Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Romeo and Juliet? Teen Girl, Boy Flee Families in Fear

Episode Date: November 29, 2023

Teens Jonathan Stockle and Penny Lyles are dating. When Lyles' family moves back to Oregon, Stockle is invited to join them.  After a time, Ryan Lyles, Penny's father, reportedly reads concerning private messages on his oldest daughter's phone. Those messages are allegedly about drugs, and sneaking out of the house to use drugs.  Ryan Lyles messages his daughter, Penny, at school and tells her to come straight home after school to talk. They never make it home.  Ryan Lyles and the police are called to the school after Penny Lyles tells a school counselor about abuse in the home. According to a report on News 12, after police talk to Penny, they tell her to go home with her father.  Ryan Lyles alleges the school counselor tells Penny Lyles if she wants to run, go out the back door. Lyles further claims the counselor opened the door and let her run out.  The teens have been missing ever since, except for a traffic stop in Nevada. They were found by officials on Friday, but they didn’t stay “found." News 12 confirmed that the couple was pulled over by the Nevada Highway Patrol in Tonopah. The case was turned over to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office. Officials say Penny Lyles then escaped Division of Child and Family Services custody during a transport by asking to use the restroom She left through a door, and allegedly rejoined Stockle. The Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office says it has not substantiated the allegations of abuse against Ryan Lyles.   Joining Nancy Grace Today  Wayne Stockle - Jonathan Stockle's father Lisa Herrick -  Board-certified Juvenile Attorney, Partner at Varghese Summersett, and Former Juvenile Prosecutor; Instagram & Twitter: versustexas, TikTok: lisa_herrick_attorney, Facebook and Youtube: Varghese Summersett Dr. Bethany Marshall – Psychoanalyst (Beverly Hills); Twitter: @DrBethanyLive/ Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall; Appearing in the new show, “Paris in Love” on Peacock  Barry Golden – Former Senior Inspector for the U.S. Marshals Service, Owner of Golden Consulting and Investigations Domingo Ramos -  Founder of Hope Alive 845 (a search and rescue nonprofit dedicated to helping families and law enforcement find loved ones); Facebook, TikTok, Instagram: @Hope Alive Blaise Gomez - News 12 Lead Journalist; Facebook: Blaise Gomez, IG: @blaisegomez12, Twitter @blaisegomez12   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A modern day Romeo and Juliet. Well, maybe back in Shakespearean times when a 14 or 15 year old little girl goes missing and decides to secretly wed her boyfriend that's okay not in 2023 there's no such thing as a Romeo and Juliet scenario with two teens that run away. That's okay. I'm Nancy Grace.

This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Crime Stories and on Sirius XM 111. I'm talking about two teens. They're missing. They think they're in love. But why are they running? What is compelling them to leave their families, their school, their everything, eluding law enforcement, actually escaping and staying on the run? What is it that they fear? And what is going to happen to these two teens, one as young as just 15 years old? Again, this is Crime Stories. I'm Nancy Grace with us. Tip line 503-325-2016. Repeat, 503-325-2016. Take a listen to this.

The Clatsop County Sheriff's Office is requesting any information related to the whereabouts of missing teens Jonathan Stockle and Penny Lyles. Jonathan Stockle is 18 years old with blonde hair and blue eyes. He's 5'11 and weighs about 155 pounds. Penny Lyles is 15, blonde hair, blue eyes, 5'5 and 120 pounds. The couple could be traveling in a gray 1998 Toyota RAV4 with Oregon license plates. A 15-year-old little girl, a 17-year-old boy, both of them A students, have never been in trouble before. What is possessing them to run? I want the answers as to where they are.

Are they safe? What is happening to them right now? And what on earth made them leave everything they know, the mom, the dad, the sisters, the brothers, the classroom, the friends, the pep rallies, the football games, the straight A's, the whole shebang to hide out. Look, every family has issues, but for your child to run away from home, stay away from home when you're begging and pleading with them to come back and somehow eluding law enforcement, something is way, way off kilter. Listen, our friends at Crime Online. The teens left the Napa area together in a gray 1998 Toyota RAV4 with Oregon plates.

