Missing 2-Year-Old Boy Found at County Fair After Driving Himself There on Toy Tractor
Kids are clever, but they’re often underestimated. With enough drive and opportunity, they can shock you with the shenanigans they get into.
Young Kenneth Allen is a prime example of this. At 2 and a half years old, you’d think most of the trouble he could get into would be at home or the playground — but this boy had set his sights much higher.
As many children are, Kenneth was enthralled by the county fair. The lights, the sounds, the smells, the rides — the young boy was absolutely enraptured.
Unlike most children, Kenneth lived only two blocks from the Minnesota County Fair, and he was also the proud owner of a battery-operated John Deere tractor.
While his family had told him they’d attend the fair that weekend, that wasn’t soon enough for the red-headed 2-year-old, who proved he had an uncanny sense of direction when he took off from the family home on Thursday night.
“He was riding a tractor around the yard and, usually, he just stays in the yard,” Lynn Allen, the boy’s mother, told ABC News. “All of a sudden, it’s pretty quiet.”
“The worst possible thoughts go through your head,” she admitted.
Some have criticized the mother for not paying attention, but even the most watchful parents can experience accidents like this.
Thankfully, the boy hadn’t been kidnapped or injured. Instead, he somehow remembered how to get to the fair (you couldn’t see it from their house) and cruised along at a top speed of around 1.5 miles per hour.
“He drove down the frontage road at our house and drove around the parking lot and must have followed people right into the fair,” Allen said.
The police were alerted immediately, and it took them all of 10 minutes to find the runaway stationed in front of his favorite ride at the fair.
“He came in the back entrance through the fair, where emergency vehicles go,” Sgt. Jason Foster told USA Today. “No one saw him come in the gate.”
“I’m just glad that we could be in the right place at the right time and locate him so quickly for the parents’ sake,” he added.
“First call of the night at the county fair was a missing 2 year old who drove his tractor from home, to the fair,” the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook. “He was reunited with Dad who promptly suspended his son’s license by removing the battery from it.”
“I heard the dad say that he’s lost it for a week, so I don’t think I have to worry about him speeding on the city streets for a week here,” Foster told KMSP-TV.
According to the relieved father, Kenneth wasn’t exactly thrilled that the ruse was up and looked “disappointed” when his dad marched over to him.
“I was glad to see him, but the first thing I did was pop the hood, pulled his battery and said you’re grounded,” Kristopher Allen, the boy’s father, said.
The adventurous tyke was promised a little more supervised time at the fair over the weekend and hopefully he’ll stay put for the foreseeable future. Still, it’s impressive that the little guy maneuvered his way from his house to the fair, got into the fair through the back entrance and then found his way to his favorite ride.
“Man, he’s a smart little 2-and-half-year-old,” his mom said. Look out, mom — something tells us this is just the beginning!
The Western Journal has reached out to the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office for comment but has not yet received a reply. We will update this article if and when we do.
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