66 batteries stolen out of Mississippi school buses

ST. MARTIN, MS (WTVD) -- Sixty-six batteries were stolen out of school buses in Mississippi, making hundreds of students late for class Monday.

The battery thefts happened over the weekend in St. Martin, Mississippi, but it was not discovered until drivers arrived and couldn't get their buses to start.

The school district had to coordinate with bus drivers who had operational buses, redirecting them to get students picked up and taken to school safely. All students eventually made it to class.

The local sheriff said his team is investigating, but the thefts did not completely shock him.

"You know this does happen from time to time. This is the worst one that's happened that I can remember, in quite some time," Sheriff Mike Ezell said to WLOX. "These thieves come through here, just like the car burglars come through here at various times, and pick certain things out in which they can move fast, and that's part of it."

Ezell said the industrial batteries in the school buses are valuable on the black market.