There have been reports through social media that the teens are safe and with family. This information is untrue. Authorities also say Stockle may be worried about getting arrested, but they do not have plans to arrest him at this time. If anyone has information about Penny Lyles or Jonathan Stockle's whereabouts. They are asked to contact Clatsop County Dispatch at 503-325-2061 and asked to speak to a deputy. So the boyfriend is afraid he's going to be arrested. Remember, he's a teen too when he takes off with his 15-year-old girlfriend. There's so much more to this disappearance of these two young teens and more from Dave Mack. The Clatsop County Sheriff's Office is asking the public for help in locating a teen couple that fled after a meeting with family members turned into a confrontation. The couple left the Napa area and were last seen in Clatsop and Columbia areas of Oregon.

Authorities say it is possible they are traveling outside of Oregon, as Stockle and Lyles both have connections to Missouri. It is also believed that Stockle is concerned about getting arrested, so they are probably trying to evade law enforcement. Authorities say at this time, the sheriff's office does not plan to arrest him. How are they living? They're not using credit cards. They're not using Apple Pay. They're not using Apple Pay. They're literally

on the run. I'm talking about a 15 year old girl and a 17 year old boy when they head out, now believed out of the state. And when you hear the sheriff's office begging the public for help, that means they've run out of leads and they're now asking the public for help. That means they've run out of leads and they're now asking the public for help. One thing I just heard right there from investigative reporter Dave Mack is the teen, the two teens took off after a meeting with family members that turns into a confrontation. With me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now and helping us track down these two teens. But first, I want to go to a special guest joining us. It's teen boy Jonathan Stockle's father, Wayne Stockle. Mr. Stockle, thank you for being with us.

You're welcome. Thank you for doing this. Mr. Stockle, first of all, let me understand something. See, I'm projecting. I'm projecting my own children who have just turned 16 a couple of weeks ago, and I see all teens through their lens. They're A students. They're involved in activities at school. We're a very, very close family.

We do everything together. And yes, there's ups and downs in every family, especially when you're raising teens. But for one of them to disappear for as long as your son and his girlfriend have been missing, I would be scared out of my mind. What is going through your mind every night when you try to put your head on your pillow? We just fear the worst. So we haven't slept much in days and weeks. I mean, my wife right away drove right there with the deputy sheriff from Missouri and his wife. And she hunted woods and streets and everything. And she came back broken that we didn't have our son back. And then I just, you just feel the worst.

Mr. Stockhold, first of all, tell me about your son. Okay, he played every sport. He did track, basketball. I coached a basketball team. He played baseball, football, extremely athletic. You know, all his teachers have came. We did a rally. All his teachers came out saying he was great, that a lot of the teachers have had several of our kids. Yeah, he was in the beta club.

Just, we're a super close family. I'm looking at him right now, and he just reminds me so much of my big boy, John David. Just so he meets Penny, Penny Lyle, right? And they, I mean, we all remember our first, a lot of people call it puppy love, but it's a kind of a love you never forget. In fact, I was just, don't tell my husband, I was just talking about my high school boyfriend with my daughter when I was driving her to school. No, I don't want to get back with him.

But it's a moment in your life that you never forget. I mean, Dr. Bethany Marshall, Dr. Bethany is a renowned psychoanalyst. You can find her at drbethanymarshall.com. She's on all sorts of TV programs, including Paris in Love, because she's very sought out. Dr. Bethany, the first love is very, very intense. Nancy, the first love is so intense that both members of the couple feel that they have found their soulmate. They form a boundary around the relationship and they begin to share secrets with each other that they don't share with anybody else. And there's a heightened sense of protecting each other, being loyal to each other.

