Story is somewhat confusing to me. I don't understand why they had to fly back home out of ORD. Sounds like the whole return should have been canceled due to not completing the outbound portion of the trip. Right or wrong, that's the way the automated system works. If it sees a segment not boarded, the rest of the itinerary is canceled.
The part about "they asked about tickets and got no where." You mean they asked about another flight since they missed their original? What were they told? The airline is still responsible to provide them travel to their final destination.
Now to address the real problem that I see. AA dropped the ball on initial check-in. The airline I worked for REQUIRED anyone 14 and under who is not traveling with an adult (someone 18 or over) to be classified as a UM (Unaccompanied Minor) This would have made all the problems vanish. I am not saying who is to blame but if I were the parent and this service was offered, spending the extra 100 bucks or whatever the fee is now is certainly small price to pay for knowing my son is being personally looked after.
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