Original public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.
TAKING the term “unaccompanied minor” to whole new heights, a 9-year-old boy snuck onto a plane to run away from home, flying more than 2,700km away.
On the morning of Saturday, February 26, Emanuel Marques de Oliveira was reported missing by his parents in Manaus, a city in northwest Brazil.
He left authorities gobsmacked when they learnt he has embarked on his solo adventure after typing “how to get onto a plane unnoticed” into the Google search engine all the way from Manaus to Las Vegas.
Emanuel’s mother, Daniele Marques, said she noticed her son's disappearance in the early hours of Saturday.
She said: "I woke up at 5.30am, went to his room, and saw that he was sleeping normally. Then I fiddled with my mobile phone a little and got up again, at 7.30am, and that is when I realised that he was no longer in his bedroom and I started to panic."
His worried mother spent the entire day fretting over where her son could possibly be before learning that he was safe and sound on the other side of the country. She received the news about the boy’s whereabouts at 10 pm that night.
The child was able to board a plane with no travel documentation and no luggage, according to Manaus airport management.
JC Net, a media website, reported that the police investigating the issue said the “child acted completely alone” and was able to “circumvent security systems” in order to board the plane.
The crew first observed the unaccompanied minor after the plane was in transit and informed the Federal Police and the Guardianship Council, who attempted to obtain information about the child.
Local media have also reported that police have requested security camera footage from the airport and have launched an inquiry.