And teenagers, 14 or 15 year old, 18 year old, they do not have a sense that the relationship will end at some point, that this is for a limited period of time. Maybe they'll break up, meet other people, have different lives. They're just intertwined with each other's lives at that point. And you know what, Bethany, they may not break up. That's the thing. You don't know. There are a lot of high school flames that never burn out and they go on to marry and have families and stay together the rest of their lives. Or they reconnect later in life. They marry, their spouse dies, and then they go back and find each other. So there is something very profound, not only about that love, but being known at that point in your life that that person knows you. And it's really hard for, I believe, for adults to remember what that was like.

And I think that's part, among so many other things, that's happening here. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. To Mr. Stockle, this is Jonathan's dad. They've got a beautiful family. And Penny Lyle has her family. Lovely as well. And I want to talk to you, Wayne Stockle, about when you realized that Jonathan is gone and he's not coming back and he's basically on the run with Penny. But first to Blaise Gomez joining us, News 12 lead investigative journalist. Blaise, thank you for being with us. How did this whole thing start? See, this started when the family reached out to me. They're originally from Goshen, New York, here in Orange County, where I cover for News 12. And they reached out and said that their nephew and his girlfriend are missing in Oregon and that they desperately needed help.

At that time, we realized that we were the only news station that was reporting on their perilous plight and realized that we needed to jump in and help the family. I mean, when you put two children out there and their children on their own, I mean, I'm seeing it from my point of view. Let me go to Lisa Herrick, joining us, board certified juvenile lawyer, partner at Verge Somerset, formal juvenile prosecutor. Lisa, at this age, I mean, when I would deal with children missing at this age, by the time I got it, there was some sort of felony involved like a rape, a murder, a kidnapping, a sex trafficking of a child. When you put two babes in the woods out there, you don't know what's going to happen. How are they getting money? How are they getting food? Are they scrounging in dumpsters? Are they trying to get odd jobs? Are they dealing with people on the street? We don't know. Anything could happen to these two teens. seen so many kids who have run away. And the problem

is that they don't have a lot of resources. They don't have access to resources. So they're relying on other people, most likely. They're relying on other people to house them, to pay them, to feed them. Somehow they need to get gas if they're still driving, right? And so they have to be relying on other people. And there's so many people out in the world who have bad intentions when they come across young ones who are in need of help, that they could be really at the hands of criminals. They could be truly in danger. And that's true, certainly of adults with bad intentions, but also they're in the wilderness, potentially, right?

The wilderness of Oregon is very wild and scary. And I've seen children succumb to the elements and not be able to take care of themselves, in addition to the fears we have of nefarious adults. Nancy, briefly, they also forget that there are people at home who love them and will welcome them back no matter what. Or, you know, Dr. Bethany, they may be afraid of repercussions if they come back home. Wayne Stockle, I'm not understanding how this whole thing unfolded. I know that there was some sort of a family meeting and that meeting turned into a confrontation. I mean, let's be real. When you're having a family meeting, that means there's an issue. Okay, when there's an issue, that means somebody's got some kind of problem. I can see how a family meeting can turn into a confrontation.

So what do you know, Wayne, about the family meeting that turned into a confrontation and resulted in these two taking off? No, there was no family meeting that turned into a confrontation and resulted in these two taking off no there was no family meeting the kids were at school Ryan sent them threats he said that he found out uh some stuff he didn't like on the sister's phone Jonathan sent me a text saying he doesn't know what's going on. He said they think Jonathan was saying he wanted to go to the police with some photos and videos of child abuse that Penny had on her phone. OK, hold on, hold on, hold on. You're saying your son wanted to go to police.

