Crime & Safety

Missing Girl Found in Van Full of Teens

Driver, 17, cited for transporting non-family members.

A 14-year-old Novato girl who went missing for almost a full day was located early Saturday morning in Ignacio when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled over a minivan full of teens after witnessing some unsafe driving, the CHP said.

At 2:10 a.m., a Mercedes sedan and a Chrysler minivan were stopped at the intersection of northbound Nave Drive and Ignacio Boulevard, directly in front of a CHP unit, when the minivan driver revved his engine to entice a race as the light turned green, said CHP Officer Eric Hohmeister.

Both vehicles turned west into Ignacio Boulevard and the CHP officer watched the minivan driver weave across lanes and cross into bike lane.

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The officer pulled over the minivan driver near Palmer Drive in the Pointe Marin area and found that there were five Novato teens inside, including a 17-year-old male driver who was a provisional licensee and ineligible to drive other passengers other than his family members. Three of the passengers were not wearing seatbelts, according to the CHP report.

Parents were called to the location to pick up their kids, and it was discovered that one set of parents had been frantically trying to locate their daughter all day.

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The driver was issued a citation for three violations of passengers under 16 traveling unbelted and for violating the provisions of his license, Hohmeister said.


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