How Did a 9-year-old Get Behind the Wheel of a Car?

This is definitely something you don't hear everyday.

Early in the morning, police in Des Moines, Iowa received a 911 call about a car driving around erratically. Police eventually found the car, and the driver began to panic. Starting to swerve, the car eventually went off the road and crashed. Officers quickly got to the vehicle, and it was here that a major surprise occurred.

As reported by KCCI in Des Moines, it turns out that driver was a 9-year-old girl. She also had a passenger, a 7-year-old boy. Both were unharmed, but the car was damaged. Police took both of the children back to the their parents, where officers say they will leave the punishment up to the parents.

My main question is, how in the world did the parents not realize their car was missing and the kids were also missing too?!?