16 year old runaways?

[Unregistered]

Me and a online friend, who I'm sure is the same age with reliable evidence, are planning to run away once he gets his license. We're both transgender males, and we're kinda young now, and we'd really like some tips on how to not get caught by the police and to not get tracked down! Thanks!

[ccsmod15]

Re: 16 year old runaways?

Thank you for contacting us. It sounds like you’re really excited about making sure your plan is a success. You asked about making sure you weren’t caught by police or tracked down. We’re not legal experts, but we will do our best to send you information that might be helpful.

We really can’t speak to the best way to not get caught or tracked down because the way police handle runaway reports vary from state to state. In general, we can say that it’s not illegal to leave home before the legal age of majority. Running away is considered a status offense, very similar to getting a parking ticket. If you leave home without consent, your custodial parent or legal guardian has the right to file a runaway report with your local police department. The police may or may not look for you. If the police do find you, they would return you home to your custodial parent unless they feel it will be unsafe for you to stay there. If the police find you and you’re staying with someone, that other person could be charged with harboring a runaway. The consequences for being charged with harboring a runaway vary from state to state.

Although we can’t say with certainty how to not get caught, we would encourage you to try your best to stay safe if you do decide to leave home with someone you’ve met online. You mentioned you had reliable evidence, and it’s great that you’ve been diligent in making sure he is who he says he is, but it’s still someone you’ve not met in person and, whatever you decide to do, we want you to be safe while you’re doing it. You mentioned you’re kind of young and you’re waiting for your friend to get his license. We hope that with all the planning you’d like to do to avoid getting caught, you’re also thinking about where you might stay, what you’ll do for food, money, gas if you and your friend will be driving, whether you plan on coming back home and, if you are, how you’ll pay for your return trip home.

It sounds like you and your friend have made a lot of plans for your trip and how to make it successful. We hope that the information we’ve provided will help you stay safe as you decide how and if you’ll move forward with your trip.