Tiffany, 16, ran away because she was "tired" of parental authority.
She joined an older friend, another runaway who later called her folks and got permission to move out."We stayed wherever we could stay," Tiffany said. "She works. I slept a lot. We kind of wandered around. We went camping one night. We always found somewhere to stay.
"I was sick of rules. But when I left, I wasn't planning on leaving. I just didn't call or go home. Then I started worrying about what would happen when I got caught. I decided to deal with it when it comes. I knew my Dad would either be really upset or happy I'm alive. He was both."
Tiffany's decision to walk away from home is not uncommon. In fact, this is the season for it.
"In the summer, we have more runaways than in the winter," said Capt. G.Q. Nielsen of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office Juvenile Division. His department handles about 65 new and ongoing runaway cases each day.
"There are a multiplicity of reasons why kids run way," he said, citing peer pressure, problems at home, school pressures, the need for attention and to have an "adventure."
"There's a lot of frustrations out there. These kids are under a lot of pressure to succeed. Some run away, some commit suicide, some do drugs. They are all under different pressures," said Nielsen. "Their needs aren't being met in their homes or community. They have unfilled inner drives, unresolved conflicts, fears or family problems. And it's easier to run than to face responsibilities, disappointments and frustration. Young people whose needs are not being met . . . They are going to find ways to meet those needs. Running away is the first sign of kids crying for help."
When a child runs away, he said, it is usually precipitated by an episodic event, such as a divorce or a family fight.
Tiffany met other runaways. Their reasons, she said, varied. "Sometimes they feel like nobody would miss them if they left. So they do. Some had big arguments with parents or siblings. It's usually more than just surface anger. There's hurt, confusion and frustration."
Her father wanted her to get a summer job. She didn't want to. She also didn't want to sit around the house and watch television.
On the run, she borrowed clothes, toothpaste and shampoo from new "friends." She slept where she could and "partied as much as possible." She got caught when she sneaked home to get her own clothing and her dad came in.
He gave her a weeklong "cooling- off period" before coming home. But she was arrested at a party. The next morning, she checked into an inpatient drug rehabilitation program.
Nielsen said that runaways have changed in the past few years. Boys once made up the largest group of runaways. Now girls outnumber them. On average, a youth is missing for three days. The average age is 14-17.
He blames society's permissiveness and the ease teens have finding others to run with for the large caseload. Pornography and violent movies contribute to the problem as well, he said, because they teach youths that "any type of behavior seems to be acceptable with very few consequences."
Runaways consume an officer's time. First, police have to be sure there's no foul play involved. They spend hours on the phone with parents, friends and other sources looking for the child. Parents expect the police to find a child before he gets in serious trouble or is hurt.
"Parents can't divorce themselves from running down leads," Nielsen said. "The can't expect police to do it all. They have a responsibility to try to track down that child."
Although some runaways have been abused by family members, parents are often the victims when their child runs away, said Nielsen. "These young people have no idea the pain and trauma they put their parents through. Sometimes young people hold us responsible for mistakes, but parents are just not trained to deal with the multiple issues kids have these days."
Runaways who are found are turned over to Youth Services, then sent back to the families. But if the underlying problem isn't resolved, the child soon runs again. "We have a high rate of recidivism," Nielsen said. "What we find we are doing now is just first-aid."