An Amish family from Michigan had their horse and buggy stolen during an outing to their local Walmart.
Police were called to a Walmart in Sturgis, Michigan, about 93 miles outside the city of Lansing, last Saturday at 5.30pm ET over the stolen buggy, the Sturgis department of public safety said in news release.
The victims told police that they were shopping inside of the store and found their horse and buggy stolen upon return.
Thankfully, a truck driver who was parked in the parking lot witnessed the theft and was able to give a description of the alleged perpetrator to police.
“A truck driver, parked in the Walmart lot, had seen a female steal the buggy,” read the news release. “He gave police a description of the female suspect.”
A 31-year-old woman was arrested at a local motel in connection with the stolen horse and buggy. She is being charged with larceny and larceny of livestock, according to the news release.
The family were eventually reunited with their buggy and horse, which had been discovered unoccupied. The horse was not injured during the theft.
Sergeant Aaron Moore with the Sturgis police department told the Guardian that that the suspect did not provide a motive for stealing the horse and buggy to police, and had prior encounters with officers.
“I don’t know why she did it. We caught up with the female and arrested her for stealing it,” Moore said.
Moore added that the crime was one he had not witnessed in his decades-long career.
“I’ve never had the Amish horse and buggy stolen in my 20 years [as a police officer],” he added.
Reaction to the horse-drawn buggy theft created confusion on social media.
One Facebook user commented: “Who steals a buggy?”
Another wrote: “You can’t make this stuff up.”
Many Amish people rely on a horse and buggy for transportation, rather than a modern vehicle. Amish people also tend to abstain from or selectively use modern conveniences and technologies, including electricity.
