Braxton Wood, Jayden Thomas Missing
A nationwide search has ended for a 14-year-old boy and his 13-year-old girlfriend, who turned up in Illinois nearly two weeks after fleeing their Michigan homes in the boy's family vehicle.
Braxton Wood, of Clare, and Jayden Thomas, of Mount Pleasant, were found Sunday in Chicago, Chuck Foreman, founder and CEO of the Center for Search and Investigations told The Huffington Post.
Sneaking away from their homes and families on the morning of Aug. 26, Wood, and Thomas apparently set out in the boy's mother's black 2005 Ford Explorer.
According to ABC's "Good Morning America," the teens had been dating for about six months and were due to start their freshman year at different high schools last week. Their parents reportedly would not let them be together and they briefly broke up because of that.
Foreman, whose non-profit missing children search organization had been assisting in the hunt for the teens, said they were located Sunday morning, when a Good Samaritan who heard about the case spotted their broken-down vehicle in a Chicago-area neighborhood.
"In the area they were found in, for being young kids, it was a very dangerous area. They are very fortunate," he said.
Sgt. Tim Edeling, of the Chicago Police Department 19th District, told ABCNews.com that it is believed the teens drove directly from Michigan to the Chicago area – a 4 1/2 hour drive. They had been living in the SUV, "going to the local Starbucks and enjoying our lakefront," he said.
Foreman said he is "very happy" for the teen's families.
"A lot of times these children are not found safe," he said. "We are glad someone actually spotted their vehicle and made a call in. It's just another reflection of how social media is helping recover kids, along with police and private investigators."
Earlier on HuffPost: