Does anyone else find the Farris Hassan strange

Am I the only person that finds the Farris Hassan story really weird? First change one letter of his name and it spells Ferris, like Ferris Bueller. But really, the AP wrote a story on this and I found so many aspects of the story just weird.

"Using money his parents had given him at one point, he bought a $900 plane ticket and took off from school a week before Christmas vacation started, skipping classes and leaving the country on Dec. 11."

There was no missing person report filed with the police?

"He again called his father, who told him to come home. But the teen insisted on going to Baghdad. His father advised him to stay with family friends in Beirut, Lebanon, so he flew there, spending 10 days before flying to Baghdad on Christmas."

His father didn't fly to Beirut to get him. What parent wouldn't be on the first flight to kick this kid's butt.

"His ride at Baghdad International Airport, arranged by the family friends in Lebanon, dropped him off at an international hotel where Americans were staying. "

This is family?

Now I know that I'm from New Jersey and as skeptical as anyone on the planet, but someone tell me that this story isn't a setup of some kind.