Leo Ryan Folsom Prison as an inmate. During his time in Congress, Ryan traveled to Newfoundland to investigate the practice of seal hunting. He was also famous for vocal criticism of the lack of Congressional oversight of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and authored the Hughes–Ryan Amendment, passed in 1974. Ryan was shot and killed at an airstrip in Guyana in November 1978 while his party was attempting to escape a dangerous situation. He had traveled to Guyana to investigate claims that people were being held against their will at the Peoples Temple Jonestown settlement. Ryan was killed the same day of
Leo J. Ryan Memorial Park access. In 2003, on the 25th anniversary of his death, a special memorial tribute was held in Congressman Ryan's honor in Foster City, California. Ryan's family and friends including California State Senator Jackie Speier and Ryan's daughters were in attendance. The "San Francisco Chronicle" reported that "Over and over today, people described a great man who continually exceeded his constituents' expectations." Towards the end of the memorial service, parents of those who had died in Jonestown stood in honor of the congressman. After the service had concluded, mounted police escorted the family and friends into Leo J. Ryan Memorial Park.