By Kaitlyn Alanis
The Charlotte Observer
FLORISSANT, Missouri — A 17-year-old girl is on the run after Missouri police say she managed to steal a patrol car while handcuffed in the back seat.
Authorities say the teen was arrested at about 12:45 a.m. Saturday, July 16, following a “disturbance involving juveniles.”
She was “properly handcuffed and seat belted in the back seat of the patrol car” as an officer continued investigating a few feet away from the vehicle, according to a news release from the Florissant Police Department.
While she was in the car, police say she manipulated the handcuffs in a way that allowed her hands to be at the front of her body.
She was then able to release her seat belt, climb into the driver’s seat and drive away, authorities said. There was no partition separating the front from the back seats.
Other officers on scene began chasing the stolen patrol car, “but lost sight of the vehicle almost immediately.” They found the wrecked vehicle a few minutes later, but the girl was gone.
Police say she collided with another vehicle before she was last seen running away.
A search for the girl is ongoing as of July 17. Police did not release her name or a description of the teen.
No injuries were reported in the crash.
Florissant is a suburb about 20 miles northwest of St. Louis.
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