SEATTLE – A Seattle-area boy who made national headlines last year by stealing a car, getting caught, then hopping a flight from Seattle to Phoenix and then San Antonio without a ticket was arrested again Tuesday after trying to board another flight.

The Transportation Security Administration confirms to KING-TV that Semaj Booker was captured at a gate at Sea-Tac Airport after he failed to show a boarding pass.

Surveillance video shows Semaj passed through the central checkpoint security area without any problems, but it's still not clear how he managed to get through without a boarding pass. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, it became a requirement to have a ticket when passing through security.

A TSA spokesperson said Semaj was trying to board a Southwest Airlines flight, but it's not immediately clear where he was trying to go or where in the airport he was finally caught.

The boy is now back in his mother's custody. A Tacoma Police spokesperson said his mother reported him missing at 3 a.m.

The TSA said it believes checks and balances are place to make the airport secure, but it will be reviewing security protocol.

In January 2007, Semaj, who was then 9, managed to get through airport security and boarded another Southwest Airlines flight by passing himself off as a 12-year-old whose mother was waiting for him in the boarding area. His information matched a paid ticketless reservation for the flight, so agents gave him a boarding pass.

The boy's mother said then he disliked the Lakewood, Wash. neighborhood where the family lived and wanted to be with his grandfather in Dallas.

Before his cross-country odyssey last year, Semaj was arrested after leading police on a highway pursuit at speeds up to 90 mph, finally ending in a crash.

He was charged with car theft, attempting to elude a pursing police vehicle and driving without a license.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.