UPDATE: Police Find UK Paralympian Who Vanished in Las Vegas 2 Weeks Ago

UPDATE: Las Vegas police say they’ve located Samm Ruddock,  the Paralympic cyclist with cerebral palsy who went missing from Las Vegas on April 16. More on this story as it develops…


EARLIER: A British Paralympic athlete who lives with cerebral palsy, went missing in Las Vegas two weeks ago. Sam Ruddock, 35, flew to town to attend Wrestlemania 41, but went missing three days before the main event began on April 19.

Sam Ruddock competed for Great Britain in the cycling, shotput, and sprinting events of the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games. In 2023, he won the men’s C1 1KM time trial gold at the World Cycling Championships ahead of world-record holder Li Zhangyu of China. (Image: Instagram/@sam.ruddock)
On his Instagram profile, Ruddock describes himself as “a proud father.” (Image: Instagram/@sam.ruddock)

Lucy Hatton, Ruddock’s friend, told Britain’s Sky News that he landed safely at Harry Reid International Airport on April 13, but was supposed to check out of the Bungalows Hostel in downtown Las Vegas two days later and never did.

Hatton described Ruddock as “a fantastic human being” who has not “been in quite the right head space” of late. She said he uncharacteristically stopped posting on social media and returning messages and voicemails from his friends and family on April 16.

Ruddock’s last post was this Instagram video of a man identified only as “Steve” giving him a tour of Las Vegas in the passenger seat of a convertible Austin Healey.

Ruddock poses in front of the Sacred Heart tattoo shop in downtown Las Vegas days before his disappearance. (Image: Instagram/@sam.ruddock)

At the end of the video, “Steve” drops Ruddock off at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, the downtown shop made world-famous by the “Pawn Stars” reality show.

Shortly before disappearing, Ruddock’s mother told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he messaged friends asking for money.

Fran Ruddock said her son is “a very trusting soul” who is “very unsteady on his feet and walks with a limp” and “can easily be knocked over.”

“We urge anyone who has been in contact with Sam since 16 April or may have any information of his whereabouts, to contact their local police department as soon as possible,” read a statement issued by the British Cycling Organization.

The Las Vegas police are reported to be actively investigating.

 

Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas.

Corey spent six years covering the Vegas Strip for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he also wrote the most popular humor column in the city’s history. (For “Fear and Loafing,” he tried out 176 Vegas jobs, including poker player, blackjack dealer and Follie Bergere dancer.)

Corey has won more than 100 local, state and national awards for his journalism, which has also appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and the New York Post.

Corey is a New York native whose hobbies include playing guitar, trying to be a better husband, and arguing with strangers on Facebook.

Contact Corey at corey@casino.org.

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