Missing Washtucna teen featured on A&E

WASHTUCNA – A 17-year-old boy who has been missing from Washtucna for almost a year and a half was featured on "Live Rescue: Missing," a television program on the A&E channel Saturday, Sept. 26.

John Riser was last seen by family and friends May 16, 2019.

Angeline Hartmann from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported on the case to Matt Iseman, host of the "Live Rescue" program. Hartmann said Riser disappeared while on a road trip to California, after leaving a friend's home in Kennewick.

"We understand that before John disappeared, he had been in recent contact with his biological mother," said Hartmann. "The last time he saw his mother, he was a little boy, and he apparently made plans to travel to her home in Chester, California, about 600 miles away. His friends say he was planning to hitchhike there."

According to Riser's paternal grandmother, Lee Mealone of Washtucna, her son John Riser, Sr., got custody of her grandson when he was three years old, along with his one-year-old brother.

"There was a court order against her to have no visitation with the kids because she was into drugs. She was supposed to go through treatment and never did; she took off instead," Mealone said, adding she believed the mother was living in Chester, Calif., and going by the name Victoria (Tori) Matthews - Roberts.

Mealone alleges she was approached by another family member in Washtucna after Riser disappeared, claiming the mother had sent the boy a Snapchat message when he was 15.

"The Snapchat photo from the mother showed drugs and money, and said 'Come down, I will make you a rich man. You will be driving a Mercedes,'" Mealone said. "She said she couldn't afford to send him a ticket, but to hitchhike down."

According to Hartmann, John Riser, Jr., told his friends he would get back in touch with them, and his girlfriend, the night he left.

"But when no one heard from him, they called police," Hartmann said. "It turns out John never made it to his mom's home. Investigators believe something terrible happened along the way, and his family and friends have been searching for him ever since."

Mealone said she has received several ransom threats via text message on her phone.

"They claim they will kill him, or they claim he is sick and wants to talk to his family, and if I pay them $7,000 they will let me talk to him," Mealone said, adding the first ransom threat came in on Dec. 25, 2019.

Mealone said two deputies spent Christmas day researching who sent her the message.

"They found it was someone from California," Mealone said. "I just wish people could be prosecuted that do that."

Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner said he could not comment on the case, and that Riser is a runaway.

"He ran away twice before," Mealone said, "but he was keeping in touch with the family."

Mealone said the Kennewick Police Department have been an "invaluable resource" in assisting her.

"He comes from a small town, and he is not street smart," Mealone said. "He was a straight-A student and into athletics. Then they moved to Kennewick, and he hooked up with the wrong crowd."

Mealone said her son, John Riser, was staying in Kennewick in case her grandson returned there, and she was staying in Washtucna in case he returned there.

"I've cried more in the last two years than I have in my whole life," Mealone said.

She urges anyone who might have information on him to contact her at 509 650 7123.

"Just not knowing anything is hard. If we just got a phone call from him to let us know he is still alive," Mealone said. "We aren't going to try and haul him back home, we just need to know he's alive."

Anyone with information can also contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1 800 THE LOST, or 1 800 843 5678.

Riser is a white male, age 17, with brown hair and blue eyes and a slender build. His last known height and weight was 5'7", 145 pounds.