By Seamus McGraw
(Continued)
Hypnotic Teen Engineered Her Own Disappearance
The truth was far less horrifying, but in a way, no less intriguing.
By all accounts, it was Natasha Ryan, a charming and persuasive young girl with what those who know her describe as an almost hypnotic character, who engineered her own disappearance, and enlisted her compliant, milkman boyfriend in her scheme.
The way authorities and her friends describe the events, she was barely in her teens when she lured Scott Black away from his girlfriend, who also happened to be Natasha's slightly older and far less alluring sister.
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Scott Black |
Ross LoMonoco, a lawyer who has at various times represented both Ryan and Black, told Stuff magazine in a 2003 interview that Natasha's 13th year was a difficult one for her: Her parents had just divorced, and to make matters worse, a friend's father had made some lewd advances toward the winsome young girl. The scandal landed the older man in court, and put Natasha in an uncomfortable position in the small town of Rockhampton. Feeling trapped, Natasha enlisted Black in a plot to escape.
It is not unimaginable, LoMonoco told the magazine, that Black wanted to be the girl's knight in shining armor. Or maybe the milquetoast milkman just couldn't figure out how to say no to her. Perhaps it was, as one acquaintance of Natasha's told Stuff, "The lassie must have had some pull."
Whatever the case, Natasha "approached Scott Blackand Scott suggested that she return home. She threatened suicide or something or other," LoMonoco said, and Black ultimately gave in, putting Natasha up in a seedy motel room until they could figure out their next step.
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