Elementary Teacher’s Vehicle Recovered Two Days After Stolen 

The Ava Police Department received a report of a vehicle being stolen from the Ava Elementary School parking lot on Tuesday, August 7.  The incident occurred on Main Street  around 11:42 p.m.

Debbie Boeddeker, a fourth-grade teacher, was working late in the building when she noticed her vehicle was missing.  The vehicle, a 2005 Dodge white extended cab pickup truck, has two special decals on the back window.

On Thursday, Aug. 9, Ava Police Chief Reggie Johnson was notified of a vehicle matching the description was sitting in a parking lot at the Ozark Medical Center Hospital, in West Plains, Mo.  

Chief Johnson contacted hospital security, and with their assistance, Jacob Michael Wolford, age 19, of Ava was apprehended.  

Wolford, who is charged with first-degree tampering of a motor vehicle, is incarcerated in jail under a $10,000 surety bond. 

In the police report, it is noted the owner failed to lock the doors of the vehicle, and keys to the ignition were in the cab. 

The pickup was transported back to Ava and returned undamaged.