Parents Miffed Airline Flew Teen Runaway

Parents of a 15-year-old Juneau, Alaska, girl are angry she was able to buy an airline ticket without their consent and run away to a boyfriend.

The incident began Wednesday morning when the girl went missing. Her parents, Brian and Elise Pringle learned the girl had taken cash and purchased a one-way ticket on Alaska Airlines to Seattle and a second flight to North Carolina, where she reportedly planned to live with a boy she had met on the Internet.

I thought, unbeknownst, that my child would not only have to have permission but I thought she would have to have identification at the very least, the girl’s mother told the Juneau Empire.

However, airline spokeswoman Amanda Bielawski told the newspaper there was no age restriction on purchasing a ticket.

Police at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport convinced the girl to return home.

It’s been a nightmare, the mother told the newspaper This has been an absolute nightmare and I didn’t believe in my wildest dreams that this could happen.

The couple said they wanted to rein in the girl’s destructive behavior and have filed theft charges against her, the Empire said.