Report: Teen who hid in plane wanted to go to Africa to reunite with his biological mother

Hawaii News Now/Screenshot

Report: Teen who hid in plane wanted to go to Africa to reunite with his biological mother
(Image credit: Hawaii News Now/Screenshot)

The story about the teen who hid in a plane's wheel well — and survived a five-hour flight in subzero temperatures from California to Hawaii — is getting even more bizarre. Hawaii News Now reports the teen might have hopped on the Hawaiian Airlines jet because he was trying to get to Africa, where his biological mother lives.

The 16-year-old boy lives with his biological father and stepmother in Santa Clara, Calif., and he reportedly misses his biological mother. Police sources say the teen boarded the first plane he saw at San Jose International Airport on Sunday. The teen told authorities that he passed out shortly after take-off. The Department of Human Services in Hawaii said he's in the care of Child Welfare Services and is working to "ensure the child's safe return" to California soon.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.