By Julia Train
More than a year after an Egg Harbor Township native disappeared in rural Tennessee, his family isn’t giving up hope for his return as they continue to work with law enforcement and a national missing persons organization in the search for answers.
Ryan King, who grew up in Egg Harbor Township, was 28 years old when he vanished on June 3, 2025. According to the Henry County Sheriff’s Department, King was last seen in the Shankle Road area near Paris, Tennessee, after reportedly leaving a residence on foot. He has not been seen or heard from since.
King’s parents, Paula Kekatos and Bob King, shared their son’s story with NBC’s Dateline earlier this month, describing a close-knit family determined to bring him home.
“I hope that we find him alive and well,” Paula Kekatos told Dateline. “And if we find him and he needs our help, we’re here.”
Although Paula and Bob divorced when Ryan was a toddler, they remained actively involved in raising him together. They described him as a talented athlete who embraced the outdoor lifestyle of the Jersey Shore, teaching himself to surf and golf while participating in youth sports throughout his childhood.
His parents said Ryan excelled academically and graduated from high school in 2015 before facing an unexpected health challenge.
“He got straight A’s. He just was an all-around good kid,” Kekatos said.
That summer, he was diagnosed with Addison’s disease, a rare autoimmune disorder that prevents the body from producing essential hormones — primarily cortisol and aldosterone.
After beginning daily medication, Ryan’s parents said he was able to resume a normal life, living at home while working as a server at a local restaurant.
According to his family, Ryan later struggled with depression and substance abuse following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think that kind of hurt a lot of people, especially young adults, because after COVID, he just seemed like he was struggling a little bit with some degree of depression or anxiety,” Bob told Dateline. “But, you know, even though his mother and I encouraged him to get some kind of professional help or therapy for it, he was just resistant to it.”
Ryan eventually was able to save up money to move to Margate on his own. But while there, he stopped taking his medicine and ended up in the hospital multiple times, Kekatos told Dateline.
Ryan’s recovery
In March 2024, during a hospital visit, Ryan told his parents that he had been drinking and a friend “had turned him on to some substances,” his mother said.
A month later, Ryan entered an addiction recovery program in Florida, where his parents said he made significant progress and remained sober for nearly a year.
“Within 90 days, he was a totally different person,” his father told Dateline. “He was doing great. He put on 35 pounds in 90 days.”
During his time in treatment, Ryan developed feelings for a woman who was also a participant. Because relationships between patients were prohibited, the woman was required to leave the facility.
After completing the program, Ryan chose to remain in Florida and moved into a sober living home.
“He had a sponsor. He was going to meetings. He had a job working with his sponsor doing commercial plumbing work,” Bob said.
Ryan remained sober for nearly a year before relapsing in February 2025 and returning to treatment. He eventually reconnected with the woman he had met during his previous visit and relocated to Murray, Kentucky, where he planned to pursue the relationship with her.
“He had his car and he had a job, and he was doing really well, and he was thriving,” Kekatos told Dateline. “And he thought this was going to be a fresh start.”
Bob, however, had concerns. Believing the woman was still using drugs, he urged his son to reconsider the move.
On May 27, 2025, Ryan called his stepmother, Regina, Bob’s wife, on FaceTime. Afterward, Regina told Bob that Ryan looked unwell.
Bob said he spoke with him by phone shortly after his wife relayed her concern to encourage him to return home to New Jersey if things were not working out.
That 10-minute conversation would be their last, according to the Community United Effort (CUE) Center for Missing Persons.
When Ryan didn’t contact his father on Father’s Day less than two weeks later — something his family said was highly unusual — they became worried.
The following day, Kekatos called Ryan’s cellphone multiple times and received no response. According to her account shared with Dateline, after she turned off her caller ID and called again, Ryan’s girlfriend answered. She told his mother that she had not seen him since June 3.
The family immediately contacted authorities to report him missing.
Efforts to find Ryan
Investigators later determined Ryan had last been seen in Henry County, Tennessee. According to information released by the Henry County Sheriff’s Department, he was believed to have left the residence on foot after telling others he intended to return to Florida.
His parents have questioned that explanation, noting Ryan reportedly left behind his cellphone and wallet.
“He didn’t just walk off. I know my son,” Bob told Dateline.
Law enforcement has conducted multiple searches of the area, including the use of drones, but no confirmed trace of Ryan has been found. The Henry County Sheriff’s Department has said the case remains an active investigation and has released few additional details.
As the search continued, the family sought assistance from CUE, a North Carolina-based nonprofit that supports missing persons investigations nationwide.
According to CUE founder Monica Caison, volunteers traveled to Tennessee and neighboring Kentucky to distribute missing person flyers and speak with local residents in hopes of generating new leads. The organization has also promoted Ryan’s case through public awareness efforts, including plans for billboard placement.
Ryan is described as 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing approximately 170 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. He has a brown birthmark about the size of a half dollar on his left forearm just below the elbow and another one that’s the same size in the center of his lower back, according to the CUE Center. The organization said he may have been wearing a purple shirt, khaki shorts and black tennis shoes when he disappeared.
Despite the passing months, Ryan’s parents continue to hope someone will come forward with information that could help investigators.
“It has been like pushing a boulder uphill for the last 13 months trying to have my son found,” Bob said to Dateline. “I pray every day that my son is found, alive or deceased. But for him to never be found? I don’t even have words.”
“There is no judgment,” Kekatos told Dateline in a message directed to her son. “It is just, ‘Come home and let’s deal with this head-on and get you to a point where you’re happy and healthy and thriving.'”
Anyone with information about Ryan King’s disappearance is asked to contact the Henry County Sheriff’s Department at 731-363-3971. Tips may also be submitted confidentially to the CUE Center for Missing Persons’ 24-hour hotline at 910-232-1687.
Julia graduated from Rider University in 2024 with a BA in multiplatform journalism and minor in social media strategies. In addition to reporting on local news for Shore Local, she is a social media strategist for small businesses. Connect with her: shorelocaljulia@gmail.com or @juliatrain on Instagram.
