Children aged 10 to 14 took a four-wheel drive that belonged to one of their fathers from Rockhampton to NSW

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Four Australian children from Queensland who packed fishing rods and cash into a four-wheel drive in an apparent attempt to run away from home have been found more than 900km (560 miles) away.

The children, aged 10 to 14, made it all the way from the central Queensland city of Rockhampton to Grafton in New South Wales before they were found.

One of the children left a goodbye note for their family before the group set off in a four-wheel drive that belonged to one of their fathers.

It is believed the children could have shared the driving given the extraordinary distance they travelled, acting inspector Darren Williams said.

“It is a long way, in excess of 1,000km from Rockhampton down to Grafton so I couldn’t imagine one person driving all that way,” Williams told reporters in Coffs Harbour on Monday.

It is believed they left Rockhampton late on Saturday night or early on Sunday morning, apparently planning to eat fresh fish to conserve their stash of cash.

But they only made it 140km before they needed fuel and allegedly stole a tank of petrol from a service station in the Queensland town of Banana around dawn on Sunday.

The 14-year-old boy, two others aged 13, and a girl, 10, were later spotted just over the border, in Glen Innes, before finally being located at Grafton later on Sunday.

When the children were stopped by police they locked the doors and refused to get out, Williams said. A police officer used a baton to break a window of the Nissan Patrol, that had been reported stolen, he added.

Charges are expected to be laid once police have had the chance to interview the children, which can’t be done until their parents are present.