Teen Runaways Found Safe

UPDATE: The teen girls who ran away from home have been found safe, according to Taylor Novak’s mom, Toni Gill. The original story is below.

JOLIET, IL — A 15-year-old girl has taken her mom’s car and run away with a friend and the families are looking for help locating them.

Taylor Novak and Makenzie Cronk, both 15, have been gone since Feb. 4 when Taylor stole her mom’s car, according to her mother Toni Gill. They were last seen in the Joliet area driving a brown 2014 Nissan Altima with a license plate number of S977038.

Neither girl has a driver’s license or a driver’s permit, according to Gill. A police report has been made regarding the incident.

Both girls attend Joliet West High School. Taylor is 5’4’’ with very long brown hair and blonde highlights in the front. Makenzie is 5’6’’ with brown hair.

Gill told Patch that she’s very worried about her daughter and wants her to know she has people looking for her who love her.

“She’s got a huge wonderful family that wants her to come home,” Gill said.

A possible reason for the girls running away is that they just want to have fun and are “acting older than they are,” Gill said. She’s also worried that the girls might find themselves in a situation where people could take advantage of them.

“We have no idea where they could be heading,” Gill said.

Anyone with information is asked to text or call Toni at 815-823-4303, Taylor’s dad Chris at 815-207-3305 or the Joliet Police Department at 815-726-2491.