Four children stole a family's car and took it on a 600-mile road trip across the Australian outback before they were finally tracked down by police.
One of the kids left a goodbye note for his family before the group set off on a 24-hour joyride that spanned two states and sparked a public appeal from police.
The children - a 14-year-old boy, two 13-year-old boys and a 10-year-old girl - took cash and fishing rods when they stole a four-wheel drive that belonged to one of their families.
When they were located a police officer had to smash one of the Nissan Patrol's windows because the children locked the doors and refused to get out, a spokesperson said.
The children allegedly stole petrol along the way and led police on a chase.
Inspector Darren Williams told 9 News: "It's a pretty big journey. It's a long way for a person to do it, but I suppose a couple cans of Red Bull and you're likely to do anything.
"I couldn't imagine on person actually driving all that way in two days.
"They've locked themselves in the car and police have had to use a baton to get into the car to arrest them."
He told 7 News that officers located the car using a mobile phone signal.
Police were relieved that the children were found safe, he said, adding: “Nobody got killed, nobody got hurt and they are ok."
The children left Rockhampton, a city in Queensland, on Saturday night and were finally located in Grafton, in neighbouring New South Wales, at about 10.40pm local time on Sunday.
They allegedly stole petrol from a station in the outback town of Banana in the early morning hours of Sunday as they travelled south along Australia's east coast.
Another alleged petrol theft was reported hours later in Warialda.
Officers spotted the vehicle a short time later and pursued it, but they were forced to abandon the chase for safety reasons.
When the joyride came to an end they were more than 600 miles from home.
The children were taken into custody and could now face charges.
They were unharmed.
Inspector Williams said it was likely the children had taken turns driving.
He said it was unclear why the children went on the road trip, but one of the boys was originally from Grafton.
The owner of the vehicle - the dad of one of the 13-year-old boys - was flying to the region to retrieve his Nissan.
