A woman accused of stealing a US Postal Service van in Columbus, Georgia, was arrested in Coweta County after allegedly driving the vehicle more than 80 miles through two counties.
Nicole Schuler was taken into custody after deputies stopped the van at a petrol station near the junction of State Routes 17 and 85, according to authorities. Body-worn camera footage showed officers detaining her at the scene.
Columbus police said the van was taken after a postal worker briefly stepped away from the unoccupied vehicle. The suspect then drove north along State Route 85, passing through Meriwether County before entering Coweta County.
Investigators used the department’s real-time crime centre, working with the Postal Service, to track the vehicle’s movements, local reports said. The van was reported stolen in the area of Wynnton Road and Munro Avenue in Columbus on October 20.
Schuler is wanted on warrants alleging felony theft by taking, theft by possession of stolen mail and misdemeanour theft by taking. She was initially held at the Coweta County Jail before being transferred to the Muscogee County Jail pending handover to federal authorities.
Authorities have not said how Schuler was able to gain access to the van or where she was allegedly intending to go. They have also not disclosed whether any mail inside the vehicle was lost, damaged or interfered with during the journey.
The investigation remains ongoing, with both local and federal authorities involved.
