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Kid Spends 11 Days Hiding in NYC Subway
A New York City kid afraid his parents would be mad at him for getting in trouble spent eleven days hiding in the New York City subway system. And with all the post 9/11-big brother additions, somehow they still couldn’t find him.
So where was Francisco Hernandez?
Riding the D, the F and the 1 trains back and forth, back and forth, according to the New York Times. He ate cheap junk food from the subway food vendors, used the bathroom in one station. But with his MetroCard as his pass to the city, the Bensonhurst boy never actually went aboveground and out into the world.
Diagnosed with Aspergerger’s three years ago, the thirteen-year-old had taken to the subway once before – for five hours. But when he called his mom to tell her he was on his way home several weeks ago, she told him the school had called and she wanted to have a talk with him. That’s when the Times said he went underground – literally.
Littering the area with signs showing Francisco in the red hoodie which he was eventually found in by a transit officer, his parents, both Mexican immigrants, have complained that their son’s disappearance didn’t get as much attention because of his race. They turned to the Mexican consulate to get pressure on the case.
It’s entirely possible. But there’s something about the dank and dark of the subway that makes just as possible this kid really did disappear. His Apserger’s in particular, which affected his social skills, would only have exacerbated a problem that’s common in most cities – social contact. When I lived in Manhattan, people rarely looked each other in the eye, and looking a homeless person in the eye was almost unheard of. If Francisco was wearing the same clothes for eleven days straight, not washing himself, he likely looked homeless, smelled homeless.
No doubt there are many benefits of city life that outweigh this one – I’m not arguing against New York or Chicago or Boston for that matter. But when it comes to disappearing, what better place to do it? Especially for a kid?
It’s also one of those “signs of the times” stories. Adults once would ask kids why they’re out without their parents. Today we’re too afraid – either of the kids acting up against us or their parents going after us for saying something to their child. That’s a small town issue too, the helicopter parents have whipped up such a frenzy in the air around their kids that the village mentality has been blown away. We don’t raise children together anymore, we hyperfocus on our own.
Image: Joe Shlabotnik via flickr
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5 Comments
patricia commented on Nov 25 09 at 9:39 amI don’t know about the point about raising kids together; 13 is old enough, I think, to be on the subway by himself without being cause for inquiry. If the kid is 8 and isn’t asked where his parents are, then it becomes a question of lack of community parenting. But 13, I assume he’s out with his parents’ permission and knowledge. Especially if he’s a tall or big 13- that’s the age where some kids can start looking much older than they are.
multiplicationtables commented on Nov 25 09 at 10:17 amI started riding the subway (in Boston) by myself at 10. 13 is definitely old enough to ride by himself without being asked where his parents are.
jeannesager commented on Nov 25 09 at 10:20 amI would agree with you guys in the sense that 13 is old enough to be alone, but a 13-year-old who looks like he hasn’t washed or slept in days and no one says anything?
I think that also speaks to where we are in society – people consider 13 practically grown up these days, whereas when we were 13, we were still kids.
Ri-chan commented on Nov 26 09 at 4:41 pmI agree with the overabundence of Helicopter parents, even in small towns. My Husband stopped 2 kids from beating up another boy and the mom of the kid yelled at him and threatened to call the police, lol, not that they could have charged him with anything.
courtney commented on Dec 01 09 at 3:42 pmHave you seen 13 year old boys lately? I don’t think a 13 year old who didn’t wash for a couple o weeks would really stand out, especially if all he were doing was riding the subway…
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