The Toms River Police Department has made 3 arrests in connection to the willful interference with custody case involving Ashley Combs. The department first received report of Ashley Combs missing on March 22, 2019 when she did not return home from school. The Case Detective Ryan Quinn with support from Officer Brittany Catalano, School Resource Officer Graham Borg, Officer Frank Zangara, Detective Andrew Chencharik, and Detective Steve Bucci in addition to many other officers and dispatchers within the department worked together to locate and retrieve Ashley.
It should be noted that early in the investigation officers and detectives involved with the case determined that it was highly likely that Ms. Combs was not in danger and was more than likely staying with family or friends in the area willingly. On Wednesday March 27th Detective Ryan Quinn, with assistance from Detectives Chencharik and Bucci, were able to locate Ashley in the custody of her biological father Brian Combs. It is believed, and now borne through the efforts of this investigation, that participants moved Ashley between different homes in an effort to conceal her location while law enforcement was actively trying to locate her.
Additionally, during the course of the investigation it was learned that there were concerns about Ashley’s home environment. Given the totality of the circumstances a referral was made to the New Jersey Department of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P). The personnel at this agency have the authority and training to investigate any the concerns raised during the course of this investigation. Any further questions about this aspect of the investigation should be directed to the DCP&P.
To date the department has charged Brian Combs with Obstruction and Interference with Custody he was subsequently lodged at the Ocean County Jail; Linda Roszel was charged with Obstruction and Interference with Custody, she was subsequently released on a summons; Mechelle Combs was charged with Obstruction and released on a summons. Additional Charges are pending further review of the information collected to date.
Ashley Gee
Chelsea McKeon 3!! what? lmao what is this case gonna turn into i’m waiting it’s going to be a show
idk who the other person is but her biological mother was also charged. i feel bad for the girl. this is just a mess & something is super fishy
the woman who they said they spoke too and she did not have her ?
obviously the girl wasn’t scared so what the fuck
imagine if her boyfriend also ??♀️
she was scared of something which caused her to flee but fled to somewhere SHE felt safe. like we said before, gonna be a show especially if the uncle had lawyered up prior to her return
Chelsea McKeon another one charged linda roszel? never heard that name
me neither. i feel like another family member or maybe dad’s GF?
Ashley Gee checked out her FB page, thinking maybe the grandmother?
Barbara Sigley Silva I did too lmao it did look like a grandma age
Alice Switzer Clemente
Jen Viquez
Damm so both biological parents were hiding her as well as a lady named linda wow ..
Kari O’neill from what I assume i think the lady linda is her grandmother on her fathers side
Jaclyn Helle ohhh
Family drama that got to far…if the police didn’t feel suspicious and didn’t feel she was in danger to begin with shouldn’t have been on blast this way …..let her go before the judge and decide where she wants to live ..or wait to find her committed suicide….she clearly doesn’t want to be with this uncle anymore…..let her voice be heard……
Sandra Leary were you not a teenager before? I sure was. Most teens don’t want to stay somewhere where there is structure and rules. They’d rather be with someone who has no rules and is more of a friend than a parent. Way to be judgy.
Again. She’s old enough now to decide where she wants to live and.its clearly.not there……
She may be old enough but shes still a minor. A teenager. I’m only 22 and if I had just done what I wanted when I was a teenager, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s the custodial guardians decision. There is a REASON why she was taken from her BIOLOGICAL parents.
Yeah again it’s all family drama that shouldn’t have been on blast….
Once it was determined not suspicious it shouldnt have continued o social media
Who said she was taken away? Maybe her bio parents knew they couldn’t take care of her when she was born and gave custody to the uncle?
No, other articles suggest the father has been in trouble with the law multiple times.
https://www.app.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/2019/03/28/ashley-combs-suspects-arrested/3297376002/
Additionally, it’s noted that she was not to have contact with biological parents. So if her bio parents gave custody to her uncle, there wouldn’t be a reason she couldn’t keep in contact if it was done willingly.
Sandra Leary 17 is not old enough
Sandra Leary gotta love the wannabe activists lol smh
Sandra Leary like you have a say
Scott A Barnes none of us do…once police didn’t feel suspicious shouldn’t have kept circulating…..it’s family issues they need to handle with out social media …
Sandra Leary well change the entire world of social media. Won’t happen
Pamela Walker And there’s a reason she took off. What if the uncle is abusing her?
Sandra Leary you started out fine but then you had to get all Wannabe Dr Phil judge ?
Pamela Walker speaking as someone who had her child taken from her by a family member who was only interested in the money my child got from their deceased father, the courts in Jersey are notorious for making erroneous decisions based on financial situations. My family member was able to afford a lawyer, and I, a widow for only 6 months, couldn’t afford one. So the judge wouldn’t even hear me. So not every case where a child was taken from their parent is it a just removal. So please don’t judge. We don’t know the story behind it.
