Police in Germany have uncovered the unlikely source of a missing city bus after tracking it more than 130 kilometres from its depot, discovering a 15‑year‑old behind the wheel. Authorities say the boy from Wiesbaden managed to enter a bus yard in the early hours of Friday morning and access a master key, allowing him to quietly drive away without staff noticing. Although CCTV captured the moment the bus left, workers initially assumed a colleague had taken the wrong vehicle.
The bus remained unaccounted for until that afternoon, when the company finally realised none of its drivers had signed it out. By using the vehicle’s GPS tracker, police located it in Karlsruhe, where a patrol found the teenager calmly seated in the driver’s spot. He had just collected his 14‑year‑old girlfriend and was reportedly planning to take her to school before returning home.
Officers expressed surprise at both his confidence behind the wheel and his ability to obtain the master key. A police spokeswoman said investigators still could not explain how he drove so competently, adding they were also unsure why he thought an unauthorised 130‑kilometre bus trip was the best way to get his girlfriend to class.
Despite the unusual nature of the case, authorities confirmed the bus suffered no damage and no one was hurt. The company retrieved the vehicle “without so much as a scratch,” though the teenager now faces several charges including theft and unlicensed driving. The investigation into how the events unfolded is ongoing.
