The body of former missing person and teenage runaway Natasha Ryan, who was known for being found hiding in a cupboard while a man was on trial for her murder, has been found dead in Queensland.
Now 40 years old, Ryan was found dead by police at a Rockhampton golf course on Sunday morning.
As a 14-year-old, she disappeared for almost five years and was presumed murdered, only to be discovered hiding at her boyfriend’s home.
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Officers will prepare a report for the coroner and say the circumstances surrounding her death are not suspicious.
Ryan vanished in 1998, last seen outside a cinema smoking a cigarette and talking to an older man.
Her concerned mother called police, sparking a large-scale search.
Police wrongly assumed that her best friend had killed Ryan, and later accused local serial killer Leonard Fraser.
It wasn’t until 2003 that police received a letter claiming the girl was alive, alongside an address and mobile number.
The address was raided by police and Ryan was found alive.
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