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The body of 13-year-old Rylan Harris was recovered from the Arkansas River Tuesday, marking the tragic close to the search conducted by several law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma after five juveniles ran away from a Tulsa residential treatment facility Monday night.
“Our hearts are deeply saddened by this unfortunate and tragic loss of the life of young Rylan Harris,” Tulsa Boys’ Home Executive Director Gregg Conway said in a statement to Fox News. “Our prayers for God’s great strength and comfort go out to Rylan’s parents, his family and all who knew and loved him.”
Conway said he could make news of Harris' death public now that his parents had been notified of his passing.
SEARCH CONTINUES FOR 2 MISSING IN ALASKA MUDSLIDES AS MORE RAIN, SNOW FORECAST
Deputies with the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office began searching the area near the Tulsa Boys' Home around 9:30 p.m. Monday after the residential treatment facility for troubled boys reported five runaways, the sheriff's office said in a press release. In an update Tuesday, the department said that Harris’ body had been recovered from the Arkansas River near Holly refinery in Tulsa.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol will be conducting the investigation into the drowning. The other four boys with whom Harris ran away had been found safe on sandbanks in the river near Case Park and were rescued overnight.
Conway told Fox News that staff at the facility spotted the group of five leaving the campus Monday night and alerted the sheriff’s department. He said Tulsa Boys’ Home is not a locked-down facility and that staff had grown suspicious of the group based on how they were dressed when they were supposed to be getting for bed and warned the juveniles against running away.
A deputy heard three boys calling for help near Oklahoma 97 Bridge, which stretches across the Arkansas River. Another deputy at a nearby park shined a spotlight onto the boys. They were rescued by the Sand Springs Fire Department and told authorities that the two other boys they were with had been swept away in the water.
Deputies searched the area near the Tulsa Boys' Home after five runaways were reported Monday night. (Tulsa County Sheriff's Office)
Conway said the river sits less than a quarter-mile from where the crow flies from the property, which is adjacent to Highway 51, and that the boys were trying to cross through the water to get to a Walmart.
The fourth boy to be recovered managed to make it to the shore near a sand plant on the south side of the river and was located by Sand Springs Police, Tulsa World reported. The fifth, Harris, remained missing as of early Tuesday.
Tulsa County Sheriff's Office released a photo of missing 13-year-old Rylan Harris.
"We're hopeful, in a best-case scenario, this boy made it out of the river to safety. But in speaking to the three boys he was with, they saw him go into the water, and he appeared to be in distress, and they did not see him make it to the shore," Tulsa County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Casey Roebuck told KTUL before Harris was found dead.
The four boys rescued overnight were taken to a local hospital to be evaluated. Oklahoma Highway Patrol, which took over search and rescue efforts, called off the search for Harris at 1 a.m. Tuesday because of the darkness and rougher water conditions.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol, which took over search and rescue efforts, called off the search for Harris at 1 a.m. Efforts to locate Harris would resume at 7 a.m. (Tulsa County Sheriff's Office)
Conway told Fox News that the four boys had returned to the Tulsa Boys' Home by Tuesday. He said they were fine, but were shaken up after "getting into way more than they bargained for," explaining that the area of the Arkansas River where they attempted to cross has hard and fast-flowing waters, often with currents and a deep channel at its center.
According to its website, Tulsa Boys' Home was the first and remains the largest residential treatment facility serving troubled boys in Oklahoma. Before Tuesday, it served 64 boys between the ages of 11 to 18, 40 of whom are placed by the Department of Human Services, and the other 24 are privately placed by parents or legal guardians.
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Harris was placed at Tulsa Boys' Home by the Department of Human Services, Conway said.
Conway explained that the facility "isn't a place for criminals" and boys placed by DHS often are experiencing behavior issues after undergoing some sort of childhood trauma or abuse. He said juveniles privately placed often are suffering from drug addiction. Either way, Conway said the facility's mission is to help the boys heal and carry out a well-adjusted life.
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