Runaways allegedly stole vehicle
SUMMIT TWP — Two of five weekend runaways from Summit Academy are accused of stealing a vehicle near the reform school, authorities said.
The teens were later captured in Uniontown, Fayette County, still in the stolen vehicle, according to state police, adding that at least one of the other runaways was nabbed in Pittsburgh.
Summit Academy officials said all five boys, ages 16 and 17, were apprehended Monday afternoon, according to facility spokesman Dick Roberts.
However, as of 4 p.m., police were unable to confirm if all the youths were accounted for, after they were entered as missing in the National Crime Information Center database.
The academy said two boys left the school around 12 a.m. Saturday. Police said they were notified later about the missing students — a 16-year-old from Kittanning and a 17-year-old from Gallitzin, Cambria County.
The next day, three more boys — a 16-year-old from Indiana, Pa.; a 17-year-old from Greencastle, Franklin County; and a 17-year-old from Enola, Cumberland County — turned up missing around 10:40 p.m. Sunday.
The private school — which is for court adjudicated youth in grades nine through 12 — notified police at 11:45 p.m. Sunday, according to police officials.
All of the boys were listed as runaways, not escapees, police said, because they were not placed there for criminal matters. Rather, they are considered dependents, or wards of the state.
The designation could include children with no family or those in the custody of a public child welfare agency, such as Children and Youth Services.
Of the three boys who fled the school Sunday, one was eventually captured Monday in Pittsburgh, according to police.
The other two, police said, stole a vehicle from a home “relatively close” to the academy, police said, and took off.
They traveled about 85 miles south to Uniontown, where authorities said they were caught Monday in the same vehicle.
“The kids are still in custody in Uniontown,” said a crime unit officer. Unspecified charges are pending.
State police in Uniontown had no other details to release as of 4 p.m. Monday.
Roberts said all five of the boys who fled over the weekend are in “different situations” after being apprehended. He said he could not elaborate, citing child privacy laws.
