Nineteen years after Ryan's execution, a former warder, Doug Pascoe, claimed on air to Channel 9 and other media that he had fired a shot during Ryan's escape bid. Pascoe said his shot may have accidentally killed his fellow prison guard, Hodson. Pascoe had not told anyone that he fired a shot during the escape because at that time, "I was a 23-year-old coward." In 1986, he tried to sell his story but his claim was dismissed by police because his rifle had a full magazine after the shooting and he was too far away.