On a summer day in July of 1982, a 15-year-old boy named Benjamin Shane Ridley vanished from Burien, Washington. At the time of his disappearance, he was described as being 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing approximately 130 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Benjamin, who was also known by the nickname 'Benjie,' had been placed with a foster family just one day before he was last seen. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance are complicated by the fact that he was not officially reported as a missing person until 35 years later, in 2017.
The delay in reporting Benjamin's disappearance has presented significant challenges to the investigation. For years, his siblings were under the impression that he had run away to California to begin a new life. It wasn't until the early 2000s that his sisters began to search for him, and after their efforts were unsuccessful, they filed a missing person's report. Authorities initially believed that Benjamin may have left his foster home to return to his biological parents. His sister has since created a Facebook page dedicated to her brother's case in the hope of generating new leads.
The King County Sheriff's Office is investigating Benjamin's disappearance as a cold case. In an effort to generate new information, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has released an age-progressed photograph showing what Benjamin might look like in his later years. It is thought that he may have stayed in the Seattle area after he went missing. The case remains a painful and unresolved chapter for Benjamin's family, who continue to seek answers about what happened to him so many years ago. The lack of information and the significant passage of time have made this a particularly difficult case to solve, leaving a family to wonder about the fate of their loved one.
Last Seen: Jul 02, 1982
