A young brother and sister took off in their mom’s car last week after they had their electronics taken away as punishment and they got nearly 200 miles from home before police were able to catch up with them.
Deputies with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office stopped the 10-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl just before 4 a.m. last Thursday on Interstate 75 in Alachua, Florida.
The sheriff’s office shared in a statement that the boy was driving the car and that the two had been on the road for nearly three hours, putting them almost 200 miles north of their North Port home.
In a follow-up statement from the sheriff’s office on Friday, it was revealed that the kids ran away because they had their electronic devices taken away from them as a punishment.
Their mother had reported them missing after realizing they were gone.
When deputies pulled the vehicle over, which the mother had also reported as stolen, they ordered the people inside out at gunpoint. However, what they found inside was not what they were expecting.
“Much to their surprise, deputies observed a 10-year-old male driver exit the vehicle, along with his 11-year-old sister,” the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office said that the two children were eventually released back to their mother and were not likely to face charges for their joyride.
“Our detectives did speak with their mother at length,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that she “was clearly doing her best to raise two young children, and she was very receptive to the recommendations they provided in helping her get assistance.”