10-year-old found safe a day after taking SUV for a ride

Published 3:18 pm Thursday, April 1, 2021

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MINNEAPOLIS — A 10-year-old girl is found safe a day after taking the family’s SUV on a trip around the Twin Cities metro following a search on the internet on how to drive, according to police.

The girl’s mother called police after discovering her Chevy Equinox, credit cards and daughter were missing from the family home in Fridley Tuesday morning.

The young driver was spotted on surveillance cameras in Ramsey and Eden Prairie before police found her at a Walgreens store in Maple Grove Wednesday morning.

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The girl was unharmed, but the SUV had some scratches and dings, police said.

“Our investigation did show she had searched on YouTube how to drive, how to learn how to drive a vehicle on public roadways, something along those lines,” Lt. Nick Knaeble told WCCO-TV.

The girl’s mother says she’s traumatized and overwhelmed by her daughter’s actions. She says her daughter hasn’t said why she took the SUV for a drive.

She’s happy no one was hurt, and grateful for the work of every police agency involved.

Police say the family will deal with the child, and has offered assistance to help them if they need it.

The girl had been the subject of a missing persons alert distributed by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Tips from the public and media stories helped police find her, Knaeble said.