Missing Florida teen stabbed, found with sex offender in Louisiana
Article content
TAMPA, Fla. - A Florida teenager missing for a week was in critical condition with multiple stab wounds at a Louisiana hospital early on Thursday, after being found with a registered sex offender who led police on a 40-mile chase, law enforcement officials said.
Ashley Lyon, 16, and Steven Patrick Myers were at a truck stop near Baton Rouge when customers recognized them from national media exposure, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Tampa.
Myers, 41, was driving a Chevy pickup truck and refused to pull over for local deputies. During the chase that ensued, he rammed four other vehicles in an attempt to create roadblocks to aid his getaway, police said.
Tire-deflating sticks deployed by the sheriff's deputies finally disabled the pickup, according to authorities.
Myers got out of the truck brandishing a knife, yelling at deputies to shoot him, police said. Lyon was found stabbed inside the vehicle.
The Florida teenager was last seen on June 11 at her home outside Tampa. Myers, also from that area, faces multiple charges in Florida, including attempted unlawful sexual activity with a minor and interference with child custody.
Louisiana authorities took Myers into custody and he was treated in a local hospital for what were believed to be two self-inflicted stab wounds and bites from a police dog, law enforcement officials said.
