Four Teens Go Missing in X-box Romance

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Grand Master

Hum

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A romance that started on Xbox has ended in four Iowa teens running away from their homes, their parents and police say.

Two teenage girls from Shellsburg and two teenage boys from Atlantic went missing Saturday in what police said may have been a plotted escape.

Crystal Sunderman, the mother of missing 16-year-old Corey Sunderman, said she believes her son met his girlfriend Jazlyn Visek, 15, through Xbox's online gaming system and planned to run away with her and two other teens.

"I don't let him have a Facebook account because I don't want him meeting people online," Crystal Sunderman said. "I didn't realize they could do so much on Xbox."

Corey Sunderman and Austin Boggs, 13, disappeared early Saturday morning after a run-in with police the night before. Later that same day, Visek and Skie Floyd, 15, also disappeared.

Late Friday night, the boys snuck out of Corey's home to go skateboarding and were caught by the cops for violating curfew. After police brought the boys back to the Sundermans' home, Crystal Sunderman tried to make sure the teens wouldn't run out again.

"This is going to sound really stupid, but I took all the shoes downstairs and put them in a bag and took them up to my room, thinking if I had the boys' shoes, they couldn't go out and go skateboarding again," she said.

The boys found alternate boots in the garage and went a step further -- they ran away, she said.

When Corey's father Tony woke for work the next morning, he realized not only were the boys missing, but so were Crystal Sunderman's laptop and $400 from Tony Sunderman's newly-cashed check.

Also missing was a 1997 gold Jeep Cherokee Tony Sunderman had brought home from his iron and metal recycling job. The license-less vehicle was spotted nearly four hours away in Benton County at around 10 a.m. Saturday, the same county the missing Iowa girls call home.

Sheriff Randall Forsyth of Benton County said two boys driving a gold Jeep were spotted at a local shop Saturday morning, where they stopped to make a phone call. A man at the store let them, but only on the condition that they used a speakerphone.

"The conversation was something to the effect of, 'Don't pick us up at our house. Pick us up at the Quick Stop,'" Forsyth said.

At around 11:30 a.m., the missing Iowa girls told one of their mothers they were going to walk around a cemetery. At 3 p.m., they again spoke with one of their parents and said they were headed home.

The Jeep was spotted in Shellsburg shortly after dinner a block away from the Quick Stop, Forsyth said.

Parents and police have not heard from the four teens since.

This is not Corey Sunderman's first disappearance from home. He's left twice before, though he always returned and has never had any legal trouble, his mother said.

His most recent run this past summer, Crystal Sunderman said, also involved a girl he met on Xbox.

"He's got contacts in Pennsylvania, in Washington, in all these places," Crystal Sunderland said. "I mean, it's just like are you kidding me?"

However, since the teens' disappearance, they've had no communication police could trace.

Police and parents are speaking with students at each of the missing teens' schools. From those conversations, they've gleaned potential leads to the kids' whereabouts, which may include a Florida skateboarding park.

Wherever the teens have headed, it does not appear they brought a lot.

"One of the things that's a little out of the ordinary for a normal runaway is Skie did not take anything with her other than her cell phone," Forsyth said, leading police to believe the girls did not expect to be gone for long.

"It's been long enough, and nobody's heard from these kids," Forsyth said. "We're not sure what the situation is."

Crystal Sunderman said she is grateful for extensive help from the Benton County Sheriff's Office, but said she still fears the possibility of never seeing her son again.

"The most important thing of all is that wherever our kids are, whatever they're doing, if any one of them decides they've had enough, that this isn't as exciting as they thought, that they want to come home, as their parents we will do anything to get them home," she said.

"We'll protect them as much as we can from any consequences," she said. "It's more important to get them home than worrying about what's going to happen next. That's the number one thing."

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Grand Master

FloatingFatMan

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Late Friday night, the boys snuck out of Corey's home to go skateboarding and were caught by the cops for violating curfew.

Wait.. Wait... CURFEW!? What is this? 1940's Berlin? Land of the free indeed!

"He's got contacts in Pennsylvania, in Washington, in all these places," Crystal Sunderland said. "I mean, it's just like are you kidding me?"

Mother is a moron. There's likely a LOT more to this story than we're being told. Restrict your kids too much, this sort of stuff will happen.

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Twiddle

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"I don't let him have a Facebook account because I don't want him meeting people online," Crystal Sunderman said. "I didn't realize they could do so much on Xbox."

Late Friday night, the boys snuck out of Corey's home to go skateboarding and were caught by the cops for violating curfew. After police brought the boys back to the Sundermans' home, Crystal Sunderman tried to make sure the teens wouldn't run out again.

"This is going to sound really stupid, but I took all the shoes downstairs and put them in a bag and took them up to my room, thinking if I had the boys' shoes, they couldn't go out and go skateboarding again," she said.

"We'll protect them as much as we can from any consequences," she said. "It's more important to get them home than worrying about what's going to happen next. That's the number one thing."

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And you wonder why he ran away?

Ladies and gentleman, this is what happens when you try to completely shelter and control your children's lives. I'm sure these parents have more strict policies than we know.

