Members of the Maine Warden Service search the Little Androscoggin River on Wednesday afternoon behind Don’s No Preference Towing at 940 Washington St. North in Auburn. They were looking for Ryan-Eric Richardson, who was last seen a week ago running toward the back of the towing service company. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

AUBURN — Wardens assisted local and state police Wednesday in the search for missing Lewiston man Ryan-Eric Richardson.

Richardson, 35, was last seen April 17 walking in the area of 959 Washington St., which runs parallel to the Little Androscoggin River.

Ryan-Eric Richardson

About a dozen Maine Warden Service personnel were on the river around noon Wednesday near Don’s No Preference Towing at 940 Washington St. Wardens deployed divers into the river on two airboats and law enforcement at the scene released a drone into the air.

Three people at the scene of the search spoke to the Sun Journal about Richardson’s disappearance — Richardson’s sister Kimberly Langlois, cousin Courtney Gelineau and aunt Angela Conway.

Many more family members were also at the scene.

Gelineau said Richardson had been at a nearby party spending time with friends when a surveillance camera caught him suddenly running across the road toward Don’s No Preference Towing before going into the woods.

“After that we don’t know,” Gelineau said. “We’re still trying to get footage from other places to try to piece it together, see if we can track him up a little bit further. But, for now, the search is in the water just because he was so close.”

Langlois said her brother had not checked in with family and no one had reported seeing him since he entered the woods behind the towing company.

“We couldn’t do a missing persons report at the time (when) I just wanted to know if people have seen him,” Langlois said. “Then it turned into a missing persons (case) and now we’re looking for him.”

Family members of Ryan-Eric Richardson embrace and converse Wednesday afternoon in a parking lot off Washington Street North in Auburn next to the Little Androscoggin River as members of the Maine Warden Service Dive Team and Game Wardens search the river for Richardson. He was last seen a week ago running toward the back of Don’s No Preference Towing along the river. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Gelineau added that Richardson is “an outdoorsy kid,” a hiker, fisher and swimmer, so there’s still some hope he is camped out somewhere. However, Conway said her gut feeling is that Richardson did not stay out of the water, though she has hope he is OK.

“We (were) told that someone probably saw him go in the water, but we still don’t have footage,” Gelineau said.

On Tuesday, Langlois posted on Facebook asking for those who have expressed interest in helping not to perform their own searches.

“(Police) want everyone to stop doing their own investigations and please let them do their job,” Langlois’ post said. “Please don’t go out searching because it will throw (off) the scent of Ryan, mixed with all of you.”

Members of the Maine Warden Service search the Little Androscoggin River on Wednesday afternoon.  Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Any information on Richardson’s whereabouts should be shared with Maine State Police Regional Communications Center at 207-624-7076.

Richardson is a white male, stands 6 feet tall, weighs approximately 190 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue Nike sweatshirt, black jogger pants and green Nike Air Force 1 sneakers.

Sun Journal photographer Russ Dillingham contributed to this report.