Stolen school bus located in Scott County

UPDATE: Police located a stolen school bus overnight at an Interstate 80 gas station near Walcott.

Someone stole the Clear Creek Amana bus Monday evening or Tuesday morning from Professional Muffler in Iowa City, where it had been taken for service, police said. The 65-passenger bus was parked outside the business, waiting for exhaust work, and the keys were locked inside the building.

Walcott police located the bus 42 miles away at the Pilot Travel Center near I-80 mile marker 284, according to the Scott County Sheriff's Office.

“They hot-wired it,” said Keith Pirkl, the school's transportation director. “The ignition system was torn out and wires were hanging down, they said.”

Iowa City Police Sgt. Denise Brotherton said the bus was found unattended. Pirkl said Scott County authorities called about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday to tell him the bus had been found. They didn't see any visible damage, he said.

Pirkl said it's the first time a school bus has ever been stolen from Clear Creek Amana, as far as he knows. He was baffled when he heard the news.

“It kind of blew my mind,” Pirkl said. “I thought, ‘what if it was a terrorist?' Especially when it wasn't found for a day or so.”

Pirkl said he's not too concerned about who stole the bus. He was traveling to Walcott to get it back Thursday morning.

“I'd just like to have it back, because it's a good bus,” Pirkl said. “It's one of our better ones.”