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Teen 'Warcraft' Addict Goes on the Run With 42-Year-Old 'Soulmate'

by Caleb Johnson on January 5, 2010 at 06:20 PM

Teenagers have been running away from home since, well, forever. But usually, the runaway is a rebel who's had enough of his parents' rules -- not a nerd who's addicted to 'World of Warcraft.' Leave it to a 16-year-old from the Great North to turn this classic stereotype on its head.

According to The Globe and Mail, Andrew Kane, who lives with his mom and dad in Barrie, Ontario, left the house with his only his laptop early Tuesday morning to be with his "soul mate," which he'd been chatting with for months via instant messages. But wait, his lover wasn't some 'Twilight'-loving teen girl. She was 42-year-old Lauri Price -- a Texas native and mother of four. Kane's mom, Marlene, had seen her son's messages to Price before (but apparently wasn't too concerned) so she told authorities, who discovered the creepy odd couple Thursday at a Future Shop in Orillia.

Since the age of consent is 16 in Canada, Price was simply sent packing back across the border, and Texas authorities were alerted of the situation -- although there's not much they can do, either. According to police, Price was notorious for sparking with people on 'WoW' forums. Considering Kane's mom said he plays the game "every waking hour," we can only assume that's how she met the boy, too. [From: The Globe and Mail]

Tags: addiction, computer, games, instant messaging, love, police, runaway, teens, top, web, world of warcraft, world-of-warcraft, WorldOfWarcraft, wow

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