"11-year-old Arkansas girl hails cab ... to Florida" Associated Press December 13, 2014
BRYANT, Ark. — An 11-year-old Arkansas girl paid a cabbie $1,300 to take her to meet a boy in Florida, but authorities caught up with the runaway in Georgia, and found her safe, after her parents reported her missing.
Bryant police used cellphone records to determine the girl hailed the cab in Little Rock on Dec. 5 after talking to a 16-year-old Jacksonville, Fla., boy she met two years ago, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Friday .
‘‘According to the information that I have, she was in a sweat suit with a lot of makeup on and she looked like she was 17 or 18 years old,’’ said Ellis Houston, an official with the local Yellow Cab service.
The driver is not facing disciplinary action, Houston said. ‘‘Maybe he lacked a little bit of judgment,’’ he added.
According to police, the girl gave the cab driver $1,300 stolen from her grandmother.
Bryant Police Chief Mark Kizer said it doesn’t appear the boy, who said he didn’t know of her plans, will face charges.
The grandmother won’t press charges over the stolen cash, police said. The girl’s father said he had confiscated her cellphone and makeup.
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