UPDATED at 10:15 p.m June 2:
The 13-year-old South Gate boy who rode his bike 80 miles to the Murrieta area Friday unfortunately did not get the chance to meet up with the girl he came to see, an official said Saturday.
The girl, 14, of Temecula, had met the boy about two months ago at Knott's Berry Farm. Their plan was to meet up again Friday at The Promenade in Temecula, according to Murrieta police Sgt. Dave Baca.
"I asked her if her parents knew about it and she said no," Baca said.
"She was actually shocked that he rode his bike down here," the sergeant added.
Baca had encountered the boy—dusty and sweaty from the 80-mile ride—at about 5:54 p.m. near Murrieta Mesa High School.
The boy's cellphone had died, which Baca said he later learned was because he was using the GPS on the phone to find his way to Temecula.
"The girl was contacted but unfortunately, he was never reunited with her," Baca said.
The boy was picked up from the Murrieta Police Department Friday night by a relative.
"His aunt was just shaking her head in disbelief, that he'd actually ridden his bike to Murrieta," Baca said. "He told me he almost got hit by a car twice."
ORIGINAL POST
A teenage crush is what prompted a 13-year-old boy to ride his bicycle 80 miles from South Gate to the Murrieta area Friday, police said.
His plan to reunite with a Murrieta girl he met recently at Knott's Berry Farm came to an end when he encountered a Murrieta police sergeant who was on patrol for graduation ceremonies at Murrieta Mesa High School.
It was at about 5:54 p.m. that Sgt. Dave Baca said the boy rode up to him on his bicycle and asked if he had a cellphone charger he could use. The boy told Sgt. Baca his cell phone had died, so he could not call the girl and he was not sure where she lived.
Using his investigative skills, Baca, who oversees juvenile matters at the Police Department, began to question the boy.
Baca said he learned the boy had left school Friday and rode his bike along Imperial Highway 90 to Yorba Linda, then traveled south on Interstate 15.
"He told me he had been riding on the freeway for two hours," Baca said.
According to reports, the boy had been sighted at about 4:45 p.m. riding his bike along southbound Interstate 15 in the Wildomar area.
Baca said the boy showed signs of dust, dirt and sweat from the ride. Obviously thirsty, he said he bought him a Gatorade and a carne asada burrito while police attempted to contact his parents by phone.
The sergeant was able to reach his father.
"He is a young, energetic boy who misled his parents and said he was going one way and went the other," Baca said. "He is pretty lucky not to have been hit by a car."
The boy was reunited with his aunt—who drove down from the East Los Angeles area—at about 9:30 p.m. at the Department, Baca said.
Baca said Child Protective Services was notified of the incident, and recommended the boy be allowed to return home to his parents.
"Nothing here merited a crime," Baca said. "But he is definitely from South Gate and that is where he is going back to."
