Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
Zander1983
New member
From: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6346434%5E662,00.html
Natasha: My life in hiding
By NICK PAPPS
28apr03
TEENAGE runaway Natasha Ryan has detailed her bizarre life in a clothes cupboard.
In a tell-all interview, the 18-year-old has also revealed she hid just metres from police investigating her apparent murder.
For 4 1/2 years, Ms Ryan said, she never walked out in the daylight and, despite her ordeal, wants to marry the man who helped her hide.
Ms Ryan also revealed she made a mystery call to authorities when she realised someone had been charged with her murder.
"I was a missing person; someone was charged with my murder," she told them.
Ms Ryan is believed to have been paid by a British newspaper for the interview, on top of an estimated $250,000 she has already received from 60 Minutes.
Last night, she said on 60 Minutes that she deserved a "boot up the bum" for not telling her parents that she was alive.
This month Ms Ryan was found hiding in a cupboard in her boyfriend's Rockhampton home. She disappeared in 1998 and her parents and police presumed she had been murdered.
She has told the News of the World she spent hours in a cupboard in boyfriend Scott Black's bedroom.
"Every time someone came around to Scott's house, as they did a lot in the early days, I hid. I'm about 5ft 5in (165cm)," she said.
"In the clothes cupboard there was room for me to stand up if I bent my head.
"It was 6ft (182cm) wide and 2ft (61cm) deep. But I sat in the yoga position because it was comfortable."
Ms Ryan was only 14 when she ran away to be with Mr Black, a milkman who was 22 and disliked by her parents.
"I remember exactly when I left home," Ms Ryan said.
"It was September 2, 1998. I was only 14 but mum was always nagging about Scott and me. I felt I needed to get away for a little while.
"I begged Scott to let me stay with him for a few days.
"That turned into a few weeks.
"Every day I thought about going home and giving my mum a hug, but then I saw on TV that my disappearance had become a murder hunt and I thought, 'It's too late to go back'. The lie just got too big.
"I wasn't kept prisoner by Scott.
"In fact he was always trying to persuade me to go home to my mum.
"I thought about coming out every day but the lie had become too big."
Ms Ryan has also described the day she hid just metres from police as they interviewed Mr Black. "After I disappeared Scott was under suspicion," she said.
"I remember it was late afternoon and I was watching Catchphrase on TV and Scott was cooking dinner when there was a banging on the front door and shouts of 'Police, open up'.
"I dashed upstairs and Scott pushed me through the manhole into the roof space above the ceiling.
"I balanced on the crossbeams and hung on for dear life.
"I could hear police in the bedroom right underneath me."
Mrs Ryan said it was tough living indoors for so long.
"I wanted to scream because I was so frustrated," she said. "But I knew I couldn't because someone might hear.
"So Scott bought me a punchbag and hung it in the basement."
Ms Ryan did manage to venture outside six times during her self-imposed exile. The trips were always at night to the beach. "I just wanted to dip my toes in the ocean and run along the sand," she said.
"Scott would give in and take me when I was feeling like an inmate.
"I would scream at the top of my lungs and just enjoy every precious moment of freedom."
To keep their secret life hidden from the neighbours, Mr Black bought his girlfriend boy's clothes and made sure only his own clothes were dried outside.
Ms Black passed her time on the Internet and watching TV and it was there she discovered a Leonard Fraser had been charge with her murder.
Some time later, Ms Ryan phoned authorities.
Later police visited the Rockhampton home.
"We were eating fish and chips when they knocked and I dashed into the wardrobe," Ms Ryan said.
"When the cop opened the door, there I was."
A pale Ms Ryan said despite her strange years with Mr Black, she still wanted to be with him.
"If he still wants me, I'll marry him. He's the love of my life."
Ms Ryan last night said on 60 Minutes she was too gutless to come out of hiding earlier.
She told the Channel 9 program she had no idea of the agony she had put her parents through.
"I couldn't imagine what they were going through," she said.
"I couldn't feel what they were going through."
Natasha's mother, Jenny, told 60 Minutes she hated her daughter after being told the teenager had been found alive.
"I just didn't want to see her. I honestly didn't," Mrs Ryan said.
"I could have just shook the hell out of her. But when I seen her, you forget all that. She looked at me and she just said to me: 'I'm sorry' and she had tears running down her eyes."
