Cops find stolen school bus with no driver — then follow footprints, Alabama cops say

A driver returned to the spot where he last parked his school bus to start his Monday route only to find the bus had been stolen, Alabama authorities said.

Deputies tracked down an accused thief by the footprints he left outside the bus, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Now, a 44-year-old man has been charged with theft of property.

The driver left the school bus in front of the Quinton town hall the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 9, deputies said.

When he went back on Monday, Feb. 12, it was gone.

Deputies reported it had been taken overnight at around 3:30 a.m., and they began looking for the stolen bus.

At around 5 p.m. on Monday, they learned it was recently spotted in the neighboring county of Walker, deputies said. They found the school bus abandoned on an old logging road, with “fresh footprints” leading away from the bus toward a nearby road.

A K-9 was brought in and sniffed out the suspect, who was arrested and booked in the Jefferson County jail on $20,000 bond. His attorney information is not available in jail records.

“We are extremely grateful that Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies were able to locate the bus and make an arrest within 24 hours of it being stolen,” a spokesperson for the school district told McClatchy News in a statement. “The district sincerely appreciates their efforts and quick response.”

Jefferson County is Alabama’s most populous county and includes the Birmingham metropolitan area.

This story was originally published February 13, 2024 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Cops find stolen school bus with no driver — then follow footprints, Alabama cops say."