Two Florida preteens decided to take their mom’s car and go for a joyride in the middle of the night after she disciplined them by taking away their electronic devices.
On Sept. 21, the Alachua County Sheriff Department, located near Gainesville, Florida, released a statement on Facebook confirming that deputies pulled over a 10-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister who were driving along an Alachua freeway at around 3:50 a.m.
Deputies planned to perform a “high risk traffic stop” as the white sedan had been reported stolen, the post said.
“Much to their surprise, Deputies observed a 10 year old male driver exit the vehicle, along with his 11 year old sister. It was learned that the siblings had been reported as missing to the North Port Police Department and that the stolen vehicle belonged to their mother,” the statement read.
The social media post included two photos of the children exiting the vehicle with their hands raised. The department covered their faces in the images to conceal their identities.
Authorities contacted the siblings’ mother who decided to not press charges and instead drove three hours to pick up her children and take them home.
The brother and sister had traveled about 200 miles from home, NBC News reported.
After many Facebook users commented on the post, asking for more details, the department provided an update on Sept. 22.
In a follow-up comment below the original post, police shared what prompted the children to leave in the early hours of the morning.
According to police, they were “upset” with their mom who “took away their electronic devices.”
Police added that the mother confiscated the devices because the pre-teens were “not using them appropriately.”
“The children did speak with both Deputies and Detectives and those conversations did not lead to any belief that the children were mistreated by their parent or any other person within the home,” authorities said.
Although the mother does not plan to press charges, the two siblings could be criminally charged for driving without a valid license.
In addition to speaking with the children, police also had a conversation with their mother.
“Our Detectives did speak with their mother at length who 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,” the statement concluded.