Jason Michael Carroll photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

November is National Runaway Prevention Month, and it’s particularly meaningful to Jason Michael Carroll, whose current single, “Hurry Home,” is a prodigal-daughter tale of unconditional love.

The video currently ranks No. 16 on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown, and he tagged it with the logo of the National Runaway Switchboard and the toll free 1-800-RUNAWAY number.

If it sounds like Jason Michael means it when he sings it, he does. He had an aunt who left mysteriously when he was just 2 years old to escape an abusive marriage. Afraid she might be tracked down by her husband, she never contacted Jason Michael’s parents, but that didn’t stop the family from thinking of her.

“Mom would ask the Lord to take care of Jane,” Jason Michael told The Wilkes Barre Times-Leader. “We didn’t miss that prayer for 16 years.”

Just like the girl in “Hurry Home” — who eventually leaves a message, “Dad, I’m on my way” — Aunt Jane did ultimately call the Carrolls, though the news was bittersweet. She had lived in Las Vegas since running away, but she had cancer. The family could never get back the time that had passed, and they had little left.

“We flew to Vegas and saw my aunt for three days,” he said. “It was great getting to see this lady we’ve been praying for all this time.”

Country trivia buffs might see some parallels between “Hurry Home” and a No. 1 release from 2001. Blake Shelton’s first hit, “Austin,” likewise used the outgoing message on an answering machine to repair a broken relationship.

To learn more about the National Runaway Switchboard, visit http://www.1800runaway.org/.

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