If you had to spend the night locked in a big store, what better store than Target. That's likely what a 12-year-old boy in Columbus, Ohio, was thinking when he spent the night in a local Target store. The boy was found the following morning by a store employee.
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The boy, who has not been identified by any news outlet, was in the store on Sunday night when it closed at 10 p.m., and yet no employees came across him during their closing duties. No one knew he was there until the following morning, around 6:15 a.m., when an employee opened the store.
According to Columbus police, the boy ran away from home. His parents had filed a missing persons report for him on Sunday night. The police turned the boy over to Franklin County Child Services on Monday, and his parents were expected to pick him up from there.
"The child’s parents are happy that he is safe and that he will be returning home shortly," Columbus police spokeswoman Jennifer Watson said in a statement emailed to The Columbus Dispatch.
The police don't plan on filing any charges against the parents.
Target also released a statement.
"The well-being of our guests is our top priority. Our team in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, immediately contacted law enforcement upon finding this child and cared for him until authorities arrived," Target spokesperson, Joe Unger, said in a statement shared by multiple outlets.