Sharon Brock Pirkowski
Amber Rose Pirkowski wow
Just donate 10k and all charges will be dropped, no big deal.
Steve Vidalis you are right. The justice system all has their hands out…and they wont go to court and resolve quickly unless they’re paid up.
The system has failed on many levels…all this family needs (in my heartfelt opinion) is a real good family counselor and resources to help them figure out how to best be decent people for the sake of the minors, or ashley.
Dr. Phil? Where are ya?
Steve Vidalis I was just gonna type that. $$$ handles everything.
Steve Vidalis…she can’t.Obviously,she doesn’t have ‘black privilege’…?
Jae Lynn Dunk don’t forget 2 whole days of community service. SMH
She will just keep going back
Charles Collins if a order of protection is instilled she cannot
Scott A Barnes she’s 18 soon
Nicole Whitney
Stephanie Francolla
Lara Stanwise yeah I just talked to her aunt.
Stephanie craziness
Stephanie. Craziness
yeah I know the family very very very well so I understand it all but on the outside it looks crazy. It just didn’t need to become so public.
Stephanie I get it
Un freakin real.
Unbelievable, so family was trying to be apart of her, the guardian didn’t want that to happen, she ran away bc of it and now the ones that wanted to be apart of her are being arrested. Truly sad to isolate someone from family
Tanya Tilghman obviously the ones arrested are far from upstanding people if you read the article. i can’t blame adoptive family for not allowing contact!
Just because they are biolocially related does not mean they have rights to have her. She doesnt live with them for reasons we will not know and they also wasted everyones time who searched for her…including police that could have actually been doing something important. If she ran and they hid her for a reason than they should have gone through proper channels if they can prove abuse..not just hiding her for 5 days while the state searched for her. They broke the law..yeah they sure as hell should be arrested
You don’t have all the details to say that
Tanya Tilghman I agree with you
Abbey Road well it was said
I agree 100% weather Ashleys biological parents are upstanding citizens or not she should be allowed to maintain some sort of realationship with them weather it be by phone supervised visits something she didn’t choose her parents so it’s not fair to cut them Out of her life 100%. I pray this family comes together as a family and works things out. Let Ashleys voice be heard. #TeamAshley
Kim Camley Taylor they may not be upstanding but they are her family and she is 17, she has a right to know and be apart. As a parent I understand they may not want her around them, but we can’t isolate ppl away from loved ones. This will only cause her to pull away even more.
Kathii Maria Schattner I have adopted children myself. We don’t allow contact with biological relatives for reasons I am not going to go into.
Also, NJ is a closed adoption state. Once parental rights are terminated or they voluntarily surrender them in court, there is no obligation to maintain contact with them.
The adoptive parents may have their reasons.
Since Ashley is seventeen, she does have a say to some degree.
No matter what, Ashley would benefit from some therapy. So would her family.
Tanya Tilghmanim confused I saw no statement that she was adopted. I believe they said only the uncle was a legal guardian.
Nicol Kirk exactly she’s not adopted. Her uncle is caring for her. I have no clue where this whole adoption came in
Kristee Lee
Brett Julianna those people are in deep shit
Kristee Lee hell yeah they are
The township should be reimbursed for the resources used.
Namaste Maria why they had a job to do and they did it!
Vital information was withheld by the parents, false reports filed, resourses used because family members were hiding her.. They were charged and should have to reimburse the town.
where is she now if allegations were made in that home she ran from ?
“She kidnapped herself.” -The Dude
Erika Pita
Crystal Monica thanks for the tag ?
Billy Sullivan she obvi likes me more than you :)))
Billy Sullivan We’re keeping each other updated ?
Crystal Monica I want them too?♂️
So wait., her step father is also her uncle?
So that means her mom was married to a man, got divorced, then that guys brother??
And you wonders why they have issues.. smh
Johnny Rockets no. Her uncle which I assume is the fathers brother gained custody of her because her parents were deemed unfit at some point. I am speculating about why the uncle was awarded custody but usually that’s the reasoning.
Sabrina Ramoth , mothers brother
Sabrina Ramoth but it says, her step father.. that means he’s acting as her father..
Jaclyn Helle it’s the mother brother? Geez..
His wife could be a sister to one of her biological parents.
Sabrina Ramoth he adopted her
Now I’m really confused.. either way, when you’re fucked up as parents, this is the kind of shit that happens..
And now the girl will go back to school and all
Her little friends will be like..
OMG are you ok..
Were you scared??
Blah blah blah..
BAD BOY 4 LYFE
Johnny Rockets adoptive father
The uncle (adoptive dad) had legal custody for a reason. Maybe the biological parents are no good, couldnt care for her as a baby…
Stacy Belanger Cardell well now we know why this all happened from the start.. bad parenting..
