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RUSH CITY, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Rush City, Minnesota toddler sent pulses racing this week after he went missing. As it turned out, the boy got behind the wheel of his toy tractor and hit the road for a night out.
At two and a half years old, Kenneth Allen may be camera shy, but he’s fearless behind the wheel. Early Thursday evening, the toddler went missing from his home. His motorized John Deere toy tractor was also nowhere in sight.
"Just scared, what was going through my mind was that someone had actually took him," his mother Lynn told us. She called 911 and within minutes Chisago County Sergeant Jason Foster was on the case.
"Me and my partner converged on the area and sure enough there he was on his little John Deere battery-powered tractor," the sergeant says.
Traveling one mile per hour, Kenneth left his yard, hit the road and drove to the Chisago County Fair two blocks away. "He had the brightest red hair, you couldn’t miss this little guy," says Sgt. Foster.
"I was glad to see him, but the first thing I did was pop the hood, pulled his battery and said you’re grounded," Kenneth's father Kristopher Allen recalled.
With the sights and sounds of the fair nearby, authorities believe Kenneth knew exactly where he was going. After his unexpected road trip, Kenneth's parents are putting the brakes on their son's toy wheels.
"I heard the dad say that he’s lost it for a week, so I don’t think I have to worry about him speeding on the city streets for a week here," says Sgt. Foster.
Kristopher Allen adds, "Kids will be kids and things will happen, it is what it is. I’m not mad at him; next time stay in the yard."
Kristopher Allen says his son has had the toy tractor for about three months, and when they first bought it, Kenneth wouldn't touch it. Now, they can't keep him off of it. Kristopher says that he's thankful Chisago County authorities located his son so quickly.