A 14-year-old boy, with a history of running away to abandoned properties, decided to live inside a Texas Walmart instead of staying with some relatives.
Employees at the store in Corsicana were shocked to discover the child in their store on July 30, police said in a statement issued Wednesday.
He was discovered 54 hours after he ran away from home. He built secret makeshift lairs behind rolls of toilet paper, constantly changed his clothes and wore diapers to avoid being seen running to the bathroom, reports TV Station CBS 11 in Dallas and Fort Worth.
Walmart spokesman Brian Nick told the Daily News they are investigating the situation and are not sure exactly how long the boy was in the building. He said as soon as the manager discovered the child they contacted authorities and were concerned for his safety.
“This is a sad situation,” he said.
The child had been staying with his aunt because his parents, who live in the neighboring city of Rice, were out of town, police said. On July 28, he fled his aunt’s home while she watching television and she called police.
The mother told police the boy had a history of running away – usually to abandoned houses, creeks or businesses, police said.
More than two days after he fled employees of the Walmart located him at 10:47 p.m. July 30, He was transported to “licensed professionals for follow up care,” police said.
He divided his time between two locations — one in the baby products aisle behind boxes of strollers and the other behind rows of toilet paper and paper towels, the station reported.
The teen lived off of food from the store — making a crack in the back of the drink aisle to swipe beverages — and changed his clothes every few hours so he wouldn’t be noticed, the station reported.
But the child did leave a trail of garbage that ultimately led employees of the 24-hour store to discover him, the station reported.
The child appeared to be physically in fine condition, police said.
Nick said they have not asked police to press charges and he was not sure how many items the child took from the store.
Police were called to the store and the teenager was transported back to his relatives. No charges for the family have been announced.
A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services told The News the department is not involved in the investigation. Police said that agency is only conducted in cases involving runaway children if the child was a victim of abuse, neglect or living in a dangerous environment.
“In this case there is no indication any of those circumstances are present,” police said.
Police said they would not release any additional information since it involves a juvenile.
jlandau@nydailynews.com Follow on Twitter at @joelzlandau
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