A Troubled Girl
14-year-old Natasha Ryan had always been a troubled girl. She would often be suspended from school and she would always throw tantrums at her mother, Jenny, especially ever since she got divorced.
On top of that, Natasha had been struggling with her addiction to drugs, reason for which she had been receiving counseling for the past months before the fateful day.
Not The First Time
One month before her sudden disappearance, Natasha had run away from her parents' house together with her boyfriend, Scott Black, without even leaving a note or revealing her whereabouts to any of her friends.
Luckily, on that occasion, Natasha and her boyfriend were found by the police two days later. Scott alleged that he had actually tried to help her because she had attempted suicide, but the young man was nonetheless fined $1000 for obstruction of police. A few weeks later, though, this happened...
Gone Without A Trace
On the night of August 31, 1998, Natasha was supposed to head back home for dinner, but she was never seen again. Her mom reported her missing the next morning, hoping the police would track her down.
The police soon discovered that Scott had also gone missing, which could only mean they had escaped together once again. However, despite the launch of a statewide search, Natasha and her boyfriend where nowhere to be found. It wasn't until two years later that the police finally found a suspect...
Suspect On The Loose
It happens to be that Natasha wasn't the only girl who went missing that year in Rockhampton, Australia. During the following months, four other girls went inexplicably missing.
Eventually, the police proved that one of those missing girls, 9-year-old Keyra Steinhardt, had been murdered by a serial killer named Leonard John Fraser. But what about Natasha's case? Had she fallen victim to this ruthless predator too?
Spine-Chilling Confession
Fraser was immediately sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder, rape, and abduction of the 9-year-old kid, but just as he was serving his sentence, he confessed to four other murders.
Indeed, a couple of months after his imprisonment, Fraser confessed having also killed Sylvia Benedetti, Beverly Leggo, Judie Turner, and — last but not least —, Nastasha Ryan.
The Search Begins
Despite Fraser's confession, Natasha's assassination couldn't be confirmed until her body was found. Therefore, the police ordered an extensive search, hoping to land on any concrete evidence.
Over a hundred volunteers aided the local police in their search for Natasha and vast areas of bushland were burnt in order to facilitate the operation. However, Natasha was never discovered, neither dead or alive.
Case Closed
After searching for her for one entire year, Natasha's family finally lost all hopes of finding her alive. The investigation was eventually called off and the police presumed her dead.
Her loved ones even held a memorial service in her honor on what would've been her 17th birthday on May 9, 2001. However, two years later, a stranger called the cops and made an unexpected confession...
The Mystery Note
Nearly five years after the girl's disappearance, the local police received an anonymous note, presumably sent by one of Scott's relatives. You won't believe what it said!
"Natasha Ryan is alive and well. You can contact her on (the phone number of the North Rockhampton home)", the note read. But was that information reliable? Had Natasha really been hiding all those years?
Jaw-Dropping Discovery
Thanks to the mysterious note tipped off to the police, Natasha was finally found. After raiding a house in North Rockhampton, Natasha was discovered hiding inside a cupboard, alive and in perfect health.
While this proved that Frazer was innocent for Natasha's murder, many other questions remained unanswered. To begin with, what was Natasha doing there, and why? Had she been hiding inside that cupboard during the 4 years and 8 months she had gone missing?
Natasha's Murder Trial
Nobody could believe that the now 19-year-old girl was still alive. It was soon revealed that Natasha had been hiding with her boyfriend Scott ever since the day she had gone missing.
20 days later, Natasha had to attend her own murder trial to answer judge Paul Rutledge's questions. She confirmed she had never met the serial killer Leonard Fraser. But what had she been up to all those years?
Mystery Unveiled
As unbelievable as it sounds, during most of the time that Natasha was presumed dead, she had actually shared a beach house in Yeppon, Queensland, together with her boyfriend Scott, nearly 45 kilometers away from her family home.
Their home had stunning views of one of Australia's finest beaches, but those views went to waste, as Natasha remained hidden inside the house all along. But why?
Teenage Runaways
Apparently, Scott and Natasha had grown tired of their family life and had thus planned to escape and live a new life side by side without leaving a trace.
