Boys, 17, Chased Down Twice

Barrington police had to chase down – not once, but twice -- two Providence teens on Sunday, June 17, who slipped out of the custody of DCYF.

The boys, both 17, went missing from a juvenile shelter operated by the RI Department of Children, Youth and Families. They were returned to the custody of the agency by Barrington police after they were spotted allegedly trying to siphon gasoline from a car at the BP station on County Road.

The boys were picked up by patrol officers on the East Bay Bike Path heading for Warren around 5:45 pm. They were spotted after attempting to siphon the gasoline around 5:25 pm, said Police Chief John LaCross.

“I have no idea why they wanted the gas,” said LaCross. “One of the boys was riding a bicycle; the other was on a skateboard.”

One of the teens was carrying a backpack with a gaoline can and a hose concealed in it, LaCross said.

The boys were taken to the Barrington police station, where they were held until a DCYF field agent came to pick up the teens around 7:30 pm. They were released into his custody.

Not so fast.

Barrington police noticed about 8:55 pm that two police alerts were put out about the teens they had picked a few hours earlier. They apparently told the DCYF agent to stop his car or they would jump out while heading north toward Providence on the Wampanoag Trail.

The DCYF agent stopped and the boys jumped out and took off near the Mobil station on Wampanoag Trail at the intersection with Mink Road. The boys reportedly were headed toward Seekonk, Mass.

A new search ensued and a Barrington police officer spotted the boys near the intersection of New Meadow Road and Sowams Road in Barrington about 9:09 pm. He took them into custody without incident, LaCross said.

“One of them said he had family in Warren,” LaCross said.

The boys were released a second time to DCYF about 10:16 pm.