Bend school’s stolen solar car safely returned

The Oregon High School Solar Car Team at Bend’s Trinity Lutheran School has been around for nine years, but Tuesday almost turned into its bleakest day ever — until it wasn’t.

“You get to build a solar powered car and race on the NASCAR Speedway,” Sam Anderton, solar car team member Sam Anderton said Wednesday.

Their dreams were almost dashed after police say two women stole their trailer, car inside, and began driving to Sacramento. Teachers discovered it missing at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday . Police say it was stolen around 11 p.m. Monday .

Teachers had to make a heartbreaking announcement to the kids.

“He just walked up and said, ‘Oh, by the way — our car was stolen,” one Trinity Lutheran student said.

The solar car coach, Tom Stueve, said he made the announcement

“How could this be? It’s like we have a big target on us,” Stueve said.

Three years ago, the trailer was stolen. Three weeks ago, it was broken into.

Teachers quickly turned to Facebook. Within minutes, something unexpected happened. Of all people, Stueve’s wife called him.

“Who would have thought that our coach’s wife, who was going home sick from work, would be right behind our stolen trailer?” Anderton said.

It gets even stranger. When police pulled the truck over, they found the hitch wasn’t right. It didn’t fit. When the driver slowed down, the trailer actually popped off the hitch.

Police say at high speeds, it could have flown off — with disastrous results.

“All of our work — that would have been horrible,” Anderton said.

Through all the horrible “could haves,” the trailer and solar car was returned Tuesday morning. So those once dashed dreams will continue to grow.