Dec 30, 2008 8:34 am US/Eastern
Missing Norwegian Boy Found On Miami Beach
MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) ―
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14-year-old Erik apparently ran away to explore America, leaving his family terrified of what could happen to the small town teen.
A Norwegian teen who reportedly ran away from his family while they were vacationing in Miami has been found on Miami Beach.
Initial reports say someone spotted 14-year old Erik Holst on Lincoln Road early Tuesday morning and called police. Officers picked up the teen, interviewed him and then returned him to his parents.
The Holst family was supposed to be on a plane back to Norway Monday night, but just a few hours before they were supposed to leave for the airport they noticed Erik was gone. He apparently ran away to explore America, said his family, who were terrified of what could happen to the small town teen, in the big city.
"He could be laying around or he could be with friends, I don't know but he doesn't have any friends in Miami so I don't know," said his mother, Ellen Holst.
The Holsts had no idea what Erik could be doing on his own in South Florida. The Holsts are from a virtually crime-free town of 6,000 people. Their back yard view is of cows, not skyscrapers.
"It's been horrible, absolutely horrible," said his father, Einar Holst. "A 14 year old boy in Miami? It's a jungle out there."
The Holst family arrived in Miami two days ago after going on a Caribbean cruise. They say Erik had fun. They had no idea that at 11:30 Monday morning, he would slip out of the hotel and take off.
"He took all his luggage, he took his passport, he took everything and just left," said his father.
They say Erik has never done anything like this before, but they believe he planned it. Erik's friends back in Norway say he'd been talking about exploring America on his own, but they thought it was a joke.
"He was so bored of where we lived that he wanted to run away when we came to America and just go to LA, just try to become something famous," said his older sister Elizabeth.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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