Florida Family Had Scare Of A LifeTime After Their 5-Year-Old Snuck Out Of House On Chick-Fil-A Run

Sometimes you just have to go on a fast food run.

A Florida family got the scare of a lifetime earlier this summer when their resourceful, 5-year-old son named William decided that he’d walk to the nearby Chick-fil-A on his own. Obviously, that’s no age to be walking around and doing things independently… but the parents had no idea their kiddo had even left the house.

One June morning, while William’s sister and parents were still asleep, he got up and quietly exited the family home. There was even a security fence and gate that the 5-year-old had to navigate through, but all of those obstacles somehow didn’t hinder him from making his way to the fast food restaurant.

William must have really wanted his Chick-fil-A.

Not long after William got to the eatery, employees there realized that the 5-year-old was there by himself, and called the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Patrol Officers Kelly and Perri responded to the call and had their body cameras turned on, capturing every interaction between the little boy, the Chick-fil-A employees and the officers.

Officer Kelly described what they saw when they walked into the restaurant:

“We arrived on scene, and as we walked in, we see a little kid sitting at the table eating his breakfast with one of the managers. We asked where he came from and he kept saying he walked to Chik-Fil-A.”

So the officers started putting the puzzle pieces together. They knew that William lived nearby, but didn’t have an address, parent’s name or phone numbers to get in touch with them. The other responding policeman, Officer Perri, knew that William’s parents must have been freaking out:

“I have children and, you know, you get that knot in your stomach because you know somebody else who’s a parent is missing their child.”

Because they had limited information, the two responding officers decided to see if William could direct them to his home based on memory. They led the 5-year-old was led out to the police car, and before he got into the vehicle, the body camera captured him hilariously asking:

“Are you going to put me in jail?”

The officers laughed, and told the little boy that they weren’t taking him to jail, and instead were helping him get home. Not too long after they started their drive – with a 5-year-old in the backseat of the cop car – William told them that his house had a big white fence. That detail allowed for the officers to find William’s home and return him to his parents.

The mother and father had no idea that William had went on a secret Chick-fil-A run, but the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department made sure to point out in their post that they were not in trouble:

“William’s parents are not in any trouble. They had several safety measures in place. But this is a good reminder to teach kids their home address, parents’ names, and a phone number. It could make a big difference in an emergency. A big thank-you to the Chick-fil-A employees who immediately called us and kept William safe until officers arrived.”

And just think… all of this could have been avoided if the kid got his early morning Chick-fil-A craving on a Sunday.The post Florida Family Had Scare Of A LifeTime After Their 5-Year-Old Snuck Out Of House On Chick-Fil-A Run first appeared on Whiskey Riff.