IVINS – Two juvenile girls, sisters, were discovered missing from their home last night arousing a search throughout the night. The girls were found unharmed this morning.
The girls’ mother told police that about 8 p.m. last night she sent the girls to their room to bed. When she checked on them at 11 p.m. they were missing at which time she called the police.
Santa Clara Ivins Public Safety officers canvassed the neighborhood and found a neighbor who reported seeing the girls crawl out of their bedroom window in their pajamas carrying a blue backpack, Officer Matt Stoker said.
“This morning, a lady in the neighborhood was driving by, saw them walking on the side of the road,” Stoker said, “stopped picked them up and flagged me down as she was taking them home.”
The sisters, who Stoker said are about 9 and 10 years old, just said they climbed out and went out into the desert. The older sister stepped on a cactus and they got lost and couldn’t find their way home so they lay down together and slept in the desert during the night.
“As soon as the sun came up they started walking home,” Stoker said. “Their pajamas were really dirty with sticker bush on them, they just got lost.”
Their backpack seen by the neighbor was not with them when they were found, Stoker said, and he did not know what it contained.
A command post was set up at Ivins Fire Station, and, Stoker said.
At about 3 a.m. a reverse-911 alert was dispatched to about 1,000 residents in the area. Stoker said they also registered the girls on the national registry for missing juveniles. That alert has now been cancelled.
“At this point they’re reunited with their mother and father after we interviewed them and found out that nothing bad happened,” Stoker said.
No criminal charges or legal action is being taken. Names are being withheld given the girls are juveniles.
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It seemed to be a big thing last night on the PD scanner. The mother said they girls were 7 an 9 years old and had run away from home. A lot of resources were used last night especially when “nothing happened” and yet the girls ran away, strange.
So grateful as a parent that ALL resources were used to find these girls! Runaway or not it must have been a VERY long night for both the parents and the girls…..who must have thought they’d only be gone for a bit, sneak back in and all would be okay. Thank you Santa Clara Ivins Police for searching all night, who knows what could have happened had the WRONG person found them last night and as a mom I can’t imagine the parents heartache, I would want someone looking for my child…especially since no one knew nothing bad happened until this morning!!
I got the call at 3 am and couldn’t sleep after that due to worrying. So glad they were found safe! I hope the little knuckleheads learned a lesson about sneaking out!
ALL Resources? I don’t recall seeing Search and Rescue on Scene?
Stories like this just irritate the heck out of me!!! These attention seeking kids ran off and caused a big scare when there are actually girls who have been TAKEN and live in hell now, probably to never see their families again, to be used and abused, or even killed. I hope their parents taught them a good lesson!
And of course, when YOU were a child, you NEVER did anything wrong.
Some of us didn’t, you know.
To put it bluntly, HORSE CRAP.
to respond to the 5 comments if I can, I also got the call sometime around 3 am, I was also worried. I started looking a little after 5:00 am, I saw several police vehicles driving all around Ivins. When I found the girls just before 7:00 am they were scared, and worried. I am sure that just being picked up by someone who knew them who was upset, then taken home and questioned by the police and then spending the day with their parents who were upset, and worried all night long they will have learned a lesson. the reason that they were gone doesn’t matter to me unless there is something that I can personally do the help the girls or the family other wise I don’t need to know I am glad I found them, glad nothing happened to them and glad that I got the call and who is to say how much effort should be put out for any child when they are missing for whatever reason.
How well I remember those nights of sneaking out of the house! I do hope these kids learned their lesson. It could have been one heck of a lot worse. I’m glad they are safe.
The hypocrisy of holier than thou parents these days – gives an extreme rotten scent thru these bowels
What neighbor see two little girls sneaking out in the night with a backpack and doesn’t say anything? Maybe if they were teenagers, but seriously, they are KIDS! I try to stay out of other people’s business, but I’d think this crossed the line.
Well, probably not a very good one. Or perhaps one who has talked with the parents before, and been told to mind their own business?