Two young girls from Union County, Florida, reportedly stole a car and took a joy ride for more than 400 miles. The twist? The driver was just 12 years old. Jade Gregory reportedly took her father's Ford Taurus and picked up her 14-year-old friend, Khloe Larson. The girls were soon reported missing, and a search began.
The Union County Sheriff's office released a Facebook alert informing the public that the girls were missing but that they did not expect foul play. They shared images of the pair that were widely broadcasted to bring the girls home. Although they hoped they would find the girls safe, no one expected Gregory, who is years away from legally driving, to have traveled nearly five hours in the stolen car.
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Their disappearance triggered a statewide Amber Alert.
The girls reportedly left home in Lake Butler early on April 5. According to the Daily Mail, investigators enacted an Amber Alert for the girls and the missing Ford Taurus at 11:50 a.m. The girls were found around 4 p.m. the same day. In a Facebook post April 6, the sheriff's office announced the girls were safe.
"We have cancelled our active missing children alert!!! Jade Gregory and Khloe Larsen have been located safe in Bayou La Batre, Alabama," the post read. "Many thanks to the multiple agencies involved throughout Florida, Alabama and Louisiana to include the F.B.I. and FDLE. Thank you for all the tips and information received."
During the search, law enforcement plastered the girls' images on billboards and screens.
Many news outlets and law enforcement agencies shared photos of the girls. The pair appeared on millions of billboards across the US, according to the Daily Mail.
The girls reportedly saw their images on a television at an Alabama convenience store and turned themselves in. Police believed they were nearing the end of their adventure when they decided it was over.
"This is crossing state lines … this is serious," Chief Deputy Lyn Williams said, per 4 News.
Why were the girls on the run?
Investigators are still trying to figure out what led the girls to take the car and drive to the Florida-Alabama border, but they believe it was so they could meet someone they were corresponding with online. Williams told 4 News that the FBI is involved with the case to determine who the girls wanted to meet — who may have been in Louisiana.
"Whether or not they were trying to lure them out there … either way they were going out there to meet this person," Williams told 4 News. "The 12-year-old child went to pick up the 14-year-old child."
The sheriff's office told 4 News on April 7 that the girls were in a juvenile detention center in Alabama, and Union County deputies say the two girls "are not cooperating with law enforcement and their parents are frantic."
Teaching kids about online safety is so crucial.
In the most recent case, investigators believe that a sex trafficker may have lured the girls, but that is still under investigation. Stats from Savvy Cyber Kids show that Gregory and Larson aren't the only young people potentially in danger from strangers.
A recent poll of 4,000 kids between 8 and 13 years old showed that nearly 43% admitted to communicating with someone they have never met via social media platforms or gaming. Frighteningly, among that 43%, more than half had given personal information such as a phone number, and 11% met a stranger outside of their home.
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Parents need to ask questions.
Savvy Cyber kids offers parents the following questions they should ask kids to be sure they’re safe: "Have you shared a password and if so, how can we fix it? What could a person do if they had your personal information? What information on your social media is available to a stranger? What information do you want to keep private and how to you do that?"
Although there are certainly instances where kids are speaking with other kids, that is not always the case, and it is so important for our children to be safe. Reminding kids to keep personal information safe and to never share passwords is just a start.
“Teach your children the reasons behind why they shouldn’t talk to strangers, in real life AND online. The amount of children who do give away information to strangers is higher than ever and it is the responsibility of parents today to educate the dangers of it,” the organization notes.
