13-Year-Old Missing Teen Rescued After Police Find Chatroom Of Kids Planning To Run Away

The search for a missing 13-year-old boy led to investigators stumbling upon disturbing chatrooms where teenagers bonded over one single mission—leaving behind their families and running away from home. The teenager was later tracked down and rescued along with other chatroom members he ran away with.

Their chats were discovered after the teenager, based in Mumbai, India, told his parents he was going away from home for at least a year. His parents didn’t take him seriously until the boy failed to return home that night.

“His family had recently shifted to Mumbai,” an investigating officer told VICE World News. “When he actually didn’t come [home] that night, his parents got worried and reached out to us at the Badlapur police station,” he said.

Investigators spoke to one of the boy’s friends, who told them about the Discord chatroom where youngsters spoke about running away from home.

“One of his friends told us that he'd even received a link to this Discord chatroom but never joined it,” the officer said. Investigators entered the chatroom using the friend’s link and found messages that confirmed the missing boy ran away from home.

The boy had spent months on the app, chatting with members of a closed group called "Run away and get a life." The boy found his “support system” by exchanging unhappy stories from home with members of the chatroom, the officer revealed.

“They would share how they’re upset after an argument with their parents or an altercation at school. And they would console each other,” said the officer.

The boy left the group and formed another one called "Perfect plans" in October. He made elaborate plans to run away with a few other members and left home on Oct. 30 after telling his parents. The boy and his accomplices left their respective houses and traveled to Goa, a popular beach destination in India. The boy stayed online and continued texting his mother while en route to Goa.

The group’s initial plan was to pose as orphans and find some work. However, once they arrived in Goa, they were turned away by an orphanage in Calangute because an investigating officer revealed that the people in the orphanage felt there was something suspicious about them. “They then ended up checking into an expensive hotel and the bill ran into the thousands of rupees,” the officer said.

The group ran out of money on their first day away and was eventually tracked down using the 13-year-old boy’s IP address.

The boy was soon reunited with his parents, and he later admitted his actions were wrong, according to local daily Mid-Day. In an interview with the outlet, the boy said, “I urge kids of my age not to get manipulated or carried away. They should stay away from such apps. If they know of their friend’s intentions to run away or have a suicide pact, they should immediately inform the police about them.”