Minn. stowaway's dad: "We assumed he was at a friend's house" The father of a 9-year-old boy who skirted past airport security and traveled from Minneapolis to Las Vegas last week said Wednesday that his journey started by taking out the trash. The father, who wouldn't give his name and concealed his face behind the closed hood of a black sweatshirt and a pulled-down baseball cap, told reporters in Minneapolis that the boy said he was taking out the trash when his mother came home and the father left to run errands Oct. 2. "I'm a parent; I'm not perfect," said the man, who became emotional several times during the press conference. We assumed he was at a friend's house. On Thursday the parents learned that their son wasn't with any of his friends, the father said. "We didn't know he got on a plane until my fiancee called the police," the father said. VJ Smith, who accompanied the father from the organization MAD DADS in Minneapolis, told reporters that he expected the boy to be returned home to his parents Friday. Smith read a statement from the boy's mother, who was not at the press conference. "I love my son," Smith read from the statement. I miss my son. I want my son home.