However, while Scott got himself a job in a milk delivery business, Natasha would spend all day living in the dark with the doors locked and the curtains tightly drawn. No wonder she was never found!
No Human Contact
The young girl also confessed that once a year she would sneak out at midnight for a three-minute drive to the nearby Farnborough Beach and enjoy a solitary swim.
Also, each time her boyfriend received any visitors, she would sneak inside her bedroom until they left. How did she manage to keep up with it for so long?
The Girl In The Cupboard
After living in that beach house for four years, the couple moved back to Rockhampton once Scott received a transfer at his delivery job. This is the place where the two were eventually discovered by the police.
In their new Rockhampton house, Natasha would hide in a white cupboard every time Scott received a visitor. The police found her in that very same spot, which is why the world dubbed her as "The Girl in the Cupboard". But had she really agreed to staying locked all day?
They Both Planned The Escape
In an interview, Natasha admitted that she and Scott had both agreed on their escape plan. "I just felt angry at everybody and everything and I didn’t want to be at school, I didn’t want to be at home, I didn’t want to be there in that life", she said.
However, when asked why she never went back home, she claimed: "I was really scared of the consequences. I thought that I would be sent either to prison or to a bad place".
Mixed Feelings
Natasha also admitted she had a hard time growing used to her secluded lifestyle, but who wouldn't? She spent five years trapped within four walls, with no sun, no grass, and no human contact other than his boyfriend. "It was hard to be away from my family that long", she said.
However, no matter how hard it was for her to adjust to her new lifestyle, she still says she doesn't regret it. "“It wasn’t all bad. We made a home. We made our own little home and we were happy", she claimed.
Love Story?
Natasha has also shared some further details about how her life was while trapped inside the house. She studied German on the Internet, learned how to sew her own clothes, since going shopping was never an option.
However, even though Natasha sees it as a love story, her fellow citizens in Rockhampton beg to differ. In fact, when her story went viral, both Natasha and Scott faced some major backlash, though for entirely different reasons.
Public Backlash
To begin with, the whole town was enraged with Natasha because of the thousands of hours that had been spent searching for her. "There’s certainly been a massive waste of community resources", local emergency boss Lyle Dobbs stated.
All in all, Natasha's search cost a whopping half-a-million dollars. She was later fined $1000 for having caused a false police investigation. As regards Scott, you can probably imagine why he was subject to public disapproval...
Public Disapproval
As regards Scott, everybody accused him of child stealing and perjury. Natasha was only a 14-year-old teen at the time of their runaway, while Scott was 9 years older.
While he wasn't convicted for child stealing, he did spend one year in jail for having told the police officers that he didn't know where Natasha during an interrogation in 2001. He was also was ordered to pay $16,000 to compensate for a fraction of the investigation costs.
Coming Back Home
Even though Natasha never regretted having run away with his boyfriend, she's glad she got to reunite with her family. “I feel free, I feel really excited that I don’t have to hide anymore", she said after the touching reunion.
She definitely has some catching up to do, as her little brother was now all grown up and her sister had gotten married over a year ago. But what did her parents comment about this much-longed reunion?
Anger, Joy, And Relief
While Natasha's mother, Jenny, was heartbroken all those years her daughter went missing, she was partly furious when she found out she had actually planned it all along. "I just didn’t wanna see her. I honestly hated her", she said.
However, she is now trying to make up for all those lost years and trying to get to know her girl again. "I’m just glad that she’s back, that she’s alive and I can see her and kiss her. And ground her!", she said.
Regrets
As to Natasha, she also has mixed feelings each time she looks back on her teenage adventure. "I wish I could turn back to this day and change things".
She also admits that she deserves some sort of punishment for all the effort put into her search. "I do think I deserve to go to jail. I don’t wanna go to jail, but I do deserve it. I do deserve to be severely punished". But what is Natasha up to now?
Married With Children
Natasha Ryan and Scott Black got married on September 2008, right after Scott finished serving his one-year jail sentence. That same year, they sold their story to Woman's Day for a whopping $200.000.
In 2011, it was reported that the couple was happily living together in their own house and were the parents of three children. Natasha, meanwhile, is studying to become a nurse. Did any of you imagine this would be the ending to our story?