Store’s security questioned

DALLAS (TIP): A runaway Texas teenager ate, slept and changed clothes for two days, undetected inside a 24-hour Wal-Mart near Dallas, according to police and news reports. The 14-year-old boy had set up two hideouts at the 200,000-square-foot Supercenter in Corsicana – one behind baby strollers, the other behind the paper towels and toilet paper, KTVT-TV reported. He had apparently lived there since fleeing his aunt’s house July 28 while his parents were away.

His parents told police their son had run away before, hiding in other businesses, abandoned buildings and creek beds. To avoid detection, he changed clothes every few hours and wore diapers rather than use the restrooms, employees said. He even snagged a pet goldfish.

Late the night of July 30, store employees called police after finding the teen, who was not identified. “We just didn’t have any knowledge that this child was missing, and certainly not in one of our stores,” Wal- Mart spokesman Brian Nick reportedly told police and media. Some shoppers questioned the store’s security.