7-year-old drives 20 miles

CASEVILLE, Mich., June 22 (UPI) -- Police in Michigan said a pajama-clad 7-year-old who took his stepfather's car for a 20-mile drive told officers he was trying to reach his father's house.

Caseville Police and the Huron County Sheriff's Office said they received a 911 call shortly after 10 a.m. Monday from Aaron Scott, 16, of Rochester, who spotted the boy, whose family was not identified, driving in downtown Caseville, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.

"I didn't really believe what I was seeing," Scott said.

Scott followed the boy into a rural area outside of town, where he and police said the boy drove the red Pontiac Sunfire at speeds of 65-70 mph.

Police said they were able to stop the boy by boxing him in near the Pigeon River bridge outside Caseville, about 20 miles from the Sheridan Township home where he lives with his mother and stepfather.

"He was crying and just kept saying he wanted to go to his dad's," Caseville Police Chief Jamie Learman said. "That was pretty much it: He just wanted to go to his dad's."

Investigators said the stepfather was not home at the time of the incident and the boy's mother, who works the night shift, had been sleeping. She did not know her son was gone until police called her home, investigators said.

Police said the Department of Human Services and the Huron County Prosecutor's Office have been informed of the situation and are working to determine whether any charges will be filed.