Florida

Florida Girl, 12, Stole Dad's Car and Took Friend to Meet Person They Met Online 400 Miles Away, Officials Say

The two girls turned themselves in after seeing their faces on TV when they stopped for gas in Alabama.

A 12-year-old girl from Florida reportedly took her father's car and brought her friend to travel nearly 400 miles to meet a person they met online, officials told NBC News.

The road trip, however, ended at a gas station in Alabama when the teen and her 14-year-old friend turned themselves in after seeing their faces on TV linked to an issued missing child alert.

According to the Union County Sheriff's Office missing child alert posted Thursday morning, the girls were last spotted in their hometown of Lake Butler, Fla., and were suspected to have been traveling west on I-10 in the Baton Rouge, La. area.

The report said that there was "no foul play expected" in the meet up.

The girls were reportedly driving without an adult in the vehicle and were on their way to "meet someone they met online," according to Chief Deputy Capt. Lyn Williams.

National Center for Mission & Exploited Children alerts were set for areas around Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana -- with extra attention to the Baton Rouge region, Williams noted.

While the age of the person the girls were set to meet up with is unclear, Williams said there were some “suspicious circumstances” that have raised “red flags."

The case has been turned in to the FBI to investigate further.

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