Running away in Minnesota

[Guest]

I live in Minnesota and i have been wanting to run away for a long time. What will happen if i run away at 16? Can police take me back if they find me? Can police track my phone, messages, calls or texts? How long until police have to stop looking for me? Can police come for me if i go to a different state? Can police come for me if i go to school? Will my friends get into trouble if they let me stay with them? What if they run with me? What if i run away when im 17?

[ccsmod10]

Hi there,

Thanks for contacting the National Runaway Safeline. Although were not legal experts, we do have some basic knowledge on what usually happens in a runaway situation.

Deciding if you should run or not can be a difficult decision! Running away is not illegal and is considered, in general, a status offense. Parents are allowed to file runaway reports which are entered in a national Police database. Generally speaking, when a youth come into contact with police, the youth is returned home without facing any criminal charges. Runaway reports are generally removed from the national law enforcement database upon the minor reaching his or her 18th birthday. Sometimes if youth are 17and close to turning 18, police won’t take the runaway report. Since we’re not experts on all states/cities runaway laws, we do offer to call out to police with youth, to find out exactly what their protocols are.

Harboring a runaway is a possible charge that adults that let you stay with them, could be charged with. We don’t hear of people being charged with that very often, parents of the runaway usually ask police to press that charge. It’s hard to prove that someone knows that you ran away and were there without parent’s permission. If you do decide to run away, once you turn 18, the runaway report disappears. As far as school goes, there are programs that help homeless youth register for school. It really all depends on how the school handles it and if they find out you’re a runaway.

We hope the information provided helps. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us. We wish you the best of luck. If you do end up running away, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We can try to find runaway shelters for you to stay at, so you’re off the streets. Remember out hotline is confidential, anonymous, toll-free, available 24 hours 7 days, and can be reached at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929).

~NRS