Police continue to investigate the slaying of Henry “Ricky” Ryan, a 28-year-old from Virginia who liked to party along the banks of the Shenandoah River. He disappeared on Sept. 30, 1988.
A number of Ryan’s friends were the last people to see him when he left to go on a beer run for one of their riverside parties and didn’t come back. He and his friends liked to swim in the Shenandoah and drink beer. Authorities say some of the parties involved drug use.
Ryan wasn’t married, but had family living in the area.
He was listed as a missing person until, a year later, his body was finally found in a shallow grave off Route 9 in western Loudoun County, beyond Hillsboro.
Kraig Troxell, spokesman for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, said that burying the bodies of homicide victims is not unusual; it covers up the crime, but it could also suggest that the killers had some respect for their victim.
And it makes the crime much more difficult to solve since the elements destroy much of the information police could have gotten from an autopsy.
Police do not know how Ryan was killed, or why. They interviewed many of his friends, including those who last saw him, and reinterviewed many of these people recently. But no evidence surfaced, even about who could have been involved in the slaying.
Police are still optimistic about solving the case, though. Troxell said that as DNA testing improves, they may learn more about the nature of the crime.
“It’s hopeful that we could correct this cold case,” he said.
Information about the case can be left anonymously by calling Crime Solvers toll-free at 866-411-TIPS. Those providing Crime Solvers tips may receiver a reward of up to $1,000.
