Hurricane News Scares 8-Year-Old Fla. Girl Into Trying To Ride Bike To Ohio

[Sci-Fi]

From local6:

Hurricane News Scares 8-Year-Old Fla. Girl Into Trying To Ride Bike To Ohio (http://www.local6.com/news/13913737/detail.html)

Sheriff's Deputies Find Missing Girl Pedaling Out Of State

August 18, 2007

DELAND, Fla. -- An 8-year-old DeLand girl reported missing was found by police riding her bike as fast as she could to leave the state of Florida, fearing a massive Hurricane Dean was on its way.

The parents of Heather Snoke reported the girl missing Wednesday night after last seeing her riding on her bike, according to a newspaper report.

Volusia County sheriff's deputies searching by helicopter eventually spotted Heather about a mile from home on East Plymouth Avenue, still on her bike.

She told officers that the recent news about hurricanes had scared her, and she wanted to ride her bike back home.

"It is amusing but at the same time sad," DeLand police Deputy Chief Randel Henderson said.

The girl was transported back to her home and was not injured.

No charges are pending, Henderson said. "There was no abuse. There was no neglect. It's a happy story. We're just so excited we were able to find this little lady."

The family recently moved to Florida from Columbus, Ohio, and her parents said she hasn't made any new friends yet, an Associated Press report said.

[Mo'Phat]

...wait...they found her (by helicopter...after the parents reported her missing) about a mile from home?

Why didn't mommy and daddy just hop in the car and go pick her up? In the time police could send a helicopter to do a search, I'm pretty sure I could have searched the roads myself.

Ah...gotta love Florida.

[chevy42083]

I heard that and was thinking... man, I wonder how far any of us would've gotten if we decided to do that.

Then I was thinking... jeez, I hope they evacuate houston again.... I wanna go on a bikeride down I-10 :D
I didn't evacuate last time, and was left with WIDE OPEN roads all to myself. Beautiful weather, and an excuse to BBQ all the steaks and other meat incase the freezers quit on us :D We had a nice little hurricane party.... without the hurricane.

[Luwin1026]

She be like the youngest solo RAAM rider ever!!!

[Sci-Fi]

Well..she's only 8 years old. What kind of bike could she have been riding? She was 900 miles away from her former home and friends in Ohio. Funny thing was the street she was found riding on goes east-west..maybe making a detour to Daytona Beach?..or just retracing what she remembers her dad's driving route to their new home. In any case she must have been pretty scared (probably from watching the news on what happened to New Orleans last year) to want to leave the state. Here's another report that showed the father did drive around looking for her:

An 8-year-old girl who recently moved to Florida caused a panic when she tried to ride back home to Ohio on her bicycle out of fear of hurricanes.

A sheriff's helicopter, search dogs and neighbors found the girl after an hour-long search Wednesday night.

"It is amusing but at the same time sad," DeLand police Deputy Chief Randel Henderson said.

According to a police report, Heather Snoke told investigators "that she was headed back to Columbus Ohio, because she was afraid of hurricanes and that was her home."

Heather was riding her bicycle in front of her home Wednesday, mother Melissa Snoke, 37, told police. Twenty minutes later, the girl's father, John Snoke, 41, came home and noticed Heather was gone.

While the mother called police, John Snoke drove around the neighborhood looking for his daughter but did not find her.

DeLand police arrived and began a search, aided by tracking dogs and a Volusia County sheriff's helicopter. A homeless camp was also searched.

The family did not return a message left by The Associated Press at their home Friday.

No charges are pending, Henderson said. "There was no abuse. There was no neglect. It's a happy story. We're just so excited we were able to find this little lady."

[SunFlower]

That 8 yr old girl showed more inititiave and self reliance than 50,000 people in New Orleans.

[Luwin1026]

It makes me happy that they started searching right away. I've had a client who ran away from home and his mother was told he needed to be missing for like 24hrs in order to file a missing persons and for anything to happen.

[CyLowe97]

That 8 yr old girl showed more inititiave and self reliance than 50,000 people in New Orleans.

Don't worry, after she lives through her umpteeth hurricane warning, she'll go numb to the evacuation suggestions, as well.


And remember, it wasn't the hurricane that did in N.O. That actually hit direct to the east of N.O. It was the levies breaching that doomed the Big Easy.

[Mo'Phat]

...because of the hurricane.

/just saying. If no hurricane, then no storm surge to breech the levees.

[Extort]

Maybe we can recruit a crew for her next time a hurricane comes her way!