India - Ryan Chambers, 21, Australian, Rishikesh, 24 Aug 2005

EdinburghLass

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I thought I posted this before but could not find the thread.

A year on, Ryan Chambers still missing

Tuesday, 29 August 2006

Reporter: Tim Gerritsen, Stuart Stansfield


It's every parent's worst nightmare - a son aged in his early 20s goes on a backpacking holiday with a friend to India to immerse himself in the culture, but never returns. That's the reality facing Di and Jock Chambers, who last spoke to their son Ryan Chambers by telephone shortly before he disappeared a year ago.

Ryan was staying with a friend at an ashram in Rishikesh when he disappeared on August 24, 2005. He had previously been seen talking to a Baba and was not himself afterwards. He disappeared soon afterwards, walking out with nothing but the shorts he was wearing, leaving all his belongings at the Northern India retreat.

After 12 months of coordinating a search from their home in Mount Gambier, South Australia, the Chambers family has grown to live with the unknown fate of their son.

More at link - http://www.abc.net.au/southeastsa/stories/s1726708.htm
 
http://www.theindiatree.com/ryanchambers.html

His last message was simple.

"If I'm gone, don't worry," wrote Ryan Chambers. "I'm not dead, I'm freeing minds. But first I have to free my own."

For days beforehand, the 21-year-old Australian backpacker had hardly slept, and his travelling companion, John Booker, wondered what was wrong. The men were staying at an ashram in India, on a spiritual journey of sorts, which was supposed to be coming to an end.

On August 24 Booker woke and went to an early yoga class. He assumed Chambers was sleeping, but later realised he was gone - and learned, from the employee who had opened the gates that morning, that his mate had walked out at 5am, wearing only a pair of blue shorts. By nightfall, Booker was worried enough to call Jock and Diane. Within days, Jock Chambers flew to India to join Booker in the search, later joined by Ryan's elder brother, Jarrad. With the help of Australian consular staff, they blanketed the area with posters and alerted police.

Nothing. Then, suddenly, a breakthrough: a week after Ryan disappeared someone had seen him. "He walked into a temple about 10 kilometres from Rishikesh," Jock Chambers says. There was relief at this news, tempered by concern: he seemed distressed. "He was sitting down and he was delusional, which would have been exhaustion from lack of sleep. The priest fed him and gave him a drink, but he wasn't able to stay there so he left. And again the trail has gone cold."

More at link..
 
This is one of the saddest cases I have come across :( I first heard of Ryan's case about a year ago. I still check every day to see if there is any news on him. His parents travel to India often to search for him. How heartbreaking.

Praying that he will be bought home to his family soon.
 
Hi everyone,

I went to high school with Ryan and grew up in same town (Aaron & jarrod went to a different high school, but teenage parties meant we did socialise)

This was so sad to me when I read this as I used to work with Ryan as well, and the heartbreak and pain his disappearance has (and still) caused for his family is indescribable.

I can't offer much on Ryan (pre dissapearance) as I had moved away 2 years prior. But the Ryan I knew was happy, bright, friends with everyone (he was popular yet still talked to even the nerdy kids of which I belonged with) he always had a smile.

The Ryan that's described in his missing report is totally out of character for the Ryan I knew.
 
IMO something must have happened/said while he was speaking to the baba. If JB said he seemed upset and was having difficulty sleeping the first place I would go would be to that baba and try and find out what was said. Like one of the reports states he seemed delusional and unfortunately India is not the safest place at the best of times. In saying that I also read that there was a sighting of RC but he was stating his name was Tony (grandfathers name) so this To me seems like he was alive but maybe still delusional...JMO this case seems extremely odd. It seems like something has set RC off for him to get upset which has caused loss of sleep and becoming delusional which probably led him to walk off.

Without more info it will be very difficult to solve this one...
 
I think of Ryan and his family every day. I hope some day his family can get the answers they deserve.
 
Thanks for bumping this up. I had not heard of this case. His family's site linked above is still active.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Snipped...
...Ryan Chambers had already spent two months in India when he arrived in Rishikesh in August 2005, and he was getting ready to fly home to his parents near Adelaide.

On 23 August, he was staying in an ashram in the city, but was restless all night. In the morning, the 21-year-old walked out of the building in only his shorts, leaving all his belongings behind.

Almost 12 years later, Ryan's parents Jock and Di still do not know what happened to their son.

Not long after Jock Chambers' third visit to Rishikesh, he got a call from a friend of Jonathan. The families then kept in contact; the Chambers' case offering a glimpse of how it feels to live with uncertainty for an even longer time. Lynda calls their ongoing efforts to find Ryan "a constant source of inspiration".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38571087

UK Jonathan Spollen 2012 Missing in India 2012
 
After disappearing Ryan spoke to a "Baba"...

After disappearing Jonathan spoke to a "Babu"...

:what:
 
^ That bit got m,e, what is a "Baba" in an Indian context, is that a persons name?
 

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