Low and Street

Low and Street

The farmhouse on Reservoir Road.

Although the two have been radio silent since 2004, the public is still interested in cousins Ramon Lyle Ryans (known as "Street") and Nathaniel Charles Jackson (known as "Low") and their potential relevance to the Brianna Maitland case. This post introduces the Queens, New York natives and their connection to the case. 

Bruce Maitland, Brianna's father, received an anonymous tip four weeks after the disappearance. He was told Brianna was being held captive in a farmhouse on Reservoir Road in Berkshire, approximately ten miles from the Dutchburn house. Ryans and Jackson, who rented and occupied the home, were implicated in the disappearance. Bruce Maitland implored the Vermont State Police to search the property, prepared to gather men do so himself if they were unwilling. The Vermont State Police did raid the residence along with U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents and U.S. Border Patrol agents. Brianna wasn't there, and Ryans and Jackson denied having knowledge of her whereabouts. 

Ryans, Jackson, and two teenage occupants of the Reservoir Road home were subsequently arrested for unrelated drug offenses. Ryans and Jackson both left the area following their arraignments. Jackson left the state. Ryans moved in with Ligia "Gia" Collins, a 25-year-old mother of two, in Burlington. Only a few months later, on July 4th, 2004, Gia disappeared, too. Ramon Ryans reported her missing.

Gia's remains were found in a wooded area in Ripton, within the boundaries of the Green Mountain National Forest, on July 31st, 2004. The cause of her death was blunt force trauma to the head and the manner of her death was homicide. An associate of Ramon and Gia, Ellen Ducharme, was later convicted of murdering Gia after confessing. Ellen told law enforcement she assaulted Gia with a baseball bat in the commission of robbing Gia during a prearranged drug deal. Ramon Ryans was never implicated or charged in the murder.

In 2006, investigative journalist Hank Albarelli interviewed assistant state's attorney Diane Wheeler, who confirmed Ramon Ryans submitted to a polygraph examination in the Brianna Maitland investigation with "inconclusive" results. Wheeler added that Ryans provided investigators with “information in the Maitland case that drew them away from false leads and put them on the right track with things".

Wheeler would not elaborate further. It appears investigators believed Ryans was honest with them. I wonder, in 2006, what did investigators consider to be the "right track"? 

Private investigator Greg Overacker has shared on Crawlspace Podcast some facts about Ryans and Jackson that he learned through his investigation. Ryans and Jackson moved to the Northern Vermont area exclusively to traffic crack-cocaine. The local teenagers were drawn to the men. They provided the kids with drugs. They were older and seen as “exotic”, and “living the dream”, having disposable money but no jobs.

“If you look at Ryans and Jackson discussing Brianna, they always claimed that they didn’t know her, or they’d see her around, or they saw her at a party or something. That, just so you know, is complete and utter bullshit,” Greg told us.

“These guys knew her name, knew her well,” Greg continued, “I can put them together, one-on-one, where people walked in and they were together just the two of them. There’s actually an incident where that big old car Brianna had came roaring down the country road, Waylon (Brianna’s brother) sat there and watched her tear past their house. Jackson and Ryans were in a car behind her, tearing after her. So they know her and won’t admit it”.

Greg also told us about a tip he received about Ryans. The story went, “someone asked Brianna to get drugs from Ryans. She gave him the money, went to pick up the drugs, and Ryans didn’t have them. He just said pretty much flat out, ‘what are you going to do?’. So at that point she just got ripped off by a drug dealer and she confronted him and there was an altercation”.

I’ve also learned from Brianna’s circle that it is commonly believed that Brianna owed Low money, and that this was a catalyst for her disappearance. Murder in response to debt permanently hinders collection, but it is not unheard of.  

Some of the young people saw through the grandeur. Some of the teenage girls in Brianna’s circle felt ill at ease around Low, who pressured and “begged” them to go to the city (Burlington or New York), offering them “drugs, money, and top-of-the-line hotels”. I’ve learned from multiple sources that Low did convince a local girl to come to New York City with him. She was excited to see New York for the very first time. Once they arrived, however, Low tried to “pimp her out”. When the teenager refused, Low ditched her.

Not long after Brianna disappeared, Low threatened her friends in a McDonalds drive-through. He is reported to have said statements including, “If I go down for this, all you little bitches are going down with me”, and “I’ll have you all missing”. Later on, Low parked in front of one of the girls’ homes. He sat in his vehicle, revving the engine for several minutes. The girl’s mother wanted to confront the driver. The teenager begged her not to, fearful of how Low would react. After ten minutes of making noise, Low drove away.

Out of everyone I’ve spoken with, not one recalls interacting with Street despite having several run-ins with Low. Since the disappearances of Brianna and Gia, Street has managed to stay out of trouble and out of jail. Low, on the other hand, moved down to North Carolina, where he spent time incarcerated for cocaine trafficking offenses. Low was also accused of domestic violence. Overacker told us Low was “pimping out his girlfriend down there”.