Four Teens Run Away From Home, Presumably, After ‘XBox Romance’

Four Iowa teens have been reported missing, and “XBox romance” has been cited as the cause of the teen’s disappearances.

According to a Good Morning America report on the XBox romance situation, the four teens — two teenage girls from Shellsburg and two teenage boys from Atlantic in Iowa — are believed to perhaps plotted their escapes before fleeing their homes on Saturday. (Back in September, a young teenage girl stole her family car and drove several states away to meet a boy she knew from playing Call of Duty. The girl was later found safe and returned home.)

The night before the two boys vanished from their homes, their parents report a run-in with police for breaking their curfews. Corey Sunderman and Austin Boggs, 13, are said to have disappeared early on Saturday morning. Corey’s mom Crystal Sunderman says that she took steps to ensure the boys stayed but, but they outwitted her before their assumed escape:

“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.”

Dad Tony Sunderman woke to find the boys missing, as well as a gold 1997 Jeep, Crystal Sunderman’s laptop and $400 from his recently cashed paycheck. The vehicle, which lacks complete registration, was later spotted several hours away in Benton County, near where the two missing girls live.

Later on Saturday, Jazlyn Visek (reported girlfriend of Sunderman) and Skie Floyd, 15, also were found to be missing from their homes. Benton County Sheriff Randall Forsyth said that while kids are known to run away, one thing was notable about Skie Floyd’s disappearance, and that the observation was worrisome:

“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 … It’s been long enough, and nobody’s heard from these kids … We’re not sure what the situation is.”

Crystal Sunderman admits that her son has left home in the past after meeting people on XBox.