A 9-year-old boy ran away from home and sneaked on two different flights before he was caught by police after missing his connection for a third flight, officials said Wednesday.
Semaj Booker apparently found a Southwest Airlines boarding card and made it through airport security twice on Tuesday. He flew from Seattle to Phoenix where he transferred onto a flight to San Antonio, Texas. He was taken into custody at San Antonio airport - short of his Dallas destination, police said.
The fourth-grader remained in juvenile custody in San Antonio on Wednesday . He had been trying to get to his grandfather in Dallas, where he used to live.
"The only thing I have to offer on that is that were looking into it," Southwest spokeswoman Beth Harbin said.
Southwest Airlines' boarding policy, which invites people to board in groups instead of by assigned seats, may have aided Semaj, Lakewood police Lt. David B. Guttu said.
The boy was unhappy after his family moved to Lakewood, outside Tacoma, Washington. His odyssey began Sunday when he stole a car that was left running outside a neighbor's house, only to be spotted by police near a highway intersection.
Police pursued Semaj at speeds up to 90 mph (145 kph) until he took an exit and the engine blew, after which the car went over a curb and coasted into a tree. He refused to come out of the car, so officers broke a window to unlock a door and immediately recognized him as a frequent runaway and car thief, Guttu said.
After his failed runaway attempt Sunday, Semaj escaped from home again on Tuesday, this time traveling by plane instead of car.
Last month Semaj also crashed a stolen car before being caught by police in Tacoma, and more recently he was caught in Seattle in a stolen car that had run out of gas, said his mother, Sakinah Booker.
She believes he learned to drive from playing video games on a PlayStation.
Booker said she had hoped to soon move her four sons back to Dallas, but Semaj grew tired of waiting.
Semaj was "incredibly motivated to get to Texas," Guttu said. "He doesn't want to live in Washington state."
Booker said her son dislikes the neighborhood where the family lives and is afraid of a sex offender who lives nearby.
"He does not like it here at all," she said.
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