BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) — A 13-year-old planned to spend her spring break visiting her uncle in Chicago, but instead found herself sitting at the Battle Creek police station after getting kicked off an Amtrak train.
On the morning of March 26, Renee Van Tress boarded a 7:06 a.m. train in Lapeer. Her mom bought a ticket for her online and dropped her off at the station. Her uncle planned to pick her up at the station in Chicago.
Renee and her dad Robert Van Tress sat down with Target 8 after she was forced off halfway to the Windy City.
"I'm so confused. Like, it pretty much was a two-and-a-half-hour-ride to Battle Creek and then on top of it, it was a five-hour train ride anyway to Chicago. So I really would've only had another two and a half hours to go," Renee told Target 8.
Amtrak has specific policies for unaccompanied minors ages 13 to 15. Those include boarding at a staffed station, talking to staff prior to boarding and obtaining a wristband for the young teen for the duration of the ride.
Renee's parents did some research and believed she could ride alone based on what they read online, so they figured everything was set for her trip. She boarded, had her ticket scanned and departed for the Windy City with no problems.
The conductor only got involved after a passenger sitting near Renee asked her how old she was.
"The conductor came over and asked my age and I said 13 and he said I was too young to be on the train alone," she explained. "I explained that my uncle was going to pick me up and they still said that I had to get off."
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