JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A boy who left his family's Southside apartment before dawn Monday told the officers who found him that he was afraid of getting "cracked" by his grandfather.
People who live at the Fountains at Deerwood Apartments, at 7816 Southside Blvd., say police were in the area around 5:30 a.m. THe Jacksonville Sheriff's Office used ground units, K-9 teams and a helicopter to search for the 10-year-old.
The boy was found about 8:20 a.m. near Interstate 95 and J. Turner Butler, nearly four miles from his home. He was covered with mud and headed into the woods.
When approached, the boy told officers, "Don't make me go home," according to the police report.
The boy said his grandfather was going to punish his grandson for biting his fingernails.
Jacksonville Fire-Rescue was called to check the boy, who was found to be in good shape.
Given that the boy appeared in fear of discipline by his grandfather, The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office asked the Department of Children and Families to investigate.
"He wasn't going to get cracked," Lord Jzar, the boy'd grandfather, told News4Jax. "I was going to pop him on his fingers for lying about biting his nails."
The report said that when the boy was returned to his mother, detectives asked the grandfather to leave the premises "until the situation was better under control."