My close family are the only ones who believe this because they experienced it at the time but nobody I now tell believes me. (Not that it's something I sing and dance about)
When I was 15, I was accused (and guilty of) fraud. I was arrested by the police one day before my 16th Birthday. I ended up getting bailed to return to the police station the following month. The day before I was due to return to the police station I panicked and decided I didn't want to go to jail. So I took my dad's credit card and off I went into London.
I texted my dad's card number to myself along with a little message saying book a hotel and he will pick me up in the morning and ended up staying in a lovely hotel just outside of St Pancras. That night I booked myself onto the Eurostar for the following morning and was heading off to France.
However when I got to the station, I noticed a police officer had a print out of my face as I was reported as a missing person (Not wanted for skipping bail, as unknown to me they had left a message on my home phone saying my bail had been extended by another month).
Anyway panic in hand I went and bought a ticket on the underground and off I went to Heathrow. Straight to the desk and bought a return flight to Los Angeles (I had a friend who lived there from the internet). But anyway, flight purchased and when I tried to check-in for the flight they told me I needed confirmation of where I'm staying to i went off to the internet cafe and booked myself into the Radisson at LAX for 2 weeks with nothing but the clothes on my back, i checked in and boarded the plane!
When leaving the airport at LAX, I had passed immigration had a little green visa stapled into my passport. Passed the baggage collection and suddenly i'm pulled aside asking why I'm traveling alone. I told them I was coming to visit a friend and my dad had paid for my flights. They wanted my friends number which I told them i didn't have and we speak via Skype/Windows Live Messenger. They also wanted my dad's phone number to collaborate my story which I refused telling them I'm not just handing over the number in the middle of the night for them to be woken up. But after waiting and the officer taking to other officers he came back, I'm expecting to be told that I'm being detained or something but no. "Get out of here, leave before I change my mind" and I was gone. Onto the free shuttle bus to my hotel and BAM.
I'm there, checked into the hotel, a tired, hungry, scared 16 year-old. The following morning with only a few pounds of my own money and my dad's card had stopped working. I went to the ATM in reception and was able to withdraw the remaining money from my bank and I walked, I walked and walked and walked what literally felt forever (https://imgur.com/a/QmhRyXU) here is the map. But this was in the blazing heat where I didn't know where I was going and the days before having google maps on your phone existed so I just knew I was going in THAT direction. I managed to buy some clothes from MACEYS to last me a few days and went into Ralphs and bought me some food, enough junk for me to sit in my hotel room and watch TV until the Friday where I was due to get paid from my job in the UK. (Would've been about 1000 USD at the time I was expecting)
Anyway, came along Thursday evening and when it had passed about 1AM UK time i checked the ATM and withdrew Money. The first thing I did was head to the front of the hotel, ask the man on the door to get me a taxi and off I went, to KFC. The next day with money in my pocket I went on a trip to Universal Orlando (On a bus provided by the hotel). I had a fun time, spent way more money than I could afford but oh well what did I care. I even bought my self a VIP skip the queue pass thing.
That evening I tried to get through to my friend who I knew from the internet and I spoke with him on the phone. Turns out my parent's had already been in contact with him and it's a little fuzzy what happened. I think he made an excuse that he couldn't meet up with me.
Anyhow, 16-year-old me, now short on funds, using the computers in the hotel to sell my Runescape gold just so I have money to eat, tries to get in contact with my family for them to send me money but they are telling me that they just want me home safe and refuse to send me any money.
At this point I'm ordering room service and ordering films on the hotel TV that I don't have money to pay for, after a few days of this, I get a call from the front desk saying that my card is being declined and would I be-able to come down and settle my bill. At this point I've got the little chain across the door scared. I don't know if it was day or night but at some point someone was trying to get into the room and talking through the gap in the door saying Mr Chapman you need to come settle your bill.
I had a flight ticket 5 days away which was to take me back to Heathrow airport but there was no way I could survive another 5 days, I phoned up the British consulate in LA and explained to them my situation, they said they would send someone to come get me and they will help me get back to the UK. So I pack my bags and get ready to leave then what happens next I never expected in a million years.
I've made the bed, packed all my stuff away and suddenly LAPD NOBODY MOVE - Around 5 officers burst into the room with guns drawn. In a flash i'm on the floor faced down arms behind my back told that I'm being arrested and taken to an ICE centre. I'm walked out of the hotel and I'm in the back of a 4x4 in the middle with people sitting either side of me and somebody in the front. We go on what felt like a massive tour at the time as we're driving we're actually having a good conversation and a laugh and joke, they had removed my handcuffs at this point when they realised I wasn't a threat.
Anyway we end up in this ICE centre and I'm booked in and put into a room by myself which had Juvenile written on it, I was there for what felt like hours upon hours until i'm taken to a hotel (well more like a little motel thing). But there was interconnecting rooms with a few people, I was the only English speaking detainee but I remember there being a pregnant lady there. I'm here for about 3-4 nights and have good conversation and laugh and jokes with the officers, there were a couple that had a power trip that would shout at you if you looked in their direction or anything like that. But one of the nights the officers actually ordered pizza.
As time passed it was suddenly time to go, and i was taken back to the immigration centre then I was taken off to the airport with two what I would describe as nice officers, I remember them having to talk to someone about what they were doing and it was the pilots decision wether to allow us on the flight or not which he did (and we had the entire back 2 rows of the plane for 3 people. We're the first ones off the flight when we land and we're met by 2 police officers who I'm handed over into their custody, we basically bypass all immigration / passport checks UK side and I'm taken to a small police station at Heathrow airport.
Again I'm there for what seems like hours, I fell asleep and pressed the call button at one point and told the office I was supposed to get picked up yesterday but officers from my home town, turns out it had only been about 90 minutes. Eventually I'm picked up by officers and driven back to my parents house.
At this point theres no shouting, no telling off they were just so worried and so happy to have me home, also I think worried if they told me off I would be a flight risk and just get up and go again. I remember my mum telling me I stunk and needed to get in the shower. (Which I probably did, I hadn't washed in about 2 days at this point).
Anyway lots of punishment from my family came in the coming weeks but yeah I that's a story that nobody I tell believes and I have to get my mum to tell it to people!
Tl;dr Stole my dad's card at 16 and spent a wild 2 weeks running away from home, made it all the way to LA, got arrested by LAPD, and flown home under armed escort.