Girl lost in thoughtlessness

A cab driver must have been asleep at the wheel, or at least daydreaming, when he picked up a 13-year-old girl in Mount Vernon, drove her more than two hours to Camp Wartburg and dropped her in the middle of the woods.

Red flags should have been waving all over the place. How many youngsters do cabbies get as fares? How many of those don’t have a parent anywhere in sight? How many pay $110 in cash? What 13-year-old wouldn’t lay out her life story during 150 minutes in a car, leading to suspicions?

Disaster is sometimes averted by someone being alert: If you see something, say something.

Hundreds of searchers tromped through the woods. A mom spent a frantic two days. A young life was put at risk.

It appears that being clueless can be a crime.

This story was originally published July 5, 2015 at 10:03 AM with the headline "Girl lost in thoughtlessness."