Ryan W. Bidstrup was 21 when he left a friend’s house on Blacksmith Drive in the Highland area of Ledyard, Connecticut, just before midnight on March 31, 2011. He told friends he planned to walk less than ten minutes to the Pumpkin Hill Market to meet another friend who was to pick him up, but he never arrived. Earlier that evening he had posted on Facebook asking friends to hit him up, and he was due to leave for a trip to Florida the next day.

At the time he vanished he wore a blue jacket, a hoodie, and sneakers. His social media activity stopped after the March 31 post, and he failed to contact family members with whom he was close. Friends said he had been dealing with substance abuse issues; investigators noted his past legal troubles but initially found no evidence of foul play, while not ruling it out. The Ledyard Police and later the Connecticut State Police investigated but the case grew cold for lack of substantial leads.

Did anyone in the Highland or Pumpkin Hill Market area that night see Ryan or recall a young man matching his description?