Yes. With videos of child abuse. Yes. Reportedly by Penny's dad. Is that correct? And I'd like to point out that Penny's dad vehemently denies this. And to Dr. Bethany Marshall, you know, we're seeing this through the lens of teens who either real or imaginary believe that the other is being mistreated horribly,

and they've got to go on the run. Well, you know, this falls into two categories. Sometimes teens have an exaggerated sense that their parents are mean or mistreating them. Because they don't want to run away to the local Motel 8. Yeah, I get it. But in this case, I think that we always have to believe teenagers when they feel there's abuse going on. You have to validate their reality and their experience and you have to investigate and you have to believe them until there's evidence to the contrary. Well, the other

thing is when you don't know a horse, look at the track record. These two have never been in trouble. They're A students involved in sports, doing all the extracurriculars with the school and have never been a problem. So let me understand. Take a listen to our cut one. Jonathan Stockle is living in Thayer, Missouri, when he meets 15 year old Penny Lyles, who has recently moved to the area with her family. The teens are well thought of by family and friends, and they're both honor roll type students. The young couple develops a very close relationship and their parents approve. When Penny Lyles family moves back to Oregon, Jonathan Stockle is invited to join them. Stockle leaves his mother and father in Thayer, Missouri and moves in with Penny Lyles family in Napa, Oregon. Mr. Stockle,

what was your thinking of having your son move out of home to go with his girlfriend? When he left, I sent pictures. We took tons of pictures. We all cried. My son Curtis stood crying in the driveway for over an hour. We all stood out there at least a half an hour crying. And Jonathan did turn around and come back for a few minutes and then he finally left and we were just devastated that this is what he wanted. Why was it agreed he could leave home and move in with his girlfriend's family in a different state? He came to me, he said, Dad, this was July. He came to me. He said, Dad, I really want to do this. I'm going to turn 18 in September. If you tell me now, I'm going to go when I turn 18. And he came to me in such a good way. And I was just, I didn't want to say yes, but I did. And I wish I hadn't.

I mean, did he have plans to go to college or education beyond high school? We had plans to open a, we were going to build a shop on our property and open an auto body shop and build, he likes, like his favorite car is a 1968 charger and he just wanted he wanted me and him to build cars together that's what he wanted to do oh my stars i'm just thinking of you standing in the driveway crying when he moved away i mean did you know the other family penny lyles family no no when johnson asked me if he could go, I said, well, we'll have to meet the parents first. And then one day Jonathan came and said, they're leaving in a hurry.

I don't want to have to drive all the way to Oregon by myself. I just want to go right now. So it was July 2nd or 3rd. I can't remember which day it was. Dr. Bethany Marshall. I mean, this is much more serious than puppy love. I mean, he leaves his whole family to go move with the Lyles. This is very serious, Nancy.

And I can understand Mr. Stockwell's desire to follow his son's wishes. But sometimes parents have to be the holder of what's right for their children. And I don't think Mr. Stockwell could have foreseen what would have happened. But when you have a 17-year-old, you have to see the big picture of their future and their inability to protect themselves and the idealization of the person

that they're in love with. And I know it would have been very hard to dissuade Jonathan. But he was gonna turn 18, Bethany. When he turns 18, what can the dad do? Lock him in the basement? They can't do anything but really maintain attachments as closely as possible. Oh, dear Lord in heaven.

There's just no good answer here. Okay, guys, then another wrinkle. Okay? Okay, guys, then another wrinkle, okay? The girlfriend, little teen girl, 15-year-old Penny's dad, believes he discovers her older sister has used drugs. All right, take a listen to our cut to. Jonathan Stockle is a junior, and Penny Lyles is a sophomore at Napa High School. The teens are dating and live in the same home with Penny Lyles' father, Ryan Lyles is a sophomore at Napa High School. The teens are dating and live in the same home with Penny Lyles' father, Ryan Lyles. Ryan Lyles tells News 12 that Penny and Stockle are model kids, straight A's. The Lyles have another older daughter. Ryan Lyles finds out his 18-year-old

daughter is using drugs. Thinking part of the problem is the people she has for friends, Ryan Lyles arranges for his 18-year-old daughter to move in with family they have in California. When she moves, she leaves her cell phone behind and it's constantly dinging. So Ryan Lyles looks at the messages and is shocked at what he reads. So the dad believes the older sister may be using drugs. Blaise Gomez, his answer to that is, OK, you're getting away from your bad influence friends and you're moving in with your relatives in California. We're starting all over. To Blaise Gomez, News 12 lead journalist, using drugs can mean a lot of different things. Are we talking about pot here? He's worried the older daughter was using pot? Right. Ryan Lyles told us

in his interview last week that he believed his older daughter may have been using marijuana and possibly MDMA speed. He had concerns about the people she was hanging out with and was also concerned about some things he saw in her phone as they might relate to Penny and Jonathan. He had planned to confront them when they returned home from school and sent the kids texts from school, from where they were in their classes, and said, return home as soon as you can when class gets out. The sister, the older sister, Penny's older sister, contacts her sister in class and says, Dad found my phone, triggering the panic that we have now seen in the children.

