CASSOPOLIS, Mich. (AP) – A 14-year-old girl who ran off with a convicted murderer was released from a juvenile center and returned to her parents Monday.
Prosecutors dropped a single charge against Lindsey Ryan of possession of a stolen firearm.
It was one of several guns belonging to her father that authorites say the teenager took before disappearing with 56-year-old Terry Drake for three weeks in March.
Drake, who pleaded guilty in federal court in the case, faces 25 years in prison on sex and weapons charges.
The gun charge against Ryan was dropped because she has attended court-ordered counseling and stayed out of trouble.
Police say Ryan and Drake – who met at church and stayed in touch over the Internet – left for California on March 1. The California Highway Patrol caught the pair March 24.
Drake served about half of a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering an Indiana woman in 1977.
In a letter last month to the Kalamazoo Gazette, Drake threatened to harm Ryan if he ever gets out of prison.
AP-ES-08-04-03 2059EDT
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