I actually get where you’re coming from here regarding not knowing where the kid is and then leaving to go somewhere else. I am a parent of a 10 year old.

I disagree with the state getting involved at all beyond giving the kid a ride to the appointment or back home and talking to the mom with a warning.

The kid should’ve just stayed home and waited instead of going off on his own to where they were because they might’ve gotten done and gone home and missed each other.

Edit: And read the story in full. Less than a mile away? Oof, yeah, that’s nothing. My kid rides his bike or walks around our neighborhood, a suburb of Chicago, and has gone that far or further without my wife and I worrying.