UPDATE: 10-year-old Fridley girl who took vehicle from home found safe
[KSTP-TV]
UPDATE: Police told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS on Wednesday morning that 10-year-old Ava Whitfield has been found safe.
Lt. Nick Knaeble with Fridley Police said the girl was found at about 10:30 a.m. at a Maple Grove Walgreens located on County Road 30. Whitfield told investigators she slept in the vehicle overnight at a gas station but didn’t know any directions and she wasn’t sure where she was.
Police said the girl wasn’t injured and has been reunited with her mother.
Police are seeking the public’s help in locating a missing 10-year-old from Fridley who is believed to possibly be driving around the Twin Cities metro area.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the child as Ava Whitfield.
Police say Whitfield took a vehicle from her home Tuesday morning and may be driving around the metro. The vehicle is a black 2018 Chevrolet Equinox with Minnesota license plate BAU-358.
She was last seen wearing a red tye-dyed hoodie, black leggings, black Nike tennis shoes and black-rimmed glasses.
According to the Fridley Public Safety Department, surveillance footage was obtained from retailers in Ramsey and Eden Prairie that showed the child driving the vehicle by herself and using her mother’s credit card to purchase items.
The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office reported the girl’s last known location was in the area of France Avenue South and Interstate 494 at about 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to call 911.