PROVINCETOWN — Police are investigating the disappearance of a white 2011 Chevrolet Star Crafter student activities mini-bus.
It was apparently stolen sometime overnight on Thursday, Nov. 4 from the public parking lot on Prince and Bradford streets next to the school building, Supt. Suzanne Scallion told the Independent on Monday, Nov. 8.
The bus was parked there late on Thursday afternoon and gone on Friday morning, she said.
The mini-bus had been used to transport student athletes during sports seasons, and it had picked up supplemental runs when buses operated at reduced capacity for social distancing during the last school year.
Since fall sports were over last week, and social distancing is no longer required, the school had no immediate need for the bus, which is valued at about $35,000, she added.
Last year, Scallion had been on the hunt for additional buses and bus drivers, both of which were scarce during the pandemic. Until the mini-bus went missing, the school had succeeded in amassing a cache of buses and drivers. Four drivers are going through the required 7D licensing process right now, and two are close to done, Scallion said. The school also recently purchased a new van. It will be able to handle all supplemental runs for the short term, she added.
But if you see a white mini-bus with blue Massachusetts plates M97073, call the police. —K.C. Myers
