Police in Georgia are hunting a woman accused of swiping a full-size school bus from an elementary campus.
Investigators say the bus vanished from Arbor Springs Elementary School in Coweta County during the early morning hours of Feb. 9.
Officials later recovered the vehicle in Temple, a city in neighboring Carroll County, almost an hour away from the school grounds.
Detectives believe the suspect did not break into the bus. Law enforcement officials say she appeared to have a key, raising new questions about how she gained access to the vehicle.
Internal surveillance cameras mounted inside the bus captured images of the woman during the ride.
Footage shows her seated near the front with a bag or purse placed beside her.
Deputies found the bus abandoned in Temple without visible damage.
Authorities confirmed the incident happened outside normal school hours and stressed that no children were on board at any point.
“This incident occurred on school property outside of normal school hours,” the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office stated. “There was no threat to students or staff, and no injuries were reported.”
Investigators have circulated still images from the bus cameras and are urging residents to identify the woman. Officials directed a public appeal toward those living in the Temple area.
“We’re asking the public, especially those in Temple, Georgia, that area,” the sheriff’s office told a local station.
“If they recognize whoever’s in the photo please reach out to investigator Taylor.”
Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the unusual theft. Law enforcement officials continue to review surveillance footage and track the route taken between Coweta and Carroll counties.
The strange episode adds to a growing list of headline-grabbing school bus incidents across the country.
Last month in Pennsylvania, prosecutors charged 31-year-old Tanelle Day after she allegedly stormed onto a school bus and attacked a driver over a five-minute delay.
Shayla Harris had been picking up students for her Propel Braddock Hills route on a snowy morning when the confrontation unfolded.
Police allege Day accused Harris of leaving her daughter waiting in the cold.
“She said I had her baby standing out in the cold. When she first came up to me, I was struggling to pull the brake,” Harris recalled.
Surveillance video shows Day yanking open the bus doors, spilling her coffee and lunging at the driver.
Prosecutors allege she punched Harris repeatedly as children screamed from their seats.
Harris’s son, who had fallen asleep on the bus, woke up when he heard his mother’s cries.
Video shows him jumping onto Day’s back as two adults moved to restrain her.
Police say Harris suffered a concussion and received treatment at Shadyside Hospital.
She returned to work after a week but was assigned to a different route.
“It’s the everyday life of a bus driver… parents are just crazy,” Harris told Channel 11.
In Delaware, police arrested a 62-year-old bus driver after video footage allegedly revealed him picking up a prostitute and engaging in illicit activity aboard a school bus.
Prosecutors charged Alvin Rohm with lewdness and patronizing a prostitute within 1,000 feet of a school or residence.
Authorities allege a district employee uncovered the footage while reviewing recordings tied to another matter.
Investigators claim Rohm picked up a woman, drove to another street and parked before engaging in sex acts in exchange for cash.
Police arrested him without incident and later released him on his own recognizance.
Officials confirmed Rohm worked for a contracted bus service and was not a direct school district employee.
Authorities have not stated whether children were transported on the bus that day.
In Wisconsin, a violent attack on a public transit driver ended with a bus smashing into a restaurant.
Prosecutors say 26-year-old Raeven Johnson assaulted a Metro bus driver on Feb. 25 after he told her her desired stop was not on the route.
Video shows Johnson striking the seated driver as the bus began rolling forward.
The out-of-control vehicle veered right and slammed into the Asian House restaurant.
The impact crushed part of a neighboring office and damaged kitchen equipment inside the restaurant.
Authorities report two people suffered injuries, including the driver. One victim required hospitalization.
Johnson pleaded guilty in August to second-degree recklessly endangering safety and attempted battery to a public transit officer.
A judge sentenced her to three years in prison and barred her from Madison Metro property and buses.
Her sentence includes extended supervision and a ban on alcohol. Court records show a restitution hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5.