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Grand Master

Vykranth

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As much as I would agree that the mother's oppresive control and methods over her children are flabbergasting, I am thinking before anything else about the kids and I hope that nothing bad happened to them and that they will be found safe and sound.

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Grand Master

shakey

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Nearly 10k posts and has not realised that we dont all live in america and defiantly dont have the same dumb laws!

Hey what can i say, i'll act nicer when you act smarter.

It's active is most states and most of the mostly populated cities in america. You probably have one in your state, you just are not aware of it. Don't blame me for your ignorance of what is happening around the country you live in. Not my fault you don't pay attention to what is happening in your country.

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ILikeTobacco

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Nearly 10k posts and has not realised that we dont all live in america and defiantly dont have the same dumb laws!

Hey what can i say, i'll act nicer when you act smarter.

Pot, meet kettle.
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Keyboard Cowboy

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It's active is most states and most of the mostly populated cities in america. You probably have one in your state, you just are not aware of it. Don't blame me for your ignorance of what is happening around the country you live in. Not my fault you don't pay attention to what is happening in your country.

I don't think he lives in America.
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shakey

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I don't think he lives in America.

Then he shouldn't be bothered by my first post. It obviously was only directed to those that live in the country. I wouldn't expect someone not from this country to know our laws and ways, just as I don't know all that goes on in any other country. But I do try and stay on top of what is going on in my country.

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Keyboard Cowboy

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Then he shouldn't be bothered by my first post. It obviously was only directed to those that live in the country. I wouldn't expect someone not from this country to know our laws and ways, just as I don't know all that goes on in any other country. But I do try and stay on top of what is going on in my country.

Fair enough.
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FloatingFatMan

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Then he shouldn't be bothered by my first post. It obviously was only directed to those that live in the country. I wouldn't expect someone not from this country to know our laws and ways, just as I don't know all that goes on in any other country. But I do try and stay on top of what is going on in my country.

Everyone commenting on not knowing of curfews before your initial post is a non-American. Perhaps you should pay closer attention to people's locations? :p

Also, seriously? Curfews?!

Welcome to the United States of Enslavia. Why aren't you lot objecting to this BS?

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ILikeTobacco

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Everyone commenting on not knowing of curfews before your initial post is a non-American. Perhaps you should pay closer attention to people's locations? :p

Also, seriously? Curfews?!

Welcome to the United States of Enslavia. Why aren't you lot objecting to this BS?

Are you suggesting children should be allowed to run around at any time of night? I guess that explains why the UK has issues with riots.
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Grand Master

FloatingFatMan

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Are you suggesting children should be allowed to run around at any time of night? I guess that explains why the UK has issues with riots.

I'm suggesting that controlling kids play time is the responsibility of parents, not government. Why are you letting your government do this to you?

Also, we don't have issues with riots. We had ONE riot, sparked off by a specific event of police killing an allegedly unarmed man. You guys have had similar riots (plural), so please don't bring that holier than thou attitude to the thread.

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Grand Master

shakey

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Everyone commenting on not knowing of curfews before your initial post is a non-American. Perhaps you should pay closer attention to people's locations? :p

Also, seriously? Curfews?!

Welcome to the United States of Enslavia. Why aren't you lot objecting to this BS?

If they don't have their location in the little space that normally shows it, I can not know. You and another commented. You had your's visable, but the other did not.

It has been objected by a lot. There were news shows on CNN and such outlets around the early 2000's up to about 2009 with people debating about all of them. But sadly, this nation is full of ******* that accept any law put down on them in the name of security.

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Grand Master

neufuse Veteran

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Wait.. Wait... CURFEW!? What is this? 1940's Berlin? Land of the free indeed!

most communities have a teen / kid curfew, heck our town has it set at 11PM for all kids under 16 to not be out wondering the streets / playing in public spaces..

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bane7378

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I'm suggesting that controlling kids play time is the responsibility of parents, not government. Why are you letting your government do this to you?

Also, we don't have issues with riots. We had ONE riot, sparked off by a specific event of police killing an allegedly unarmed man. You guys have had similar riots (plural), so please don't bring that holier than thou attitude to the thread.

Kinda seems like you were the one that brought the holier than thou attitude to the thread initially with your very first response by relating America to 1940s Berlin. Looking at your post history you seem to pretty commonly speak out against America's policies/practices though you don't even live here.

As for the whole idea of a curfew, yes, for people under certain ages it is illegal for them to be out past a certain time without parental supervision in most locations in the U.S. I don't have any problem with that though. I don't consider it a slam to my freedoms nor did I when I was a child. There is no need for a child to be out late. Yes, you can use the argument that parents should be responsible, and most are. Even for responsible parents though sometimes you can have a child that refuses to follow the rules, it isn't always COMPLETELY the fault of the parent. The curfew law simply makes it legal to take the child home, it isn't like they get arrested. I could go on about things that happen after dark but if someone doesn't understand that then I'm not entirely sure how to help them understand the increased risk to a naive child.

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FloatingFatMan

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Looking at your post history you seem to pretty commonly speak out against America's policies/practices though you don't even live here.

Incorrect. I speak out against EVERY country's policies/practices that I disagree with. America gets no special consideration for that, either way.

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