SEATAC, Wash. -- A young boy who garnered national attention last year when he stole a car, led police on a high-speed chase and talked his way onto two Southwest Airlines flights tried to slip onto another flight Tuesday but didn't make it past the gate.

Airport spokesman Perry Cooper said a minor made it through the security checkpoint but was stopped by personnel at a Southwest Airlines boarding gate and taken into custody by Port of Seattle Police.

A TSA official confirmed it was Semaj Booker who tried to board the flight. His mother had reported him missing to Tacoma police at 3 a.m.

Airport officials said Semaj didn't have a ticket, nor had any luggage or identification, but somehow made it past the security checkpoint.

A check of security tapes at the security checkpoint operated by the Transportation Security Administration showed the boy going through the screening process, such as passing through a metal detector, at 4:53 a.m. But TSA was investigating to see why he was not required to show a boarding pass, said Dwayne Baird, Northwest region spokesman for TSA in Salt Lake City.

He then tried to board a Southwest flight to Sacramento. When the ticket agent saw Semaj try to board, the agent asked where he was going. He said he was with a guy who was currently boarding, but when that man kept going and never paid attention to the kid, the agent discovered Semaj had no boarding pass.

The agent then called Port of Seattle police, who escorted the boy away and took him home. The boy's mother declined to be interviewed, but told KOMO 4 News the boy is OK.

Officials said the boy told them he was trying to get to Dallas -- the city where Semaj tried to get to last July to be with his grandfather.

In July last year, a Pierce County judge found Booker guilty of second-degree car theft, attempting to elude police and driving without a license in connection with his January 2007 antics.

The judge said if Booker puts in his best effort at school, pays back the woman whose car he stole, doesn't get behind the wheel for the next year and complies with other conditions, his conviction will be vacated.

It was not immediately clear what impact Tuesday's incident would have on that ruling.

Authorities say the boy took a neighbor's car Jan. 14 and sped down State Highway 512 with police in pursuit. He eventually crashed when the car's engine blew, according to court records.

The next day, the then 4-foot-9-inch fourth grader talked his way onto two Southwest Airlines flights and flew to Texas all by himself. His mother, Sakinah Booker, said her son was unhappy in the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood and wanted to be with his grandfather in Dallas.

Southwest Airlines said Semaj presented himself as a 12-year-old, and therefore would not have been listed as an unaccompanied minor. He requested a boarding pass, saying his mother was already in the boarding area.

The boy was finally stopped by Southwest Airlines employees at San Antonio International Airport while trying to board a flight to Dallas because, officials said, he did not have information that matched a reservation.

Booker later appeared on the talk show "Dr. Phil" with his mother - in violation of a court order - to discuss his case.

It's not clear in this case how Semaj got to the airport, but that he apparently arrived around 6:30 a.m. for the flight that left around 10.

The TSA says they don't know yet what the boy said to get past security without a ticket, but they have the incident on surveillance video and will be reviewing the tapes. A spokesman says the boy did undergo the proper screening process and at no time posed a security threat.