Boy, 11, drives 200 miles to live with stranger he met on Snapchat

Boy took brother's car and drove across South Carolina before getting lost and seeking help from police officer

A young schoolboy drove almost 200 miles across the US state of South Carolina to go and live with a stranger he met on Snapchat.

The eleven-year-old Simpsonville boy had taken his brother’s car late on Sunday evening and driven it across the state to Charleston to meet an unknown male, local police said.

Officer Christopher Braun was in his police car shortly after midnight the following morning when he saw a motorist pull up to where he was parked on Rutledge Avenue.

“The driver was an eleven-year-old boy and the sole occupant in the vehicle,” said the Charleston Police Department in a statement.

“He told Officer Braun he had just driven three hours from Simpsonville and he was lost,” read the police statement.

The boy told the officer he was going to live with a man he had met on Snapchat, but had become lost.

He was using his father’s Insignia tablet but was unable to go to the man’s house after it dropped the GPS signal and he lost the address.

Mr Braun contacted the 11-year-old’s father, just as he was lodging a missing person’s report with the Simpsonville Police Department.

The man, and his other son, drove to Charleston to pick up the eleven-year-old and the vehicle.

The father’s tablet has been kept as evidence and is awaiting analysis.

Charleston Police Chief Luther T. Reynolds told CNN affiliate WCIV the incident served as a reminder to discuss social media safety with children.

Charleston police chief Luther T. Reynolds told CNN affiliate WCIV the incident served as a reminder to discuss social media safety with children.

“I would love tonight, right now, anybody who’s watching this, who is a parent of a child, especially an 11-year-old, to sit down with your 11-year-old, right now, right this moment and have a conversation about what you’re doing on social media, the dangers, the benefits and things that as a parent we need to talk about every day,” he said.