Okay, now I'm getting it. So that would have been the so-called family meeting. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. So Penny's dad becomes afraid the older sister is using pot. All right. His answer to that is, you're moving. You got to get a clean, fresh start somewhere else. You're getting away from your friends. I'm sending you to relatives in California. Then he gets worried that the little girl, Penny, and the boyfriend, Jonathan, that they've been influenced, that they are

somehow involved in the pot. And he texts both of them at school and says, come home immediately after school. I need to talk to you. In the meantime, Penny gets a text from her sister and goes, dad found my phone. He knows about the pot. This is what's happening. Okay, now let me understand. Wayne Stockle, does your son, Jonathan,

do Jonathan and Penny go home and meet with Penny's dad? Does that happen? No, they're at the school. Jonathan sent me a text saying what was going on. I told him, he asked if he should go to the police with evidence. I said, just try to de-escalate everything. You know, because it was just, everything was happening so fast. I told him just de-escalate, just try to talk everything out. It's so hard for a teen boy to talk to a grown man who thinks he's protecting his 15-year-old

daughter. Take a listen to our cut for. The message frightens Penny Lyles. Ryan Lyles alleges Penny Lyles is afraid that she and Jonathan Stockle will be separated from each other. Jonathan Stockle's aunt alleges that Ryan Lyles has become abusive toward the teens and had gone so far as to slash the tires and damage the ignition of Jonathan Stockle's vehicle. Penny Lyles talks to a counselor at the high school about alleged abuses by her father and police are called. Stockle's aunt, April LaBaw Boer, claims police came to the school, talked to Penny Lyles, then told her to go home with her father. Let me ask Blaise Gomez or Wayne Stockall, what evidence supports the claim that Penny's dad slashed tires and damaged the ignition of Jonathan's vehicle? He told me personally.

Who told you? Ryan, Penny's father, told me I slashed his tires, I broke a key in the ignition, and that Jonathan had another pickup truck back at his house. Ryan said that he pulled the distributor out of that. But why did he do that, if in fact he did? There's so much more to this story. So Jonathan and Penny went to the guidance counselor. The police went there. They told Penny to go back to her parents. We also learned that, according to reports on News 12, a school counselor heard the whole scenario and told little Penny Lyles to leave out the back door. Listen. According to a report on News 12, after police talk to Penny Lyles and tell her to go home with her father, Ryan Lyles alleges the school counselor tells Penny Lyles if she wants to run, go out the back door.

Lyles further claims the counselor opened the door and let her run out. This was about 5.30 in the afternoon, the day 18-year-old Jonathan Stockle and 15-year-old Penny Lyles, went missing. Ryan Lyles says the teens were afraid they'd be separated from each other, and that's why they called police to the school before they took off. Blaise Gomez, what can you tell me about a school counselor telling Penny, a teen girl, if she wants to make a run for it, go out the back door? Right, well, that's what Ryan Lyles told me during our interview. You're talking about Penny's father, Ryan Lyles. Okay, go ahead.

