Natasha Ann Ryan was born in 1984 in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.
Her parents had divorced. Her father remarried and lived with his wife over three hours away from where Natasha lived with her mother.
Natasha Ryan was a troubled 14-year-old. She had attempted suicide, experimented with drugs and run away before.
In July 1998, Natasha had run away while out walking the family dog. Police found her a few days later at an outdoor music venue in Rockhampton. She had been with her boyfriend, 21-year-old Scott Black. He was initially charged with abduction, but these charges were dropped.
On August 31, 1998, Natasha Ryan’s mother dropped her off at North Rockhampton State High. At some point during the day she disappeared.
Due to her history of running away, police believed they would find her soon.
Around the same time Natasha went missing, three women aged between 19-39 and a 9-year-old girl also went missing. They were all confirmed later to be victims of serial killer Leonard Fraser.
Leonard Fraser initially denied murdering Natasha Ryan, but later admitted to all 5 murders.
He said he had met Natasha at a movie theatre and offered her a ride home, where he then attacked her in his car and hid her body in a pond.
Natasha Ryan’s family held a memorial service for her in 2001 on her 17th birthday.
Although Fraser was able to help police recover the remains of four of his victims, Natasha’s body was never found.
Then in 2003, someone using the name “Sally” contacted a children’s counselling service helpline and told them she was a runaway living with her boyfriend, and that someone was about to go on trial for her murder.
The counselor had anonymously relayed her message to the police but they were unable to trace the call.
Then, Rockhampton police received an anonymous letter with a phone number claiming Natasha Ryan was alive.
On the evening of April 10, 2003, police officers forced entry into a home in North Rockhampton. There, inside a bedroom cupboard, they found Natasha Ryan, alive and well.
For the past 5 years, Natasha Ryan had been hiding out with her boyfriend Scott Black.
Scott Black was working as a milkman and seemingly lived alone. That wasn’t the case though. Natasha would keep the curtains closed at the house so she could walk around freely without being seen, and if guests ever came over, she would hide in the bedroom cupboard until they left.
Natasha only went outside a handful of times, either to move house, or go to the beach at night.
Fraser was on trial at the time for Natasha’s murder, so the 18-year-old took the stand to testify that she had in-fact not been murdered by Fraser.
While people were happy Natasha Ryan was alive, many people wondered how she could put her loved ones through the torment of thinking she was dead.
When police asked her why she had stayed hidden for so many years she said:
“The lie had become too big.”
In 2005, Scott Black received a one-year prison sentence for perjury for falsely claiming he didn’t know where Natasha was when she went missing.
In 2006, Natasha Ryan was found guilty of creating a false police investigation. She was fined $4,000 and had to pay $16,000 towards investigation costs.
Natasha Ryan and Scott Black got married in 2008 and have 3 children together.
In June 2024, Natasha Ryan, 40, was found dead by police at Rockhampton Golf Club after they were called to do a welfare check. Her death was ruled not suspicious.
