The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office investigators have issued a warrant for the Plant City man they believe is with a 16-year-old teenage girl who ran away from her Valrico home.
According to sheriff’s office reports, Steven Myers, a registered sex offender who lists a Plant City address, is wanted for several charges, including interference with child custody; attempted unlawful sexual activity with certain minors; and traveling to meet a minor.
Detectives say Myers exchanged thousands of text messages with Ashley Lyon, 16, who left her home June 11. Lyon has been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and did not take her medications with her.
“Every time a child goes missing, there’s always a concern,” said Col. Donna Lusczynski, of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. “This is heightened, because she has had contact.”
Ashley’s parents, Roger and Michelle Lyon, spent the weekend handing out fliers and talking with state and national missing persons organizations.
“She doesn’t need to be around this guy,” Roger Lyon said. “He’s a sexual predator.”
Ashley, who recently finished her sophomore year at Newsome High School, became acquainted with Myers in April, her parents said, when he began hanging around the neighborhood with his sons, Bryan and Jason Myers. She went to school with the boys and knew them well, because their house is one street over from the cul-de-sac where Ashley lives.
Roger Lyon asked his daughter about the strange older man, who was known to ride skateboards with kids in the neighborhood. She downplayed Myers’ past, Roger said, noting he had been to jail and served probation.
They didn’t know Myers was twice convicted in Forsyth County, Ga., in 1998 for child molestation. Georgia state corrections records show Myers served two stints in prison for those convictions, first from 1999 to 2003, and again from 2010 to 2012.
Myers is not currently on probation but is registered as a sex offender at his Plant City address, 6801 N. Dormany Road. He is required to register twice a year, which he has. The last time he registered was April 1 of this year. He also has to inform authorities 48 hours before he moves and is barred from being within 1,000 feet of a school, playground and church.
Two weeks before Ashley disappeared, sheriff’s office deputies caught Myers with her and one of his sons in the cab of his truck near her home, her parents said. The deputies told Michelle Lyon that the trio was preparing to buy marijuana, Michelle said.
The deputies let Ashley go with a warning, but at home, she was grounded. On June 10, her brother saw her in her bedroom about 2:30 p.m. At 4:30 p.m., he went to tell her dinner was ready. The room was empty, the window open and the screen lying in the yard. Ashley’s parents say she was seen shortly after she disappeared, walking on Stearns Road in Valrico. They called police, who responded at about 8 p.m.
Sheriff’s officials would not provide details about the circumstances of Ashley’s disappearance, including any information about the text messages she and Myers exchanged.
One concern is that they may have crossed state lines if they are together. Myers has gone back and forth between Florida and Georgia, but sheriff’s officials would not elaborate beyond saying he has relations and ties to the state.
Ashley Lyon was last seen wearing a black tank top, black gym shorts and black Vans shoes. She is 5 feet 6 inches tall with a large build, brown eyes and black hair in a crew cut.
She and Myers may be traveling in his 1989 Ford Ranger pickup truck, which has flames painted on the front and sides. The truck bears Florida tag CSJ-M45.
Myers’ bond was set at $50,000, and the warrant has a nationwide extradition.
Anyone with information regarding Ashley Lyon’s whereabouts should call the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at (813) 247-8200.
Times news researcher John Martin and staff writer Jimmy Geurts contributed to this report.
Contact Dan Sullivan at (813) 226-3386 or dsullivan@tampabay.com.