A 12-year-old Florida girl reportedly took her father’s car and took her friend on a nearly 400-mile drive to meet a person they met online, officials told NBC News.
The road trip, however, ended at a gas station in Alabama when the teenager and his 14-year-old friend turned themselves in after seeing their faces on television linked to a missing child alert.
According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office missing child alert issued Thursday morning, the girls were last seen in their hometown of Lake Butler, Fla., and are suspected of traveling to the west on I-10 in the Baton Rouge, La. area.
The report said “no foul play was expected” at the meeting.
According to Deputy Chief Lyn Williams, the girls were driving without an adult in the vehicle and were on their way to “meet someone they met online.”
Alerts from the National Center for Mission & Exploited Children were set up for areas around Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana, with more attention in the Baton Rouge region, Williams noted.
While it’s unclear the age of the person the girls encountered, Williams said there were some “suspicious circumstances” that have raised “red flags.”
The case has been turned over to the FBI for further investigation.