Though it could have ended badly, social media users can’t help but be impressed by an 8-year-old girl in Ohio who stole her family’s car and managed to drive to a Target about 10 miles away for a shopping spree.
The child is now home safe with her family, and fortunately — aside from a defenseless mailbox she hit on her drive — there were no injuries.
In a hair-raising series of events, the girl’s family called the Bedford Police Department around 7 a.m. on Sunday to report their child, as well as the family’s 2020 Nissan Rogue, missing, according to a police report obtained by Cleveland news channel WKYC 3.
When police showed up at the family’s home, a neighbor provided them with Ring camera footage that showed the little girl getting into the SUV and driving away “with no one but herself,” according to the report.
Police also received calls that a child was seen driving a car alone — and San Antonio news channel KENS 5 obtained dashcam footage of a nearby driver filming the girl’s escapade.
Officers in Bedford eventually learned through police dispatch that the missing Nissan had been spotted in a Target parking lot in the town of Bainbridge. Cleveland news channel WJW estimated that the store is about a 10-mile drive from the girl’s home, with an average drive time of about 20 to 25 minutes.
Bainbridge police officers reportedly entered the store to find the little girl sipping on a Starbucks Frappuccino.
The girl admitted that she had struck a mailbox on her way to the store, police said, and Target employees told Cleveland’s News5 that she had walked in with more than $400.
Police say the girl is too young to be criminally charged, WJW reports. On Sunday, Bedford Police posted about the incident on Facebook — and given that the outcome could have been much worse, they had a bit of fun with the whole episode.
“Well I’ve finally found a woman who’s in more of a hurry to shop at Target than my wife,” reads a Bedford Police Facebook post. “That’s right an 8 year old took mommy’s car this morning and drove to Target in Bainbridge to shop. Thankfully she made it and was immediately located by Bainbridge Police. She’s now home safe. Not sure what she bought, or if she was even able to use her Target app to save 5%. We did let her finish her Frappuccino. We’re not mean.”
Plenty of social media users on X were equally tickled by the little go-getter. To read their thoughts, just scroll down.