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American Morning

Schoold Bus Driver Had a New Destination in Mind

Aired January 25, 2002 - 07:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, they were on their way to school but 13 Pennsylvania children never made it. They boarded their school bus yesterday morning, as they always did, for the 15 minute ride to school. But the driver had a new destination in mind. He took them, against their will, on a five hour trip that ended in another state, fortunately at a police station.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick has the story from Exeter Township, Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Happy parents holding their children tight, taking them home to Pennsylvania to an anxious community joined in prayer.

CAPT. NANCY KOVEL, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: It's wonderful to stand before you today and have a positive outcome and know that the children are safe and we're bringing them home.

FEYERICK: The 13 kids vanished for almost five hours. Their school bus a no show here at the Berk Christian School.

ROBERT BECKER, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR: The first thing you think of is did they fall into a ditch that was completely out of sight? But knowing the route myself, I knew that there was no deep ditches or ravines and no deep creeks. And if it was an accident, certainly they would have been found.

FEYERICK: It was no accident. The bus driver, 64-year-old Otto Nuss, a loaded semi-automatic rifle behind his seat, took the kids more than 100 miles to Maryland before stopping at a Family Dollar store and surrendering to local police officer Milton Chabale.

MILTON CHABALE, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE: He seemed a little nervous but he seemed like he wanted to turn himself over to the authorities. He wanted to make sure that the kids were OK and he wanted the parents to know that the kids were OK back home.

FEYERICK: The children, ages seven to 15, were not hurt. Nuss, who's unmarried, lived with his mother until her death about five years ago. Neighbors Scott and Lindy Postell say Nuss loved his job and the kids he drove to school, though lately they say he seemed out of sorts. LINDY POSTELL, NEIGHBOR: Over the weekend he seemed a bit down. He didn't seem quite himself. He wasn't quite as talkative or, you know, as jovial as he normally is. But he still certainly talked to us and was very kind and whatnot.

FEYERICK: To drive a school bus, Nuss had to pass a background check. No crimes or history of child abuse. So why did he do it? He told the arresting police officer...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He brought them to see Washington, D.C.

FEYERICK: Agents searched Nuss' house late into the night.

(on camera): The charges against Nuss will include federal kidnapping for bringing those children across state lines. Also, I spoke to one mother who belongs to this church. She said she's driving her daughters to school this morning -- Paula.

ZAHN: So all those kids are back at school today?

FEYERICK: No, a number of kids are not going to go to the school, according to the administrator here. He said they had a very late night last night, getting in at about midnight, and so they're going to take it easy. A few kids will be here, but for the most part the parents are going to keep them home.

ZAHN: All right, Deborah Feyerick, thank you for that wild ride, as it turned out to be.

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