That's correct. Penny's father says that a school counselor let his daughter slip out a back door while he was waiting outside to take her from the school. At this point, the kids are petrified, allegedly, that they're going to be separated after the father made these discoveries that he intended to confront them about. The kids allegedly also told authorities at that time that they had safety concerns, that Mr. Lyles had become abusive and allegedly presented evidence to the police that they were hoping would prevent them from having to return home to Mr. Ryan Lyles' residence. At that point, Ryan Lyles claims that a school counselor let Penny out a back door while he was waiting outside to collect her and that Jonathan was already

outside of the school and was told to leave. Mr. Lyles claims that at that point, the kids escaped. Well, the situation becomes more severe. Take a listen to our Cut 7. Jonathan Stockle's parents in Thayer, Missouri, talked to News 12 about their conversation and text messages with Jonathan Stockle. Stockle's mom and his dad say they believe the kids ran away because they're afraid of Ryan Lyles, claiming there's a history of abuse. They feel their son is in danger and say the last time they talked to him,

the day they disappeared, he was running from people and was scared. Wayne Stockle, Jonathan's father, says he was running in the woods, out of breath, and said, Dad, don't call me. They're going to find me and kill me. Wayne Stockle, what happened? Your son is running through the woods afraid he's going to be killed? Yes. And at the same time, I was calling Jonathan.

I was calling Ryan. I was calling the police. I was going from one to the other to the other. Ryan kept saying he was going to kill Jonathan. He said he would shoot Jonathan. Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Penny Lyle's dad, Penny's father, Ryan Lyle's, told you he was going to shoot your son? Yes.

And in the first set of texts that Jonathan sent me, where he'm gonna we want to go to the police they said Ryan has a house full of guns I don't remember the exact text but it says Ryan that Penny's dad has lots of guns in his house so the fact that Ryan said he was going to shoot him and the fact that johnson knew he had lots of weapons um so you know of course johnson's running for his life what kind of vehicle are they in do you believe right around four what year 1998 okay well let me go with that to either barry golden joining us, former senior inspector of U.S. Marshal Service and now owner of Golden Consulting and Investigations. Also with me, Domingo Ramos, founder of Hope Alive 845.

It's a search rescue nonprofit dedicated to finding family members and bringing them home. If he's in a RAV4, what did you say, 98? 1998. Is there any kind of a NAV system in that that we could use, Barry or Domingo? I doubt it. It's too old. But, Nancy, keep in mind, you have one key investigative tool right there in that 1998 Toyota RAV4 with Oregon plates 547HRL.

You have license plate readers all across the country that law enforcement use. They're called LPRs. If they're not using their cell phones or any other kind of digital media or this, that, the other, you've got license plate readers all over the place. But they just don't pop up by magic. Law enforcement has to go in there and put that plate into the system and see where the LPRs in Nevada and Missouri and New Mexico, Texas, anywhere along that corridor where they were stopped. Any kind of fugitive case or missing persons cases, you're going to

start at where you know they were. We knew on Friday, November 24th, they were in Tonopah, Nevada. Okay, that's where the highway patrol stops the vehicle. Jonathan's let loose. He's cut. He's not arrested. There's no war in the system.

He's free to go. They take Penny into custody and then Children's Services has her and they're transporting her and somehow she gets away. Yeah, you're right.

That happened in Nevada. Take a listen to our friend Dave Matt and Cut 12. Two teens from Oregon were found by officials in Nevada on Friday, but they didn't stay found. News 12 confirms that the couple was pulled over by the Nevada Highway Patrol in Tonifa. The case was then turned over to the Knight County Sheriff's Office. Officials say Penny Lyles then escaped Division of Child and Family Services custody during a transport. The Clatsop County Sheriff's Office says it has not substantiated the allegations of abuse against Ryan Lyles. We reached out to Lyles via Facebook, but no one replied.

According to Jonathan Stockall's father, Wayne, Jonathan was free to leave, but wouldn't until Penny was in a safe place. Jonathan intended to follow the transport back to Oregon, but Penny slipped custody by asking to use the bathroom during the transport. It is believed that Jonathan Stockle was waiting outside in the car and Penny got in the car and they took off. Since the teens first ran away, they have been spotted in Bakersfield, California, where Penny Lyle's paternal grandmother used to live. They reportedly left the area when they couldn't find her. So let me understand this, Wayne. With me is Jonathan's father, Wayne Stockle. They were actually found in Nevada and then Penny slipped custody. Is that what happened? Yes. And we spoke with the Nevada police, you know, and we spoke with Jonathan and Penny.

