Missing Wisconsin teen caught speeding in Florida school zone in stolen car: deputies

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PALM COAST, Fla. - A missing Wisconsin teenager was arrested after being pulled over for allegedly speeding in a school zone in Flagler County.

The 17-year-old boy faces a grand theft auto charge because he was driving in a stolen car, deputies said.

On Tuesday morning, a Flagler County deputy pulled over a silver Chrysler sedan with a Wisconsin tag for traveling 31 mph in a 20-mph school zone.

Inside the vehicle was the boy and an 18-year-old passenger, Katie Stevens. The boy told the deputy he was new to the area and did not realize he was driving through a school zone. He was given a written warning.

A few hours later, the Flager County Sheriff’s Communications Center received information that a silver Chrysler matching the plate of the 17-year-old had just been reported stolen. The boy had also been entered as a missing person by the Green Bay Police Department in Wisconsin.

A 17-year-old boy from Wisconsin was arrested in Florida for grand theft auto after deputies found him traveling in a stolen car, authorities said. (Flagler Sheriff's Office)

Deputies used data from its Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) to locate the car, which was at a Daily's gas station on Boulder Rock Drive in Palm Coast. Multiple units responded to the area due the traffic stop being considered "high-risk."

The boy and Stevens were removed from the vehicle and taken into custody.

A 17-year-old boy from Wisconsin was arrested in Florida for grand theft auto after deputies found him traveling in a stolen car, authorities said. (Flagler Sheriff's Office)

An investigation revealed the boy had stolen the car from his father while he was away on business, deputies said. The teen was restricted from driving the car after being stopped by local law enforcement in Green Bay, Wisconsin a few weeks prior for reckless driving.

Authorities said he stole his father's car keys and left Wisconsin two or three days prior to the traffic stop in Palm Coast. He was taken to the Flagler County jail and was later turned over to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice in Daytona Beach.