The Ohio mother of the 8-year-old girl who went viral last month after driving herself 10 miles to Target has revealed just how her daughter was able to sneak out and buy $400 worth of toys and makeup.
Tangie Wilson told New York Times that she found it “impressive” how her third-grader Zoe stole her keys, ID, wallet, dog, and SUV for a joyride that resulted in no accidents – and that the girl was not punished for the dangerous exploit.
Wilson, a hairdresser, said she was asleep when Zoe was cruising – and swerving – on the road to the Target that is about 10 miles from the family’s home in the city of Bedford.
The mother said that on the morning of Sept. 15 she had woken up, seen to it that Zoe was playing with her iPad on the couch, and went back to sleep.
But little did she know that Zoe, after a fight with her sister, hopped in her mother’s 2020 Nissan Rogue with the family dog Bear, a shih-tzu/poodle mix, in tow for an early morning jaunt to Target.
About thirty minutes later, after Wilson went back to sleep, Zoe’s 15-year-old sister awoke their mother, telling her that Zoe and their dog were nowhere to be found.
The family realized that their car was also gone and filed a missing person report around 7 a.m., suspecting the worst — until Bedford Police responded to a call of a child driving an SUV erratically on the road.
Cops tracked the car to a Target parking lot. Inside the store, police found an unflustered Zoe perusing the aisles with her dog Bear, having just made a $400 purchase of an iPad case, toys, and make-up.
Wilson told the Times she was perplexed that her daughter made it all the way through checkout with such a hefty bill and not a single adult thought to check in with the clearly underaged and unaccompanied girl.
In a Facebook post, the Bedford Police Department quipped, “Well I’ve finally found a woman who’s in more of a hurry to shop at Target than my wife. More of a hurry by 8 years.”
“Thankfully she made it and was immediately located by Bainbridge Police,” the post continued, “She’s now home safe. Not sure what she bought, or if she was even able to user Target app to save 5%. We did let her finish her Frappuccino. We’re not mean.”
Zoe had a receipt for $400 worth of goods charged to her mother’s card, according to police, who say they made her return the items upon arrival.
Wilson said she didn’t mind the cheeky tone of the Facebook post and believes the officers actually purchased the Frappuccino for Zoe, or just included it in the story as a way to make it cute.
The mother added that Zoe was nonplussed when confronted by officers and then casually informed them that she had hit a green mailbox on her joyride.
Despite the dangerous stunt, Wilson opted not to punish her daughter.
“I spoke to her and reassured her that I loved her and how I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her and how dangerous and big the situation was,” Wilson told the Times.
Wilson admitted that she found her daughter’s driving ability “impressive”, notably that the 8-year-old was able to navigate a construction zone near the Target without hitting anything.
But her daughter’s newfound celebrity has caused the family some social stress as they try to navigate their regular schedule, including sports.
And in an unexpected twist, Zoe’s adventure is serving as an inspiration to her studies.
“She was like, ‘I’m worried because we’re doing multiplication and multiplication is hard’,” Wilson said of her daughter.
“And I’m like, ‘Zoe, did you know how to drive a car before you drove the car the other day?’ And she was like, ‘No.” And I was like, ‘OK, so just like that with multiplication, you don’t know how to do it but you’re going to learn.’”
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