Unmarked school bus tried to pick up students in Ypsilanti Township, police say

YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJBK) - The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office says that an unmarked bus that was trying to pick up students near Ypsilanti was contracted to a school district and was on 'official business'.

The Van Buren Public Schools district is alerting the community that an unmarked school bus has been trying to pick up students.

An alert published to the district's website says the unmarked school bus was seen stopping in the West Willow neighborhood in Ypsilanti Township trying to pick up students.

"Do not allow your students to approach any bus not clearly marked with Van Buren Public Schools on it," the statement continues.

A superintendent of Van Buren schools told FOX 2 that around 7:15 a.m. Thursday, an unmarked school bus pulled up at a school bus stop and tried to pick up the kids. A parent was at the stop and told the students not to get on the bus. Then we're told the bus took off.

We're told the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office also received three calls Thursday morning about a suspicious bus, which appeared the lettering on the side of the bus could have been painted over.

According to a press release around 2:15 Thursday, the sheriff said that the bus belonged to a transportation company and it was on a route that it was supposed to be on at the time of the stop. 

"It could just be the district made a poor choice to put a bus like that out there, or maybe a charter school, is from a smaller or private school or something like that," says Derrick Jackson of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office. "We really just don't know at this point and we're just trying to figure out what it is - is it a harmless mistake? Or something more serious?"

Van Buren Townshio police are also aware of the situation, and confirmed to FOX 2 the bus is yellow and unmarked. Police say the driver took off when the parent approached the vehicle. 

We're also told the school district has notified surrounding school districts.

The West Willow neighborhood in Ypsilanti Township is located along Interstate 94, between Tyler and Wiard roads