8-Year-Old Busted for Taking Mom’s SUV on Solo Target Run
An 8-year-old Ohio girl is safely back at home after taking Mommy’s car on a joyride while police frantically searched for her.
By Missy Baker · September 17, 2024
Disclaimer: While this story is driven by facts it also contains age-appropriate amounts of satire.
As any woman can confirm, some days all you need is to get in your car, crank up the music, and take a solo trip to Target. Getting a Starbucks and browsing the aisles for things you absolutely do not need is basic self-care.
One Ohio girl did just that on a recent Sunday Funday. The only problem? She was a little early—8 years too early, to be exact.
Police in Bedford, Ohio, responded to a 911 call just before 9 a.m. about a missing 8-year-old girl whose parents had been frantically searching for their daughter for nearly 2 hours.
Fortunately, a neighbor was able to provide authorities with footage from their Ring camera, which showed the young girl getting into her mother’s 2020 Nissan Rogue alone and driving off around 7 a.m. Sometimes nosy neighbors can be a good thing!
Police immediately began searching the local area and ultimately discovered the SUV inconspicuously parked in a neighboring town’s Target parking lot, over 11 miles away from the child’s home. Did somebody say ROADTRIP?!
According to Google Maps, the fastest route from the girl’s home to the Bainbridge Target—following the speed limit—would take around 25 minutes. That’s quite a commute for someone who can barely see over the steering wheel.
Officers located the 8-year-old safely inside Target, casually sipping a Frappuccino and loading her cart with things she can’t afford (aka living the dream!). She reportedly spent over $400 at the store, taking “treat yourself” to a whole new level.
According to reports, the child told officers that she had hit a mailbox on her route to the store but kept on driving. Relatable queen! Who among us hasn’t done something similar when on a mission for caffeine and deals?
The Bedford Police Department was chill as hell about the whole thing and even joked about the incident on their Facebook page.
“Not sure what she bought or if she was even able to use her Target app to save 5%,” Bedford Police Dept. wrote in the post. “We did let her finish her Frappuccino. We’re not mean.”
The girl is too young to be charged criminally, but luckily, there are no age limits on being declared a national hero. We get it, girl. Sometimes you’ve just gotta go to Target!
Her parents may not agree, as they likely lost years off of their lives due to the extreme stress of the situation. Let’s just hope this little shopaholic is ungrounded by the time she’s legally allowed to drive… in 2032.