Police/Sheriff in the middle of nowhere and a random kid...

Here's the gist of the story (modern day setting) A 14 year old boy turns up waaaay out in the boonies. He's a nice kid and hasn't done anything wrong.

The adults he meets think he's a runaway and take him to the sheriff's office, who confirm that nobody's looking for him and his claim of not having any family is true. So now the sheriff has to figure out what to do with this random kid.

Here's the problem, the area is so sparsely populated that the sheriff's office has no contingencies for this situation. They don't have any approved foster parents within their jurisdiction, let alone a group home. Basically, the kid has nowhere to go.

1) Is this at all plausible? Are there any sheriff/police stations so far from any city that they could find themselves in this situation?

2) What would they realistically do with the kid?

3) Ideally, I would like him to end up staying for 3-4 weeks at the home of the sweet old lady who befriends him. She's in her 70s-80s, but still has all her facilities and is still able (albeit slowly and stiffly) to care for her chickens, a couple horses, some barn cats, etc. She offers her guest room and he really wants to stay with her. Would the authorities agree to this plan, at least temporarily, or would they insist on placing him someplace pre-approved?

Yes, it's in the US. I'm thinking northern Virginia-ish.

Are there age restrictions on foster parents? The old lady's so well known for taking in stray animals (even if it's just to feed them until her niece can take them to the SPCA) that her farm has been nicknamed "The Dropbox." I could see her applying to be a foster parent. If she's too old, maybe she was one when she was younger. Is being approved for fostering a one and done deal, or is it something you have to renew periodically? (I know there are regular inspections once you have a foster child in your care).

Re: not having any family. The character is raised by his uncle. They live in the same community for years (nowhere near where he's found), so the neighbors know them well. The boy has the police call one of the neighbors who verifies his identity and tells the police that as far as she knows, the uncle is his only living relative. They tell the sheriff that the boy and his uncle moved out several weeks before. The boy claims that his uncle ditched him and there's no immediate way to prove otherwise.

I'm working under the assumption that there's a national database for missing children, so that with a neighbor to verify his identity, they could easily confirm that the uncle, at least, was not looking for the kid. (If there's not a database like this, there should be).

Ultimately, it works out either way, as long as they can't immediately locate any relatives. Even if they suspect he was kidnapped as a baby or that the uncle had estranged living relatives or whatever, research takes time, and the kid would have to stay somewhere in the meantime.

Thanks everyone. This has really give me some great food for thought.Back to the drawing board for what to do with the kid... I've chucked him in 16 different directions but reality keeps pulling him back. Darn reality.

I know what happens next in the story, but finding a plausible path from point A to point B is killing me. Sigh...off to research some more.

WeaselFire said:

Then why are you turning him over to the cops? Skip the entire police section and write your story.

Jeff

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I'd love to skip the authorities, but the adults involved are responsible and reasonable people. When they find out that he's alone, what else can they do? He needs a place to stay, food, clothes, and an education. Even if he could convince them to hold off reporting him until....

OMG, you just solved the problem!

Seriously! I was going to write that they couldn't just enroll him in school, they'd have a hard time explaining where he came from, no birth certificate, no ID, etc. But he isn't GOING back to school. He just needs to delay them for a few weeks! (For a long and complicated reason, he is secretly desperate to stay in the vicinity).

They can strike a deal agreeing to let him stay with them until school starts, but then they're turning him over to the proper authorities. I just move around the timing of a few events and it's a done deal! This part of the story is already set in the summertime and everything!

Oh, it's perfect! All the pieces just fell into place! It works with the characters' motivations and the plot timing and everything. EEEEEE!

*ahem* ... if you'll pardon me, I have to go write now.

Hmmm, that might just work. He does look a bit older than his age although not significantly so (not enough to pass for an adult), but there are plenty of baby-faced folks out there and he's gotten to be a pretty good liar by this point in the story.