TOMS RIVER - Police have charged three adults they believe moved 17-year-old Ashley Combs between various houses since she went missing Friday. Her biological mother and father were among those charged.

Brian Keith Combs, 44, of Jackson, Ashley's biological father, is facing charges of interfering with the custody of a minor and obstruction, according to inmate records from the Ocean County Jail. Ashley's biological mother Mechelle Combs, 39, is facing a charge of obstruction.

Another suspect, Linda Roszel, 70, of Jackson is also facing interfering and obstruction charges.

Township police Detective Ryan Quinn began investigating Friday after Ashley Combs did not come home from Toms River High School North, police said. Police officers Brittany Catalano and Frank Zangara, detectives Andrew Chencharik and Steve Bucci and School Resource Officer Graham Borg also looked into the disappearance.

Quinn, Bucci and Chencharik "were able to locate Ashley in the custody of her biological father Brian Combs" Wednesday, police spokeswoman Jillian Messina wrote in a prepared statement Thursday.

"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," Messina said.

"Additionally, during the course of the investigation it was learned that there were concerns about Ashley's home environment," Messina wrote. "Given the totality of the circumstances a referral was made to the New Jersey Department of Child Protection and Permanency."

Jef Henninger, who represents Ashley Combs' adoptive family, denied any allegations against them. Ashley's adoptive father, Robert Nieratko, shared Henninger's statement on Facebook.

"My clients fully expected that the birth parents would make false allegations against them in order to justify their actions," Henninger wrote. "These false allegations have been made before. Ashley was placed with the Nieratkos because they could provide her with a loving home. They fully expect that these false allegations will be unfounded and the investigation will be closed quickly."

Jason Butkowski, a spokesman for DCPP, said the agency could not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

Henninger confirmed that the Combses were Ashley's biological parents and that her adoptive father is Mechelle Combs' brother. Brian Combs had been staying with Roszel, Henninger said.

Roszel told the Asbury Park Press that she had been close to Ashley Combs' grandmother and said she shared an aunt-nephew-type of relationship with Brian Combs.

Roszel said police found Ashley Combs hiding under a bed Wednesday in Roszel's Jackson mobile home. Roszel said she knew the teenager was staying there and Ashley Combs was emotional when officers located her.

Brian Combs appeared briefly in court via video conference from the Ocean County Jail Thursday afternoon. He was informed by Superior Court Judge Michael Collins that prosecutors would seek to keep him in jail pending trial.

A detention hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, where a judge will decide if Combs will remain behind bars while the case moves forward.

Since Ashley Combs first disappeared, police have indicated that the situation was not suspicious, though they were investigating where she might have gone.

Through an attorney, Ashley Combs' adopted parents issued an ultimatum Monday to anyone she may have been staying with — bring her home by Tuesday morning, or we will pursue legal action. That deadline came and went with no sign of the missing teenager. On Wednesday night, police said that Ashley Combs was with them.

Brian Combs has previously served a year of probation for a shoplifting conviction, according to state court records. He has also been convicted of simple assault — a disorderly persons offense — in Jackson, for which he paid $444 in fines and fees, according to court records.

Brian Combs is also facing charges for allegedly fleeing the scene of an impaired-driving crash in Lakewood on foot in January. An off-duty state trooper chased him down and cornered him in some nearby woods.

Mechelle Combs has a drug conviction that landed her on probation or a year in 2010 and a conspiracy conviction that earned her another two years on probation from 2015, according to court records.

Roszel and Mechelle Combs were released with summonses, police said.

There may be additional charges at a later time, they said.

Alex N. Gecan: @GeeksterTweets; 732-643-4043; agecan@gannettnj.com