(Ripley/Decatur/Shelby Counties, IN) – A suspect who allegedly stole a school bus in Cincinnati and led numerous Indiana police departments on an hour-long chase Tuesday morning is in custody.
The Indiana State Police Versailles Post was notified around 10:15 am by Ohio authorities that a yellow 2021 school bus had been stolen from the Cincinnati area and was being tracked while it traveled on westbound I-74 in Ripley County.
A Batesville police officer and two state troopers spotted the bus and followed it into Decatur County.
The troopers tried to pull the bus over, but the suspect and lone occupant of the vehicle, 32-year-old Chad Avery Murdock of Cincinnati, did not stop and fled from officers.
The bus eventually went off-road and into numerous fields and yards, and was driven on county roads plus U.S. 421 and State Road 9 during the pursuit.
A number of officers from multiple departments joined the chase as the bus entered Shelby County.
Officers eventually successfully deployed a tire deflation device which caused the bus tires to deflate.
At around 11:15 pm, officers boxed in the bus as it went through another field, which caused Murdock to stop the vehicle near County Road 25 East south of Shelbyville.
Murdock was then arrested without incident.
Multiple police vehicles were damaged in collisions with the bus during the chase. ISP says a number of yards and fields were also damaged.
No one was injured.
Murdock was booked in the Decatur County Detention Center on preliminary charges of Resisting Law Enforcement, Criminal Recklessness with a Vehicle, Possession of Stolen Property, and Criminal Mischief.
State Police say additional charges are possible.