And we told Penny that I had been talking with her grandmother her dad's mother and that her grandmother said she could go there and they had that license plate readers saying they had been in California so I assumed that was who they were trying to find. So when we told Penny that, she was like, she went from crying to, I will go to Nana's house right now. She said, Nana. So I gave her the number.

She called her grandma. Her grandma said she would need her father's permission before she could go there. So Jonathan and Penny called us back from the police department and Penny was extremely disappointed that she could not go to the grandmother's house without her dad's permission. Jonathan said, dad, I'm just going to follow them while they transport her and I just will stay with her until I know she's in a safe place. And then I will come home.

He was free to leave. Johnson said he was going to follow back to Oregon. I said, Johnson, I don't want you to go back to Oregon. He said, Dad, I just care about Penny's safety. I'm not leaving until she's safe. My son's a protector. He's always looked out for his brothers and sisters. That's why I know they never wanted to come here because he didn't want to bring everything here.

He said he was sorry, but he just cares about her safety. Mr. Stockall, I've been looking through a series of texts, and they're very, very upsetting. If these texts are to be believed, then Penny is running, according to her, from abuse in the home. I don't have enough information to know whether that's true or whether that's something that she has fantasized, whether that's an excuse she's using for running away with her boyfriend. But I also know about other alleged threats, alleged threats by Penny's dad on you and on your son. What can you tell me about that? I forwarded the text that Ryan sent us, sent me.

It's the only text that he sent me. Everything else was on the phone. And just when we went to the courthouse here, just from that text, they put a protection order in place. So you currently have a protection order in place against Penny's dad. Is that true? Yes. What are the threats you say he leveled against you and your son? He said that he was going to kill Jonathan. He said he was going to shoot Jonathan.

I'm also looking at texts that seem to be from Jonathan between you and Jonathan. Jonathan, call me. We love you. And Jonathan responds, he said he was going to shoot me. Ryan told me he was going to shoot me. Ryan told me he was going to shoot Jonathan. I want to go out to Blaze Gomez, who has been covering this from the get-go for News 12. I'm looking at a text, ostensibly from Penny's dad, that says, and I assume this is to Mr. Stockle, We know you're helping them. The last thing you need is us in Thayer. I'll be there soon watching your family and looking for my kid. I have all your older kids info as well. I will find Penny. You're a pile of s**t. Okay, Mr. Stockle, you don't seem like a pile of s**t to me.

You seem like a father that wants to find his son. hold on wait a minute this isn't all jonathan is gonna get in prison for being a pedophile you keep helping and giving them info you be getting in prison too okay jonathan is a pedophile you***ed him when he was a kid. I bet you're a c***. Can't wait to meet you. Okay, now, if this is actually from Penny Lyle's father, I get why she went on the run. You're telling me, Wayne Stockle, that one look at this and a court gave you a protection order? Yes.

Okay, Blase Gomez, what can you tell me? Well, the family has given us a series of messages that appear to... What family? The Stockle family and the Lyle family have given us several screenshots of text exchanges and direct messages that they've had with each other. The messages that you just mentioned, Nancy, were also given to us by the Stockwell family, you know, basically just making remarks that Jonathan is, you know, a piece of garbage, that he's an alleged pedophile, that he should be shot, that he hopes authorities kill him,

that he better not return to Oregon. Wait, isn't this the same guy that offered for Jonathan Stockle to move with his daughter and move in with his family? That is, yeah. Jonathan had been living in an apartment on the family's property, according to Ryan, when we spoke with him last week. But he said that the couple had dinner with their family every night and that Jonathan was a part of the family and that up until this all went down two weeks ago, that they were both model students and that they didn't have any concerns, that Ryan Lyles did not have any concerns about his children or their behavior. Until now, and all hell broke loose. And all of a sudden, we're seeing these texts.