Natasha: My life in hiding
By NICK PAPPS
28apr03
TEENAGE runaway Natasha Ryan has detailed her bizarre life in a clothes cupboard.
In a tell-all interview, the 18-year-old has also revealed she hid just metres from police investigating her apparent murder.
For 4 1/2 years, Ms Ryan said, she never walked out in the daylight and, despite her ordeal, wants to marry the man who helped her hide.
Ms Ryan also revealed she made a mystery call to authorities when she realised someone had been charged with her murder.
"I was a missing person; someone was charged with my murder," she told them.
Ms Ryan is believed to have been paid by a British newspaper for the interview, on top of an estimated $250,000 she has already received from 60 Minutes.
Last night, she said on 60 Minutes that she deserved a "boot up the bum" for not telling her parents that she was alive.
This month Ms Ryan was found hiding in a cupboard in her boyfriend's Rockhampton home. She disappeared in 1998 and her parents and police presumed she had been murdered.
She has told the News of the World she spent hours in a cupboard in boyfriend Scott Black's bedroom.
"Every time someone came around to Scott's house, as they did a lot in the early days, I hid. I'm about 5ft 5in (165cm)," she said.
"In the clothes cupboard there was room for me to stand up if I bent my head.
"It was 6ft (182cm) wide and 2ft (61cm) deep. But I sat in the yoga position because it was comfortable."
Ms Ryan was only 14 when she ran away to be with Mr Black, a milkman who was 22 and disliked by her parents.
"I remember exactly when I left home," Ms Ryan said.
"It was September 2, 1998. I was only 14 but mum was always nagging about Scott and me. I felt I needed to get away for a little while.
"I begged Scott to let me stay with him for a few days.
"That turned into a few weeks.
"Every day I thought about going home and giving my mum a hug, but then I saw on TV that my disappearance had become a murder hunt and I thought, 'It's too late to go back'. The lie just got too big.
"I wasn't kept prisoner by Scott.
"In fact he was always trying to persuade me to go home to my mum.
"I thought about coming out every day but the lie had become too big."
Ms Ryan has also described the day she hid just metres from police as they interviewed Mr Black. "After I disappeared Scott was under suspicion," she said.
"I remember it was late afternoon and I was watching Catchphrase on TV and Scott was cooking dinner when there was a banging on the front door and shouts of 'Police, open up'.
"I dashed upstairs and Scott pushed me through the manhole into the roof space above the ceiling.
"I balanced on the crossbeams and hung on for dear life.
"I could hear police in the bedroom right underneath me."
Mrs Ryan said it was tough living indoors for so long.
"I wanted to scream because I was so frustrated," she said. "But I knew I couldn't because someone might hear.
"So Scott bought me a punchbag and hung it in the basement."
Ms Ryan did manage to venture outside six times during her self-imposed exile. The trips were always at night to the beach. "I just wanted to dip my toes in the ocean and run along the sand," she said.
"Scott would give in and take me when I was feeling like an inmate.
"I would scream at the top of my lungs and just enjoy every precious moment of freedom."
To keep their secret life hidden from the neighbours, Mr Black bought his girlfriend boy's clothes and made sure only his own clothes were dried outside.
Ms Black passed her time on the Internet and watching TV and it was there she discovered a Leonard Fraser had been charge with her murder.
Some time later, Ms Ryan phoned authorities.
Later police visited the Rockhampton home.
"We were eating fish and chips when they knocked and I dashed into the wardrobe," Ms Ryan said.
"When the cop opened the door, there I was."
A pale Ms Ryan said despite her strange years with Mr Black, she still wanted to be with him.
"If he still wants me, I'll marry him. He's the love of my life."
Ms Ryan last night said on 60 Minutes she was too gutless to come out of hiding earlier.
She told the Channel 9 program she had no idea of the agony she had put her parents through.
"I couldn't imagine what they were going through," she said.
"I couldn't feel what they were going through."
Natasha's mother, Jenny, told 60 Minutes she hated her daughter after being told the teenager had been found alive.
"I just didn't want to see her. I honestly didn't," Mrs Ryan said.
"I could have just shook the hell out of her. But when I seen her, you forget all that. She looked at me and she just said to me: 'I'm sorry' and she had tears running down her eyes."
