SCHOOL BUS MISSING--updated

A 40 foot long, 96 passenger school bus has been reported stolen from a Roseville, California, school parking lot. The yellow bus was stolen either late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, according to an article this morning in the Sacramento Bee.

Immediately, my thoughts went to an interview Andrea Shea-King did with author Brad Thor. His book, The First Commandment, deals with the real possibility of terrorists taking over one of our schools. This idea is based on the Beslan model (Glenn Beck interview) as well as from plans that were found in the possession of terrorists. The plans indicated a very real interest in our schools. It's a chilling thought. Go to Brad Thor's website for more information on the subject.

I talked with Brad Thor by phone about an hour ago regarding this incident. He wasn't aware of the story.

Now, in this case, the bus will probably be found. However, because of a lack of security, it shows that it can be done. Once a terrorist group gets control of a busload of our kids, we're at their mercy. And, btw, who steals a school bus?? I wonder.

Local police are asking for the public's assistance in finding this bus. Here's the article from today's Bee:

School bus stolen from Roseville parking lot

By Art Campos - acampos@sacbee.com Published 6:45 am PDT Friday, October 26, 2007

Officials at the private Merryhill School on Baseline Road in Roseville are at a loss to explain why anyone would want to steal their 2-year-old, 40-foot-long school bus.

The yellow, 96-passenger bus was missing from the parking lot when the first teacher arrived on campus at 6 a.m. today, said Stacy Phillips, assistant principal.

"We are located in a nice neighborhood and far enough away from the road so that people never bother us," Phillips said. "So we are shocked that this happened." (my emphasis)

Police believe the theft occurred sometime Wednesday night or early today at the school.

They asked citizens to keep an eye open for the bus, which has the words "Merryhill School" on the sides and which also displays two identification numbers. The numbers are "Unit #586" and "Fleet #N63989."

Phillips said the new bus, which cost $130,000, was used primarily for field trips. A regular fleet of buses is already used to transport children to and from school, she said.

About 60 kindergarten and first-grade children were scheduled to use the new bus today to visit to a pumpkin patch in Wheatland, she said.

"They were very crushed when they found out they couldn't attend," Phillips said.

The school at 1370 Baseline Road teaches children from infancy to first grade, Phillips said.

Other Merryhill private schools are located throughout the region and some teach through the eighth grade, she said.

Anyone with information about the missing bus is asked to call the Roseville Police Department at (916) 774-5000.

UPDATE: The stolen bus was located 163 miles away near Madera, California, Thursday night at 6:45 pm. It was abandoned on the side of a road with its flashers on. The investigation continues....