An eight-year-old girl has returned home safe after driving her mother’s car to a discount store more than 11 miles away while her family and police searched for her.
The girl, from Bedford, Ohio, admitted to officers that she had struck a mailbox on her drive to the Target store in neighbouring Bainbridge, according to a police service report seen by the Today news show in the US.
Bedford police were alerted after they received a 911 call from her family just before 9am local time on Sunday.
The family said the girl had not been seen for nearly two hours.
A neighbour gave the relatives doorbell camera footage of the young girl getting into a 2020 Nissan Rogue SUV by herself and driving off at around 7am local time.
Police searched for the missing child before officers in neighbouring Bainbridge spotted the vehicle in the car park of the Target store.
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The shop is just over 11 miles southwest of the child’s home, according to the police report.
Google Maps estimates the fastest route, following the average speed limit, would take around 25 minutes for an adult to drive.
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Police officers found the girl inside the Target and her family came to pick her and the car up.
Bedford Police wrote in a Facebook post after the incident: “That’s right an eight-year-old took mommy’s car this morning and drove to Target in Bainbridge to shop.
“Thankfully she made it and was immediately located by Bainbridge Police. She’s now home safe. Not sure what she bought, or if she was even able to use her Target app to save 5%. We did let her finish her Frappuccino. We’re not mean.”
One Facebook user replied: “I’m not gong to lie, I’m pretty impressed. There’s some adults that can’t manage that drive on her their own, let alone only hitting a mailbox.”