Sabrina Ramoth the adoptive father (Ashley’s uncle) is ashleys mother’s brother.
Sounds like the Jerry Springer show
The full story will come out. Perhaps her bio father felt she was in danger? Time will tell. Glad she’s ok.
More wasted police officers time her family should have to pay for the rime it took away from real crimes.
You don’t harbor a runaway minor. If there are issues, contact Social Services and let it go through proper channels.
There’s something so bizarre about the whole thing…family drama that went way too far. They haven’t released much in the way of why she wouldn’t go home and it seems like she was a voluntary participant in evading being found so something was definitely wrong. Who knows, at this point, what everyone’s roles were and what all led up to all of this. Thankfully she’s alive and safe…but there’s obvious problems of some nature there and hopefully she is working through whatever happened with people who can help.
Rosa Angela Nicaretta
Dcpp won’t do a damn thing.
Lori Branic they just blow things out of proportion and neglect the cases that deserve/need attention.
None of this makes any sense… I thought the biological mother was involved in the search so now guessing she knew where she was the whole time… if she left and went with them on her own free will then obviously there’s more to the story but again it’s none of our business she was not hurt in anyway obviously she was fed and had A roof over her head. She’s back safe and sound!!!
Why did everyone else get released and the father in ocj ?
Nichole Elaine Ambrosio READ IT AGAIN
Beth Lane k
Im lost what am I missing the other 1 got the same charges and was released
Nichole Elaine Ambrosio maybe he is on parole or had other warrents or possibly more charges are pending.
Laurie Huey I was thinking the same thank you ?
Nichole Elaine Ambrosio From my understanding, it’s because she was with him when they found her. She wasn’t with them. Not too sure though.
Toni Passarelli got ya but they all still got the same charge u know he must have something else going on
Lori Gladysiewicz O’Hara
Thing is she be 18 soon then she is legally an adult
Elle Rudd
Gene .. of course I logged on to read the comments ..
Of course
same shit kids use to do 20 years ago they cause a big scare when the reality is they just ran away for the freedom…
A shame all the legal crap and whoever pays the better Lawyer wins..
The justice system all has their hands out…and they won’t go to court to resolve quickly unless they’re paid up.
The system has failed on many levels…all this family needs (in my heartfelt opinion) is a real good family counselor and resources to help them figure out how to best be decent people for the sake of the minors, or ashley.
Dr. Phil? Where are ya?
Letting the courts and laws dictate who your kid can live with or be adopted by. Obviously she doesn’t want to be with the guy who adopted her. #freebrian.
So, let’s keep in mind, the report here says she was fleeing her home due to something that is likely to be neglect and/or abuse, and the only person they put in jail for this was the man she went to for safety……
Meanwhile we have countless cases of women unjustifiably keeping kids away from their fathers against specific court orders and there is never a punishment given to them for it…..
Biased much!?
So essentially the police arrested a father for taking care of his daughter….
Why is it always the man it’s lodged in jail & the females feet a summons and are released? 9 out of 10 xs
Why was this even put there on social media causing everyone to look for her as if she was kidnapped and in serious danger? They suspected all along it was a family custody issue and it didn’t need to be publized unless they knew for a second she was being harmed. I’m glad she was found but I hope Children’s services sincerely listen to her and find out what caused her to runaway.
She’s home but what prevents her from doing it again if her issues are the same?
Carol Perri well 1) because it’s news 2) because they can 3) because no one decides a pages content and 4) because no one here has a journalism degree
Carol Perri meaning don’t like it. Scroll on. Many people were looking and keeping posted because they can
Scott A Barnes It’s not a matter of not liking it. I just think this was a family matter from the very beginning and the family and police knew it. To post her picture and ask everyone to share it wasn’t going to help. They obviously knew where she was. So it’s not news.
This poor girl’s life didn’t have to be subject to speculation and guessed about.
That’s my point, Scott.
Carol Perri it was put on social media because the uncle has money and had his lawyer use FB to threaten
Ashley’s biological parents. The attorney doesn’t seem very professional.
As expected from day 1. Family drama trumped up and blasted all over Facebook ?
I feel for this young lady to have been in the middle of such a mess ? our children are the future … stop playing games with them
Let’s let this play out in court.
We do not have all the facts in this case.
If the teenager is embarrassed by her actions it is on her.
Let’s not place blame on anyone at this point.
No matter the circumstances, very happy and relieved Ashley is safe…now, leave the family alone to work through it.
When she turns 18
Then what can they do
Really messed up circumstances!! Really!!!
Who cares. Worry about yourselves
So the man goes to jail,and the women are set free huh?Interesting…maybe he has a criminal background and they didnt…either way she is close enough to 18 where she can make decisions on who and where she wants to be in my opinion…
Oh Great ? poor family! I hope she’s ok thanks ?