GPS led officers to the rig about 60 miles away, where police made an arrest

By Paul Sisson
The San Diego Union-Tribune

SAN DIEGO — San Diego police arrested a person suspected of stealing a fire engine in south San Diego and driving it up Interstate 5 to Fallbrook Saturday evening, officials said.

Law enforcement and fire department officials said Sunday that Engine 30, which is assigned to Fire Station 30 in Nestor, was not damaged during the trip.

Officers arrested a suspect in connection with taking the vehicle after it was recovered on Loch Ness Drive in Fallbrook just after 5 p.m., San Diego police Officer Sarah Foster said. No information about the person arrested was released.

Police said the fire crew assigned to Engine 30 entered a store at 16th Avenue and Palm Avenue in the Egger Highlands neighborhood just before 4:30 p.m.

“When they came out, the engine was gone,” Foster said.

An electronic tracker in the vehicle allowed the fire department to track the engine on its 60-mile journey north, and officials notified the sheriff’s office of its location. Deputies working in the area put it under surveillance until San Diego police arrived and made an arrest.

The San Diego Fire Rescue Department has not said how the engine ended up being stolen. A department spokesperson said theft details are still under investigation.

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