Man steals backhoe for 10-mile drive to Illinois airport to catch flight

Footage captured the man walking across the street from the lot to the airport lobby

MARION, Ill. (AP) — A southern Illinois man has been charged with theft for allegedly stealing a backhoe to drive about 10 miles (16 kilometers) to an airport to catch a flight, authorities said.

Security camera footage shows a Carbondale man arriving at Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois atop a backhoe and leaving it in the airport parking lot Thursday, the Williamson County Sheriffs Office said.

Footage captured the man walking across the street from the lot to the airport lobby, carrying a guitar case, the sheriff’s office said.

The owner of the backhoe arrived at the airport a short time later and identified the equipment as belonging to his company, the sheriff’s office said. The owner said the machine, typically used to move large debris, had been parked at a job site.