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Observant Utah clerk helps police locate Missouri teens who ran away for Las Vegas trip

Posted at 3:41 PM, Feb 08, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-08 17:41:12-05

EMERY COUNTY, Utah — An observant gas station clerk in Green River helped police locate two runaway teenage girls from Missouri who had hired someone to drive them to Las Vegas.

According to a press release from the Emery County Sheriff’s Office, two girls ages 13 and 14 left home in St. Louis, Missouri Sunday and hired someone to drive them to Las Vegas.

On the way, the girls stopped at a gas station in Green River, Utah Monday. Police stated the teens took steps to avoid detection at that point.

“They intentionally left their cell phones in the restroom so they couldn’t be tracked and continued on to Las Vegas,” the press release states.

Tuesday the girls stopped at the same gas station and asked for their phones, which had been turned in to a store clerk. The clerk was concerned and contacted Emery County Sheriff’s Office.

A deputy responded, questioned the girls and then took them to a juvenile detention facility in Price. The driver was questioned by local authorities who were in contact with police in St. Louis, and the driver was allowed to return to St. Louis.

Police state the case remains under investigation. It was not clear if the driver was an adult or a juvenile, and the identities of those involved have not been released.