Florida siblings, ages 10 and 11, stopped while driving mom’s car 200 miles from home
GAINESVILLE, Sep 23: A 10-year-old Florida boy and his 11-year-old sister who were running away to California drove 200 miles (320 kilometers) in their mother’s car before they were stopped by sheriff’s deputies on an interstate highway, authorities said. The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office says deputies spotted the sedan on Interstate 75 near Gainesville in north Florida just before 4 a.m. Thursday. The children’s mother had reported it stolen and her children missing four hours earlier in North Port, a city in southwest Florida. The deputies, thinking that they were dealing with car thieves, drew their guns and ordered those inside the car to step out. “Much to their surprise, deputies observed a 10-year-old male driver exit the vehicle along with his 11-year-old sister,” the department said in a statement. The children told deputies the girl had been upset that their mother had taken away her electronic devices for misbehaving, so the boy was driving her to California. The children were interviewed by detectives, who said there was no indication they had been mistreated by their mother or anyone else in the home. The names of the mother and children were not released. (AP)
Gator with missing nose and upper jaw finds new home in Florida
ORLANDO, Sept 23: A Florida reptile park has taken in an alligator that lost its nose and upper jaw to a fight or boat propeller. Gatorland Orlando said over the weekend that the injured alligator came from a lake in nearby Sanford, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Orlando. “She had basically no chance of surviving in the wild with such a severe injury,” the park said in a social media post. Over the next few days, the park’s veterinarian staff will be monitoring the gator in an effort to make sure it is eating in a stress-free environment, the park said. To get the gator to eat, the staff is cutting up small pieces of food that they will toss in the back of its throat. (AP)
