Published: August 05, 2009 11:02 pm      

Investigators probe overnight bus theft in WL

At 5 a.m. Wednesday, deputies with the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department were called to the campus of West Lauderdale Elementary School to a report that one or more of the school buses housed there had been stolen.

When deputies arrived they found one bus had been crashed into a chain link fence, two others had been damaged and one was missing. A search for the missing bus and those responsible was immediately launched.

LCSD Chief Dep. Ward Calhoun said Wednesday afternoon the missing bus had been located near Centerville Martin Road on Hwy. 495. Investigators were in the process of collecting physical evidence from the bus and those left on campus.

"We have some things we are looking at to try and determine who did this," said Calhoun late Wednesday afternoon. "Investigators are working hard to bring this case to a quick conclusion."

There was no estimate available Wednesday on how much damage was done to the buses.