A Michigan sheriff thought deputies pranked him when he left a radio interview and realized his patrol truck was missing.
Marquette County Sheriff Gregory Zyburt left the radio station and couldn’t find his truck early Wednesday morning.
Assuming deputies would take responsibility, he called a lieutenant for answers. Just as they were talking, a dispatcher received a report of a crashed police vehicle in a ditch, police say.
It turned out Zyburt’s truck had been stolen, police say. Deputies and a police dog went to the scene and began searching the area for a suspect.
Within about 10 minutes, a suspect was found in a restroom at a nearby boat launch, police say.
Zyburt says he didn’t realize an extra set of keys were in the patrol vehicle. The sheriff says he remembers locking the vehicle, and investigators don’t know how the suspect stole it.
“Lesson of the day: if it can happen to the sheriff, it can happen to you,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. “Lock your vehicles.”
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