Juvenile runaway found with Earth Liberation Front in St. Helena

Napa Valley Register/May 23, 2003
By Heather Osborn

A juvenile runaway from Chico was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication and tampering with a police car early this morning, St. Helena police Sgt. Chris Hartley said.

The 16-year-old girl had been traveling with members of Earth Liberation Front, whose bus broke down Thursday night on Highway 29, north of Deer Park Road, Hartley said.

St. Helena police saw the girl on surveillance cameras in the parking lot of the police station at about 12:20 a.m. today. She was arrested after pulling a gas cover off one car, police said.

Police then went to the environmental group's bus on the north edge of town.

"Everyone in the vehicle was identified because (police officers) were investigating to make sure the girl wasn't kidnapped," Hartley said.

Most were in their 20s and 30s, and the 16-year-old was the only juvenile, Hartley said.

Police arrested 33-year-old William Collier III, of Yolo County, on a warrant out of Yolo County. The warrant was for failure to appear in court for a vehicle violation.

The juvenile was booked at Napa County Juvenile Hall, and her parents were contacted, Hartley said.

The case is closed, he added.

According to the organization's Website, Earth Liberation Front is an "international, underground organization that uses direct action in the form of economic sabotage to stop the exploitation and destruction of the natural environment."