Over the past week, a Missoula County Sheriff's Deputy made a routine traffic stop at 1 a.m. and discovered a car full of local teenagers that contained drugs, alcohol and various items of drug paraphernalia.

With that in mind, Public Information Officer Paige Pavalone had a question for parents, do you know where your children are?

"All the people in the car were under the age of 17," Pavalone said. "So, at 16 and 17 years old, why are they not at home at 1 o'clock in the morning on a school night? Why are they in cars with people who are driving that are high on drugs and possibly intoxicated?"

Pavalone had some hard words for parents of teenagers.

"It speaks to the larger issue of knowing where our kids are, who they're with and what they're doing," she said. "You just have to be the law enforcement body in your house. Here's how it works. Your kid says I'm going to stay at Joe Schmoe's house, so you need to call Joe's mom and ask what her curfew rules are. I've personally handled traffic stops where there are 15 year-old girls, and when we contact their parents, they have no idea where they are."

Pavalone ended on this somber note.

"We have to know where they are, for their own safety," she said. "We don't want your kid to be our next coroner call."

 

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