Four Kids Run Away On 600-Mile Road Trip In Parents' Stolen Car

Four Australian children aged between 10 and 14 from Queensland who tried to run away from their homes drove for about 900 kilometres (about 600 miles) before they were intercepted by the police.

The children travelled all the way from the central Queensland city of Rockhampton to Grafton in New South Wales before they were found by the police. According to local Australian media reports, one of the children left a goodbye note for their family before proceeding on the journey.

Australian police believe the children took turns at the wheel. The children travelled in a SUV that belonged to the parents of one of them. When caught, the children locked themselves in the car and the police had to smash the windscreen of the car. They had packed fishing rods and cash into the four wheeler. The children were taken into care and it is not clear what made them ran away from their homes.

Local authorities said children were spotted just over the Queensland border. It is expected that charges will be filed once the police get a chance to interview the children. Media reports indicate that the children were in an elaborate plot to run away from home and the police believe that the runaways were headed for Grafton since the 14-year old boy was from that locality.

The Queensland police had made missing person appeals once the children were reported missing. Motorists should be aged 17 or older to get driving license in Queensland and New South Wales. Police are also looking at several alleged offences committed during the heroic road trip by the children.

The car they were travelling in found parked in a highway in New South Wales, according to Australian government authorities. The adventurous children were taken into custody at 10.40 p.m. Sunday local time. Their journey took them through the Australian coast and the cities of Brisbane and Gold Coast.