12-year-old Ryan “RJ” Davis, who went missing from a Chickasha hotel on January 2, has been found safe in Caddo County, Oklahoma, bringing a sigh of relief to the community – and capping off a search for the boy that spanned over a week.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) has confirmed that RJ was found on January 11 by volunteers from the United Cajun Navy (UCN) search group.
The boy, who was posted to an Endangered Missing Advisory with a $5,000 OSBI reward for information leading to his recovery, a few days after he went missing, has reportedly been treated by medical personnel at the scene and transported to a local hospital in stable condition.
Representatives from the OSBI Public Information Office said during a January 11 press conference that RJ appeared physically fine but was initially shaken, adding that the child’s outdoor survival knowledge may have helped him find food and water during his time missing.
“Today, a child was found alive. He is now safe, protected, and no longer in danger. There is a road ahead for RJ, but it is a road he now gets to walk,” The UCN group wrote in a Facebook post. “To say we’re excited is an understatement.”
The OSBI’s statement outlined the timeline of the whole search process and how the investigation began on January 7 at the request of the Chickasha Police Department, following RJ’s suspicious disappearance.
Interviews with his biological mother, Kimberly Cole, 33, and stepfather, George Cole, 43, led to their arrests on multiple child abuse complaints, with both remaining in custody at the Caddo County Jail.
Authorities have told the media that the family’s home in Cement was very clearly “not a safe environment,” and that again, RJ will not be returned to the care of his allegedly very abusive parents, who were looking after him while he went missing.
The UCN announced the breakthrough in the search on their X account, saying that their teams from Texas and Oklahoma had been actively searching for approximately 24 hours before locating the boy alive.
The group also shared that two team members found the boy, saying that he was initially frightened- yet that RJ hugged his rescuers once he was reassured of his safety.
“Dear RJ, if anybody ever tries to hurt you again… Just know that your new Cajun cousins will make them beg us to end them,” The UCN wrote on X, in a caption of a photo showing the boy safely sitting in one of their search vehicles.
While RJ’s exact movements from Chickasha to Caddo County remain under investigation, police said they are now looking into whether he had contact with anyone during his time missing.
No additional details on the parents’ charges have been released as of press time.
