Southpinellas: Teen known for hiccups found safe

ST. PETERSBURG - After a day of worry, wonder and anger for her parents, Jennifer Mee is safe back at home.

"Physically, she's OK. She's just hungry, tired and thirsty," said Chris Robidoux, the stepfather of the 15-year-old girl who became internationally famous earlier this year with an incurable case of hiccups.

The family found Mee crying on a bench in Fossil Park after she had been missing more than 24 hours. They found her after tracing a tip from a friend.

Mee's mother, Rachel Robidoux, said they have yet to have a long talk about the reason for the girl's disappearance, but it appears to relate to a dispute with her stepfather and a teen testing her boundaries.

"I know it's rough to be a teenager," said Mee's mother. "She has to know that we love her, but we have to have rules."

Mee was reported missing Monday after she apparently ran away from home Sunday night. Her mother filed a runaway report with St. Petersburg police early Monday morning.

Robidoux had last seen Jennifer Saturday night because Robidoux worked early Sunday while the rest of the family was asleep. Jennifer and two of her sisters spent Sunday afternoon with several friends, swimming at Fossil Park.

Jennifer's younger sisters Ashley McCauley and Kayla Robidoux checked in periodically, Robidoux said. "They came home before dark like she (Jennifer) was supposed to."

Members of the family went looking for Jennifer, who had said she was going to walk some friends home. One of her sisters saw Jennifer at the Roberts Community Center, 1246 50th Ave., Robidoux said. But Jennifer couldn't be found in the area later.

Jennifer and her stepfather recently had a disagreement over termination of her cell phone service as a disciplinary measure, Rachel Robidoux said. Chris also said he was concerned about some of her friends and things Jennifer had written on MySpace that were too mature for a girl her age.

On Sunday, the family paid to have the phone turned back on, in case she had it with her. They called her number, but the phone rang inside a dresser drawer in the girls' bedroom at their home. They dialed all of the numbers she had stored, Rachel Robidoux said, without success.

Share your thoughts on this story

Read our guidelines for comments

Comments on this article

by white trash	06/17/07 09:18 PM
Typical white trash. Three kids and have different last names....sad so sad

by joe	06/12/07 10:48 PM
BOOOO! HOOOOO!POOOR MEEEEE!! Sounds like she needs a swift kick!! So do her whipped parents!

by Lew	06/12/07 10:43 PM
no computer,no phone,no ac,baths twice a week,home grounded and see if her attitude changes after a couple weeks!Go thru her room with a fine tooth comb!!anything that seems strange or too mature goes in the trash! she should have no say about it!!

by Cheryl	06/12/07 09:00 PM
Parents live in fear everyday, because children are running their lives. The schools, parents and society in general are all being held hostage by these spoiled little brats. This child is over due for a spanking!!!

by Cheryl	06/12/07 08:57 PM
The time wasted on this spoiled child should have been used to rescue a child in need!!!

by Cheryl	06/12/07 08:55 PM
What a spoiled little brat, she needs to be taught a lesson or three. Parents need to take their rights back

by Bill	06/12/07 06:07 PM
Kids have to much freedom and this is what happens when they don't get their way.

by captn obvious	06/12/07 05:45 PM
why do we care? Hasnt the 15 minutes of fame been used already.

by Me	06/12/07 05:00 PM
Great family!

by Punk	06/12/07 04:58 PM
This little punk needs to be whupped and whupped good.

by Ria	06/12/07 04:44 PM
This happens to families all the time - why even print this one?

by DAVE	06/12/07 04:01 PM
WE HAVE A COUNTRY OUT OF CONTROL, WHEN THE KIDS START TO RUN THE PARENTS.

by jack s	06/12/07 03:46 PM
i hope im not the only one who saw this coming. jennifer has serious, emotional and psychological issues. She needs immediate professional and spiritual counseling before her behavior becomes even more self destructive.

by ms	06/12/07 03:40 PM
Waaaa,Waaaa. Get a grip girl and put the cell phone down. She ran away because her stepfather turned her cell phone off for a high bill cause of text message. Nice photo above of her with cell and sending more messages.

by derek	06/12/07 02:16 PM
what a spoiled little brat! i hope her hiccups come back!

by cml	06/12/07 01:12 PM
the time wasted on writing about this runaway could have been put into someone really in need. Give me a break a rebellious teenager stop the press!!! She has had her spotlight let's move on PLEASE!!!!

by bob	06/12/07 12:25 PM
if she still had the hiccups when she was missing - they could of traced her to the sound of the hiccups

by BORING!	06/12/07 12:21 PM
Slow news day, evidently.

by Jen	06/12/07 12:14 PM
I felt sorry for her with the hiccups. But it's time for her 15 minutes of fame to end. I hope her family puts her on a tight leash until she grows up and matures.

by anthony	06/12/07 11:49 AM
hmmmm... Another attention getting headline. Perhaps the hiccup problem was a little overblown....

by Bill	06/12/07 11:37 AM
Ok...this chick has jumped the shark!

by bb	06/12/07 11:20 AM
Shouldnt have done that

by Debbie	06/12/07 11:06 AM
Must be she wants to be on T.V. again spank her azz and make her stay in her room.

by mikey	06/12/07 10:54 AM
ST Pete Times, why are you telling us this story? We don't care, believe me when I say, the people of St. Pete don't care that this spoiled brat is mad cause her cell phone got turned off.

by zippy	06/12/07 10:30 AM
Let's see.... Spoiled child ( already had her 15 seconds) doesn't get her way and pouts in the park all night. Boy that sounds like news, NOT.

by carol	06/12/07 10:07 AM
She has already brought enough attention to herself with the hiccup incident now she's in the limelight again. Give it up and grow up. Stop acting like a spoiled brat when you don't get your own way. You caused unnecessary worry for your parents.

by jack	06/12/07 10:05 AM
Hey, St. Pete Times, let's make a deal. No more placing the kid's life in the newspaper until she becomes famous for something else. Maybe, the first woman on Mars or something.

by Michelle	06/12/07 10:00 AM
Ridiculous. She should be punished for this stunt.

by Bree	06/12/07 09:03 AM
i think that it is so........ stupid that you left home! Maybe if u were not bad in the first place, you would not have gotten your phone talken away!there's something called rules u need to follow them.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Laurie	06/12/07 09:02 AM
For crying out loud! It's hard enough being a teenager but does the media always have to refer to her as The Hiccup Girl? It's bad enough kids will label other kids with demeaning things but the MEDIA? She had a condition this is not 'celebrity' news

by pat o'brien	06/12/07 08:33 AM
i understand cell phones for teens,in case they get into trouble,,but to put her parents thru what she she did,is not worth the worry. our kids today are spoiled,and as for me the bank is closed you want a phone..pay for it yourself. or it is gone

by Kenny	06/12/07 07:53 AM
Oh my GOD!!! They took away her cell phone. Those no-good parents. They should be in jail for getting her one in the first place.

by Diane	06/12/07 07:41 AM
She needs to know that 15 is a sucky age no matter who you are. You want to be grown up, thinking it's so much better. At the same time, you don't know 1/2 of what you'll face as an adult, so don't rush it and listen to your parents.

by Jennifer	06/12/07 07:28 AM
I am starting to believe that this girl and her family are publicity hungry and will do anything to be in the spot light. It's very interesting how when she goes to school, her "hiccups" come back... i say she needs a therapist.

by rgg	06/12/07 06:59 AM
This sounds like a very typical teen problem. In this case the media attention is contributing to it. Do the girl a favor and quit giving her the attention she has learned to crave.