SAYRE, Pa. — An ambulance stolen from an area hospital Tuesday morning has been recovered.
The advanced life support ambulance was parked in front of the emergency department at Robert Packer Hospital in Bradford County.
The Sayre police chief tells Newswatch 16 that the Guthrie ambulance was taken around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. This ambulance is a mobile ICU vehicle with lifesaving equipment, as well as prescription drugs on board used to treat patients.
Officials from Guthrie confirmed the ambulance had been stolen from the hospital and, in a statement added, "the suspect may be a patient who was present at the emergency department, and because of patient confidentiality, Guthrie cannot offer any additional comment."
According to dispatch audio, the suspect is a man with a dark hoodie and jeans. He climbed into the rear of the ambulance and made his way to the driver's seat and took off.
People we spoke with were surprised to hear about the stolen ambulance.
"I cannot believe that somebody would steal an ambulance around here and take it for a joyride, but with COVID, this horrible pandemic, everybody's doing all sorts of crazy things," Brittanie Owen said.
"How somebody would steal an ambulance this day and age. Obviously, they've gotten away with it so far," Steve Bowen said.
The tricky part for police was deciding where to start looking. The hospital is about a mile from the interstate, so the suspect could have taken the ambulance anywhere.
"That would be the way to get away from two hours now. They could be in Rochester. They could be in Syracuse. They could be in Scranton," Bowen said.
"if they head towards Towanda, it's always so busy down there. Scary part is some roads there, they could've had an accident or hurt somebody," Owen added.
Sayre police say that the ambulance was found in New York State Tuesday afternoon but wouldn't give the exact location because this is an ongoing investigation. There's also no word on who the suspect or why the ambulance was taken. If you have any information about this crime, you're asked to call Sayre police.