Sister 18 friend 15 help!

[Guest]

My sister who is 18 recently went to Chicago from Wisconsin with her 15 year old friend who is a runaway. My sister did not drive. There was a boy who picked them both up and drove them to Chicago. Both girls are safe. Could my sister get arrested just for being in the car with a runaway and crossing state lines?

[ccsmod1]

Hey there,

Thanks so much for contacting us, it takes a lot of courage to reach out and share a bit about what’s going on. Your sister’s friend’s parents can file a runaway report, which is essentially a missing person report. Running away is a status offense; this means that it isn’t illegal, but it’s something you can’t do while still a minor. If a runaway report is filed and she is located by the authorities she will most likely be returned to your parents/guardians. It’s worth noting that your sister and boy that they are with (assuming he is a legal adult) could possibly be charged with harboring a runaway, which is a misdemeanor. Penalties for harboring a runaway vary from state to state, police officer to officer, and how the friend’s parents/guardians view the situation. It may be worthwhile for your sister to call the local nonemergency line (normally it’s just 311) to see what the local response would likely be.

Of course, you can always recommend that your sister’s friend contact us directly. If she’d like to go over her situation and/or explore options that might be available to her she can reach us by calling 1-800-RUNAWAY or by chatting us by clicking on the “CHAT” button on the top of our homepage. We’re 24/7 and here to listen and support however we can.

All the best,
NRS