Runaway gone until 18th birthday

[Unregistered]

I need a favor because I am too nervous to do it as I am already a runaway and have been for awhile.
Is there any way you can anonymously call the Flagstaff AZ police department and ask them what happens if a teenager who was not on probation and had no criminal charges ran away until age 18, what would happen? Would they immediately stop searching once she reached that age or would she need to call in when she turns 18 and let them know she is ok?

Thank you so much!

[ccsmod15]

Re: Runaway gone until 18th birthday

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to the National Runaway Safeline and sharing with us some of what has been going on. We are glad you contacted us and we were able to help you in what ways we can. We were able to anonymously contact the Flagstaff, AZ police department and ask them what would happen to someone in your situation.

Here at NRS we are not legal experts, but we can speak in general terms and in your case we spoke to the department in Flagstaff, AZ. Once you turn 18 you are an adult. If you decided to leave home before then, then your parents would have the option of filing a runaway report. Running away is not a criminal offense for her, it just means that if you are found then the police will bring you back home. It can become a criminal charge for someone that is helping you leave or is allowing you to stay with them. Once you turn 18, the runaway report becomes a missing person report. At that point, because you are an adult, you no longer need parental permission and if you are found with a missing person report then you are not forced to return home. The only thing is the missing person report will be removed.

We hope this helped and if you would like to discuss your situation in greater detail you can give us a call on our hotline or chat with us on our website. We look forward to hearing from you and we wish you the best of luck.

NRS