'Murdered' girl's boyfriend may face charges

The boyfriend of an Australian teenager who turned up alive during the trial of a man accused of murdering her could face charges after allegedly helping her to hide from the outside world for nearly five years.

Natasha Ryan went missing on her way to school in the central Queensland town of Rockhampton in August 1998, aged 14. She was presumed dead, and a Rockhampton man, Leonard Fraser, is currently on trial in Brisbane, charged with murdering her and three other women.

Ms Ryan, now 18, was found hiding in a closet in Scott Black's house last week, just half a mile from her mother's home. Her reappearance has thrown Fraser's trial into turmoil. Police were yesterday preparing to interview Mr Black in an effort to piece together her movements.

She told detectives that she spent the entire period in the home of Mr Black, a 26-year-old milkman. Reportedly pale in appearance, she claims to have left the house only half a dozen times and spent up to six hours hiding in the wardrobe whenever his friends or relatives visited.

Ms Ryan told police that Mr Black used to take her to the beach under cover of darkness so she could dip her toes in the ocean. Mr Black, described as a quietly spoken loner, led a double life, going to nightclubs and continuing his early-morning milk runs.

Police believe Ms Ryan was not held against her will. She has professed her love for her boyfriend, who was fined A$1,000 (£370) for obstructing a police investigation when she ran away on a previous occasion. She told police that one reason why she did not leave was that the lie of her disappearance had become too big.

Fraser, 51, was charged after "confessing" to killing Ms Ryan and burying her body under a tree. His lawyers will argue tomorrow before Brisbane Supreme Court that the entire hearing should be aborted. The bodies of the other three women were found.

Fraser is serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl. He was taped confessing to the four murders in prison.

Remarkably, Ms Ryan managed to avoid being seen, despite never leaving her local area. Neighbours in Rockhampton, and at a house in the nearby seaside community of Yeppoon where Mr Black lived for three years, said there was no indication of a woman living at either residence. Ms Ryan's family was so certain she was dead that it held a memorial service for her last year, on her 17th birthday. Yesterday she was reunited with her father, Robert. She saw her mother, Jenny, on Friday.

Ms Ryan was found after an anonymous tip-off, believed to come from a relative of Mr Black. A note suggesting she was alive was given to police, together with a phone number where she could be contacted.