The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office is looking for information about two county school buses stolen sometime between Sunday afternoon and early Monday morning from a Hawthorne bus yard.
The buses, both yellow with flat-top fronts, were reported missing early Monday from the lot near Hawthorne Middle/High School football field, said ASO spokesman Lt. Todd Kelly. The buses, one made in 2008 and the other 2009, were each valued at about $90,000. They’re numbered 2804 and 2703 with Florida tags 239578 and TC4561.
The buses serviced Chester Shell Elementary School, Waldo Community School, Lincoln Middle School, Bishop Middle School and Hawthorne Middle/High School. However, bus service will not be affected, said Jackie Johnson, Alachua County Schools spokeswoman.
“We always have extra buses to handle routes,” Johnson said, adding that the school system has about 225 buses for the roughly 42 schools in the county.
There are a few possible reasons why a thief would target a bus, Kelly said. Some criminals put the vehicles on shipping containers to sell overseas. Others disassemble the buses to sell for parts. He also said bus theft could be a sign of terrorist activity because school buses blend in on roads and can carry large amounts of cargo.
“Fortunately, there’s been nothing to really support that at any point,” he said.
A theft like this hasn’t occurred recently in Alachua County. However, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is dealing with a similar incident after two county school buses were stolen July 27, according a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office press release.
Kelly said he wasn’t sure if video is available for the Alachua County bus thefts or if the buses are equipped with GPS devices. However, a detective has been assigned to the case, he said.
Anyone with information about the thefts is encouraged to contact the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office at 352-955-1818.
A version of this story ran on page 3 on 9/10/2013 under the headline "Big yellow school buses stolen"
