What offense is committed if a 16-year-old runs away and stays with someone without notifying parents or police?

The offense committed when a 16-year-old runs away and stays with someone without notifying their parents or the police is accurately described as harboring of a runaway. This offense typically involves an individual who knowingly provides shelter or support to a minor who has left their home without permission, thereby interfering with the minor's legal guardians' authority and responsibility.

Harboring a runaway emphasizes the act of providing refuge to a minor who is absent from home without lawful consent. In such cases, the law focuses on the responsibilities of both the minor and the adult harboring them, as the latter may be held accountable for knowingly participating in the minor’s action of running away and not returning them to their legal guardians.

The other options, while related to issues surrounding minors and their welfare, do not capture the specific nature of the situation where the minor has left home. Child neglect pertains more to the failure of the parent or legal guardian to provide for the child's basic needs, interference with child custody typically involves actions that disrupt an established custody order, and abandonment relates to the parent or guardian forsaking their responsibilities toward the child. In this scenario, the main issue is the act of someone taking in a runaway minor, making harboring of a runaway the most fitting offense.