Days after authorities arrested his mother and stepdad for suspicion of child abuse, police in Oklahoma have confirmed they’ve located 12-year-old Ryan “RJ” Davis alive and well.
The child was found on Sunday, January 11, near the town of Cement. approximately 19 miles — or a 26-minute drive — from Chickasha, where RJ was last seen back on January 2 at around 11 p.m.
After he was reported missing, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol issued an Endangered Missing Advisory.
Detectives, who had said throughout their investigation they always believed RJ was alive, have yet to provide any information on how the boy got there. Also unclear is how police came to learn of the boy’s location.
RJ’s disappearance sparked a massive search. “After days of searching, after hope and prayer, we can say that the outcome that we were all hoping for has come true,” offered Hunter McKee, spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, during a Sunday news conference.
McKee said the boy was found in Caddo County on Sunday at around noon local time. It was also unclear if the child had been in the same area this whole time.
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Regardless, McKee told reporters the child was checked out by medical professionals but was in “pretty good shape” overall. He? also said the boy appeared to be in “good spirits” when he was found.
The search for RJ involved hundreds of volunteers to help search for the boy, including the United Cajun Navy, a local volunteer search-and-rescue group, whose members were the one who located the child.
The rescue team spoke to the media during a press conference and said the boy was found indoors. They said his first words to them were, “I’m sorry.”
RJ’s mother, Kimberly Cole, and his stepfather, George Cole, were both taken into custody on Wednesday, January 7, on child abuse, child sexual abuse and conspiracy charges.
“During the conversation with them, it was learned that there was apparent harm done to this child while he was living with these two parents,” McKee said to reporters.
McKee said the child’s mother and stepfather are still in custody at the Caddo County Jail. The local district attorney will likely move to formally charge the couple on Monday, January 12.
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It is not currently clear if either parent has obtained legal representation in the wake of their arrests.
RJ is now a ward of the state and is in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services
“We’re going to work closely with DHS to make sure that [the boy] is put into a safe home, which he deserves,” McKee said.
Interim Chickasha Chief of Police Goebel Music told reporters last week that Davis would not be returned to his parents’ custody when he was found. “Here’s what I need from everybody listening. This child will not be going back to that home,” Music said. “All we want to do is lay eyes on this child, give him the medical care that he needs, and assure him physically and emotionally, he will not be returning back to that environment.”
If you suspect child abuse, please call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit ChildHelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential, and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
