TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) — The 15-year-old boy who has been missing since Tuesday morning has been found safe.
According to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Ryker Lee, 15, was located on Sept. 25 just before 1 p.m., about three miles away from his home in the Three Points area on day three of the search.
Officials said a community member tip led deputies to Lee’s location.
“Thank you to our law enforcement partners and the community for their assistance with this case,” the department said.
Throughout the search, community members used drones, horses and all-terrain vehicles to help find the 15-year-old. PCSD Search and Rescue teams worked alongside residents to locate him.
Lee was first reported missing on Sept. 22 after he left his home on foot around 10 a.m., PCSD said. After deputies arrived to the home in the 9100 block of South Silver Star Road, they uncovered evidence of child abuse involving three children.
The Department of Child Services took custody of the teenager’s two younger siblings, ages 10 and 8, after detectives found they were living in unsanitary conditions inside the main home.
The 15-year-old’s mother Danielle Lee-Sharp, 39, and his stepfather Michael Menzie, 43, were arrested and were charged with child abuse. Lee-Sharp and Menzie were released after posting bonds of $5,000 and $10,000, respectively.
Both will appear in court on Oct. 5 for a preliminary hearing.
According to an interim complaint, investigators found that the 15-year-old boy had been confined inside a six-by-five-foot padlocked room divided by a wooden door with no doorknob within a recreational vehicle on the property. The document revealed that Lee had been sleeping outside the main home in an RV since March 2026.
The vehicle lacked running water, restroom facilities, and air conditioning. Investigators found spiders and webs near a box-spring where he sleeps, the document revealed.
Investigators reported a strong odor of cat urine, vomit stains on the floor, scattered garbage, moldy food, and an unsecured rifle in a closet inside the main home, according to the interim complaint.