Missing Florida siblings, 10 and 11, found driving mother’s stolen car three hours from home

Two Florida runaway minors were stopped by police after they were spotted driving their mother’s stolen vehicle on a highway.

The 10-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister were reported missing by their mother on 20 September. The pair reportedly ran away from their home in the city of North Port after their mother confiscated their electronic devices.

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the siblings were found around 4am on 21 September, nearly three hours away from their home. Deputies ran the licence plate of a suspicious white vehicle and it came back as reported stolen.

As the officers carried out a high-risk traffic stop on Interstate 75, they discovered that the two individuals who exited the vehicle were children. Pictures shared by the agency show the minors coming out of the car with their hands in the air.

Law enforcement called the kids’ mother, who then drove 200 miles to the city of Alachua to pick them up.

The boy told deputies that he was driving to California after her sister became upset with their mother for taking away their electronic devices. Authorities said there was no indication that the kids were abused at home.

“Our detectives did speak with their mother at length,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement to NBC News. “[She is] 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 mother declined to pursue criminal charges, police said.