A man tries to catch a Pikachu, a Pokemon character, while he plays “Pokemon Go” in front of Kaminarimon, or Thunder Gate, at the Sensoji temple in Tokyo’s Asakusa shopping and tourist district, Friday, July 22, 2016. Users began tweeting it was available Friday morning, and the Pokemon Co. and the developer of the augmented reality game, U.S.-based Niantic Inc., confirmed its launch shortly after. AP
WASHINGTON, United States — There are no borders in the world of Pokemon Go.
But two young fans of the hit smartphone game were so preoccupied with catching cartoon monsters that they wandered across the US-Canada border in real life.
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US Border Patrol agents spotted the pair illegally walking from Canada into the US on Thursday evening, the agency’s office in Sweetgrass, Montana said in a statement.
“Both juveniles were so captivated by their Pokemon Go games that they lost track of where they were. They crossed the international border inadvertently,” public affairs officer Michael Rappold was quoted as saying.
The youngsters were detained briefly while agents contracted their mother, with whom they were later reunited.
It was a happy ending for the two youngsters.
Other Pokemon Go players have not been so lucky, finding themselves the victims of robbery or violent crimes. Fans have also been blamed for causing traffic accidents.
In Indonesia, a French player was stopped and questioned for several hours after the app led him into a military base.
The free app uses satellite locations, graphics and camera capabilities to overlay cartoon monsters on real-world settings, challenging players to capture and train the creatures for battles.