now you know that the poor boy INDEED saw some weird stuff lost for 2 days," garnering over 7,500 upvotes in a year. On June 20th, Tumblr^[4] user knowwhatimeme shared a now-deleted X post about the story where the user wrote, "what did he see out there," garnering around 100 notes in a year (shown below). On September 16th, the story was posted to /r/Damnthatsinteresting,^[5] garnering over 95,000 upvotes in a year.

Skinwalker / Different Child Theories

In late 2022, theories that the boy found in the woods was not the real Ryker Webb started circulating online. It is unclear who started the theories. Some of the theories claim that Webb was found wearing different clothes than the ones he got lost in as evidence of this, with others claiming the boy looked too different after he was found to be the same one, although some have suggested his wide-eyed appearance in the after-survival photo to "shellshock."

On August 22nd, 2022, YouTuber^[11] Breanne Clarke posted a video explaining these theories and casting doubts about them, garnering over 80,000 views in a year (shown below).

On December 17th, TikToker^[6] @d0llface3 posted a video doubting the theories, garnering over 1.2 million views in a year (shown below, left). On December 31st, TikToker^[7] @trashabi posted a video supporting them, garnering over 15 million views in a year (shown below, right).

As the theory spread throughout 2023 it evolved to suggest that Webb had a DNA test after being rescued only for his parents to discover that he had different DNA. This is a fabricated story. Some videos also began to claim that Webb is a skinwalker. Many of these videos frame an unrelated clip of an unaccompanied child running up to a truck as a video of Webb being rescued.

For example, on September 10th, 2023, TikToker^[8] @hauntedtiktoker posted a video claiming the clip showed Webb being rescued, captioned, "real footage of ryker being found while shape shifting," garnering over 13.3 million views in three months (shown below, left). On December 6th, TikToker^[9] @mr.darkcase.usa posted an AI generated video of a child representing Webb telling "his story" and claiming that he had different DNA and clothes upon his recovery from the woods, garnering over 16.7 million views in two weeks (shown below, right).

TikTok Account

On December 20th, 2023, TikToker^[10] @kaydn_webb1, Ryker Webb's brother, started posting videos with Ryker. In each of the videos, he daps Ryker up. The first upload gained over 110,000 views in two days (shown below).