Report: Sex offender steals school bus, tries to pick up kid

EMERY COUNTY, Utah -- A convicted sex offender out on parole is facing attempted child kidnapping charges after allegedly stealing a school bus and trying to pick up children in central Utah, reports CBS affiliate KUTV.

Patrick James Fredricksen, 30, who lives in Emery County, is on the state's sex offender registry based on a 2004 case where he reportedly pleaded guilty to third-degree felony unlawful sexual activity with a minor.

Monday, Fredricksen abruptly quit his new job laying sod at a Huntington ball field, walked across the street to a funeral home and stole the director's SUV, police told the station. Investigators say he drove the stolen vehicle to nearby Cleveland, Utah, where resident Sarah Brewer told the station he pulled up and asked for a young girl.

Police say Fredricksen then went to neighboring Elmo, where he stole a school bus parked at the driver's home. The keys to the bus and a list of children and addresses on his route were inside, reports KUTV.

Fredricksen pulled into the driveway of a home on the route and told a child's father he was there to pick up the child, Lt. Gayle Jensen with the Emery County Sheriff Department told the station. The father, however, became suspicious and didn't let the child board the bus.

Fredricksen reportedly once again encountered Cleveland resident Sarah Brewer and her mother, who became suspicious when he was driving slowly, had a cigarette behind his ear and wasn't carrying children on the bus.

"I thought he was sketchy," Brewer told the CBS affiliate.

They contacted police, who pulled Fredrickson over, still driving the school bus on a rural road, and arrested him.

"It could have been bad," Jensen told the station. "I fear just like any other parent the worst would happen."

Fredrickson had previously worked as a volunteer firefighter for the Huntington Fire Department, but was dismissed in 2003 for allegedly stealing clothing and equipment, reports the Salt Lake Tribune.

In a 2006 case, Fredericksen was accused of posing as a firefighter in Salt Lake County, allegedly listening to police scanners and rushing to accident scenes to help. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor officer impersonation in that case, reports the paper.

In this latest case, Fredericksen is charged with two counts of vehicle theft in addition to the attempted child kidnapping charge. He is also charged with damaging the jail where he was held after his arrest.

Police say he broke a water pipe in his cell, KUTV reported.