I am the step parent, married to a custodial mother of a 16 year old. She has gone to school out of Florida for the past several years because of her behavior in our home. We have her ready to complete her school out of state. She has informed us she would rather move out to live with a 19 year old friend. We are, of course, absolutely against this. My question is if she leaves without our permisssion, are we legally obligated to notify the authorities that she is a runaway? What risks do we run if they do not find her? If she returns to the home, we cannot refuse her living arrangements unless she is emancipated. We could go the emancipation route but her father is not in the picture and we think the best thing for HER is to finish at the out-of-state school.

