Parents’ fury over delay in reporting son missing

Parents’ fury over delay in reporting son missing

The parents of a missing soldier have expressed outrage over the Army’s failure to notice their son’s absence for two weeks, which they claim may have cost him his life. L/Cpl Ryan Rudd, 28, was last seen at the New Inn in Selby on the early hours of 15 February and did not return to his barracks at Catterick Garrison. Ken and Kerstin Rudd from Pocklington said their awareness of the situation came only after a call from a senior officer on 1 March, who asked if their son was at home. The couple argued that the two-week gap left investigators struggling to locate Ryan.

Ken Rudd explained that he had informed the officer of their assumption Ryan was back on base as usual. Shortly after, they contacted the police to confirm he was not on camp. “It was awful,” said Kerstin Rudd.

“The fact that nobody had noticed he was missing for two weeks. It was shocking, we couldn’t believe it was happening.”

The couple emphasized that Ryan’s absence was uncharacteristic. “He’s a soldier, it’s in his nature to go out with mates, city breaks on his own, but he always comes home,” Ken stated.

The Army confirmed an investigation was underway and that it was collaborating with North Yorkshire Police. In a statement, they noted:

“We can confirm that Lance Corporal Ryan Rudd was reported missing to North Yorkshire Police on 1 March 2026. An investigation is under way and we are working with North Yorkshire Police who are leading this. We are unable to offer further detail at this time.”

Ken Rudd, an ex-Army veteran, pointed out that the base uses both a nominal roll call and an electronic system to track soldiers’ locations. “They should know where each soldier is and he didn’t get cross-checked two Mondays in a row,” he said. “That put the police in an unfortunate situation of being two weeks behind in looking for my son.”

Kerstin Rudd added that the delay might have erased any evidence from the night of the disappearance. “If there had been any clues about what happened that night, they could have been washed away with the rain or whatever,” she said. The couple believed Ryan had no reason to vanish voluntarily. “He was enjoying it in the Army,” Kerstin remarked. They speculated that something occurred during the outing, though it remains unclear whether it was accidental or intentional. North Yorkshire Police have stated they remain open-minded about the disappearance but acknowledged the possibility of Ryan entering the River Ouse.