Boy, 11, cuts runaway time short

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- An adventure-minded 11-year-old boy in Texas said his big plans for running away from home ended after only half a day when he got bored.

Robert and Mary Anne Notzon of Austin said they discovered at about 9 a.m. Monday that their son Pablo was gone from their house and had left a note saying he would be gone for three months, the Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday.

The parents said Pablo had recently read "My Side of the Mountain," Jean Craighead George's 1959 novel about a boy who leaves home and lives on his own in upstate New York's Catskill Mountains.

Police were called and a search of the area began, but it ended after only a few hours when Pablo returned home on his own about 1 p.m.

Pablo said he had left the house about 7:40 a.m. with insect repellent, toilet paper, dental floss, flint and magnesium fire-starters, $80 cash, oranges, heat packs, a pack of socks, a compass and a pocket survival guide book. He said he rode his bike to a wooded area, where he made a knife out of bamboo, played solitaire and attempted to solve a Rubik's cube before realizing he could have more fun at home.

"It wasn't the best time of my life," he said. "I think it was a good experience. I have no regrets, except that I made everybody upset."