(KMOV) – Eleven of the twelve youth who walked away from a treatment center in Normandy overnight were found on Wednesday, according to police.
Twelve youth, who were staying at the St Vincent Home for Children in Normandy, walked out of the facility. Lee Ann Taylor, the executive director at St Vincent, says a supervisor verbally asked the youth to stay and then called police. St Vincent works with youth who are placed in the home by their parents or sent to the home by the Missouri Department of Social Services.
The home is not a detention center. Taylor says staff can not physically restrain or prevent youth from walking away.
So far this year, Normandy police say that officers have investigated 55 runaway calls at the home so far this year. Most of the youth return on their own, but Major Tony Madigan says the department spends a lot of time and resources looking for the runaway youth.
"We're almost at a responsive point. All we can do is investigate it after its happened because the home has refused to cooperate with us. We've tried to find some common ground and a way that we can curb this and we haven't been able to get any help from them," said Maj. Madigan.
Taylor said there were three staff members on duty, monitoring 21 youth, when 12 of the teens walked away.
By Wednesday night, 10 of the youth returned to the home on their own. One was picked up by police after attempting to steal an apple from a business in Union Station. A 12th was still missing, but police had a lead on the youth's location.