Yeah, a text like that will get you a protective order. Joining me, Barry Golden and Domingo Ramos. Domingo Ramos, founder of Hope Alive 845, a search and rescue nonprofit. Domingo, what do we do now? A lot of social media out there, outreach out there. Let's get the flyers out more. Let's start pushing out more. Let's try to make contact with Jonathan and Benny. I mean, they could be anywhere right now, anywhere. So I think our main thing is start really pushing out on social media right now. And the thing that, when I look at this case is that you've

got law enforcement from Oregon and then they're spotted in Las Vegas and now they may be in California. This is a missing 15-year-old girl. What about getting the federal authorities? Nobody has to get arrested on this part, but how about locating a missing 15-year-old girl who is a minor? She cannot give consent to leave cross state lines out of Oregon. OK, so let's get the federal authorities to assist. Let's blanket. Let's pull a full court press on this whole thing. Let's get up there. There are pictures in California, Las Vegas and Nevada and every state where they may be. Let's get the federal authorities to assist because they're one voice. The U.S. Marshals, the FBI. Okay, they have offices in every city across the country.

So basically, Domingo Ramos is right, pushing this out more on social. Barry Golden joining us, former senior inspector, U.S. Marshals, is right to get the feds involved since there is essentially a child, a minor in place. And Lisa Herrick, remind me, I want to go back to Wayne about any contact he's still having with Jonathan. Lisa Herrick, a lot of people don't know about Romeo Juliet laws. That gives prosecutors a very wide discretion if they're going to prosecute over teen sex, including if a 15-year-old has sex with an 18-year-old. Many jurisdictions have similar laws, so Jonathan, I believe, is safe from prosecution. Yes, Nancy, I agree. Based on what we know about

their ages, I'm not sure exactly when Penny turned 15, but it seems like they are within the age range that would generally be protected by a Romeo and Juliet defense. Romeo and Juliet defense refers to an affirmative defense that one could use to state that what would otherwise be considered as statutory rape or sexual assault of a child is not illegal because they are so close in age. And this is true whether both are juveniles or if one is a juvenile and one is adult. Right. It's basically decriminalizing teen sex. And no, I'm not advocating or condoning teen sex. But I also don't want teens to go to jail because they had teen sex.

Wayne Stockle, I can only imagine what's running through your mind. You want your son alive and safe, number one. You want him to come home. Also, you're thinking, has he ruined his whole life? Is he going to get prosecuted when we do find him? When the kids were at the police department in Nevada, we did a rally here. And they said that they saw that rally on social media. I didn't ask them how.

We were just, I was just so happy they were, that my son was alive. I wish I had asked them how they saw that rally. The rally we had here, I called everybody. I said, let's do a hashtag. We love Jonathan and Penny, so they know they're not alone. So the town came together, and we did a big rally, and we put that out. Can I interject something? Yes, jump in, and also, do you think they have burner phones?

That's a question I'm going to throw out there right now. And Wayne Stockle, how do you know your boy saw the rally? He told me he did while he was in the Nevada Police Department. How long ago was that? That was Saturday. We went to bed Saturday, right? I believe it was Saturday. We went to bed for the first time, me and my wife able to sleep.

We ate dinner the first time because we just thought everything was over. We were like, thank God. And now it started all over again. Bethany? I think it's important to refocus that Penny and Jonathan believe that Penny will be returned to the father. And they need to know, rallies aside and all of that, these kids are panicked that she will be returned to the father and they need to know rallies aside and all of that. These kids are panicked that she will be returned to an abusive situation. I want to reiterate that Ryan Lyles, Penny Lyles' father, denies any and all abuse.

This is what I do know. I do know that Penny Lyles is just 15 years old, just turned. She's 5'5", 120 pounds, long blonde hair brown hair with blue eyes. They are on the run. They were last known to be in a 98 Toyota RAV4 with organ plates 547 H Happy R. Rebecca L. Louisiana. Repeat, 547HRL. The tip line, 800-786-2929. Repeat, 800-786-2929. Please help us bring them home alive. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.