Ryan Christopher Withee

Withee, circa 2022; Withee on the day of his disappearance; Withee's tattoo

  • Missing Since 04/04/2022
  • Missing From Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Classification Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race White
  • Age 36 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'10, 165 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description A black zip-up fleece, black jeans, tan work boots and a blue beanie hat. A photo of Withee on the day of his disappearance is posted with this case summary.
  • Medical Conditions Withee has a history of heroin and crack cocaine abuse. He also has depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety. He doesn't have his prescription medications with him and may become unstable without them.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Sandy blond hair, blue eyes. Withee has a tattoo of the words "Long hard road of struggle and pain" on his upper left arm; a photo of it is posted with this case summary.

Details of Disappearance

Withee was last seen on foot in the 3600 block of South 14th Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 4, 2022. He was carrying a white trash bag and a blue backpack. He knocked on the door of a house and the woman who answered didn't recognize him. She said he was mumbling and thought he lived at her residence, and said something about outpatient care. He walked away northbound.

At the time of his disappearance, he was staying in a sober living home which had an 11:00 p.m. curfew and zero tolerance for drug or alcohol use. He relapsed just before he went missing and was discharged from the home on April 4. On April 5, Withee returned to the home and asked for the rest of his belongings, and was given a backpack and two sets of clothes. He said he was going to take a bus to the Dewey Center, a psychiatric hospital, for treatment.

The day after his disappearance, his phone was found in an alley in the vicinity of 8th and Oklahoma, and that same day his backpack was found empty, leaning up against the house at his last known address.  Withee or someone using his Facebook account sent messages over Facebook Messenger that day; his mother believes he was selling his medication to people he met online. This is the last time anyone heard from him.

Although Withee had dropped out of sight before due to his drug use, he has never been gone for this long. His case remains unsolved.

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated May 29, 2025; casefile added.