Ohio mother of 8-year-old girl who took family’s SUV for Target run said it was ‘impressive’ but ‘dangerous’

The Ohio mother of an eight-year-old girl who last month drove herself 10 miles in the family’s SUV to Target explained how her daughter managed to steal the vehicle and sneak out to take herself to the store.

Tangie Wilson told the New York Times that she found it “impressive” that her daughter, Zoe, was able to steal her keys, ID, wallet, dog and car to take on a nearly 30-minute drive on busy roads to Target that resulted in no accidents. Wilson said the girl was not punished for the incident.

Wilson said she was asleep at the family’s home in Bedford when Zoe was driving on Sept. 15. Wilson said she had woken up that morning, saw Zoe playing with her iPad on the couch and went back to sleep.

But later, Zoe had a fight with her 15-year-old sister and left for the store in her mother’s 2020 Nissan Rogue with the family shih-tzu/poodle mix named Bear.

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About thirty minutes later, Zoe’s sister woke up Wilson and told her that she could not find Zoe or their dog.

The family also noticed that their car had disappeared and filed a missing person report around 7 a.m. As Bedford Police began to investigate, they received calls about a child driving and swerving in an SUV.

Police located the vehicle in a Target parking lot and, inside the store, they found Zoe walking down the aisles with her dog Bear after just buying $400 worth of merchandise that included an iPad case, toys and make-up.

Wilson told the New York Times she was surprised that her daughter was able to check out with such a large purchase and without any adults checking on the young and unaccompanied child.

“Well I’ve finally found a woman who’s in more of a hurry to shop at Target than my wife. More of a hurry by 8 years,” Bedford Police wrote on Facebook. “Thankfully she made it and was immediately located by Bainbridge Police. She’s now home safe. Not sure what she bought, or if she was even able to use her Target app to save 5%. We did let her finish her Frappuccino. We’re not mean.”

Zoe had a receipt for $400 worth of items charged to her mother’s card, but police made her return the items when they arrived. Police said the girl is too young to be charged criminally, and that they were grateful that no one was injured.

Wilson said the officers may have actually purchased the Frappuccino for Zoe, or police just included it in the Facebook post to make it a cute story.

The mother said when Zoe was confronted by officers, she casually told them that she had hit a green mailbox on her way to the store.

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Yet, despite the dangerous adventure, Wilson said she did not discipline her daughter.

“I spoke to her and reassured her that I loved her and how I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her and how dangerous and big the situation was,” Wilson told The New York Times.

Wilson said her daughter’s driving ability was “impressive,” particularly since the girl managed to drive through a construction zone near the Target without hitting anything.