Slight Detour – June 2025

The bond between truckers and their pets is a special one. Their furry co-pilots are more than mere travel companions; they provide a break from the monotony and solitude that comes along with life on the road.

Perhaps that is why stories about truckers being reunited with their lost pets really tug at my heartstrings. We start this Slight Detour in Missouri, where a trucker was able to find his lost dog with an assist from technology.

The driver said he became separated from his dog, Buddy, while at a truck stop in Strafford, Mo. The dog jumped out of the truck and was playing in the snow when the driver lost sight of him. Unable to call Buddy back to the truck – and running behind for a delivery in Joplin, Mo. – the driver reluctantly headed on his way.

Later that day, the driver took to Facebook to post on a local lost-and-found page. That’s where he caught the attention of Charlie Barnes and his team of volunteer trackers and trappers.

Barnes said his team sprang into action – using a drone to pinpoint Buddy’s location.

“Nick our drone operator got a drone up in the air and saw lots of footprints,” Barnes told a local news outlet. “We knew where he was.”

The team located the lost dog behind a barn. After setting up a feeding station and a trap, all that was left to do was wait.

“About six-and-a-half, seven hours later, we got a ding on the trap, and he’s in the trap,” Barnes said.

Barnes and his team not only located Buddy but even loaded the dog up and drove him to Joplin to be reunited with his owner. If that doesn’t restore your faith in humanity, I don’t know what will.

Also, a tip of the cap to the drone operator for cracking this case wide open. I’ve been slow to adopt new technology; I didn’t even own a cellphone until 2011. (For reference: The iPhone 4 was out by then.) And while drones aren’t new by any means, using them to locate lost dogs has me fully on-board. That tactic certainly is quicker than stapling fliers to telephone poles.

Roo-ll Tide

In another story from the lost-pet beat, officials in Alabama recently encountered something you don’t often see in the Deep South – a kangaroo bouncing down the interstate.

The fleet-footed marsupial, known to her owner as Sheila, managed to escape from her enclosure in the early-morning hours. The animal’s owner, Patrick Starr, said it didn’t take long to realize Sheila wasn’t where she was supposed to be.

“As soon as we were up that morning, we started getting calls,” Starr said. “I reached out to local law enforcement. We’re adjacent to the interstate, and it got onto the interstate. We located it in about 10 to 15 minutes, fairly quick.”

Sheila’s excursion forced officials to close down the highway in both directions. Fortunately for us, Macon County Sheriff André Brunson took to Facebook Live to chronicle the hunt for the rogue kangaroo.

“When somebody said there was a kangaroo, of course I didn’t believe him, and nobody believed him,” Brunson said. “But I’m looking at him.”

After being tranquilized by Starr, Sheila was safely contained and returned to her home. The bouncing ’roo did cause some commotion on the roadway, with a two-car accident being reported during the chaos – presumably due to rubbernecking. No injuries were reported.

“We see a little bit of everything here,” Brunson said.

Bad guy boot camp

Cargo theft has been in the news a lot lately, with a record amount sweeping across the United States. But while thieves in the U.S. have increased the frequency by which they steal freight, they’re yet to match the preparation put in by their European counterparts.

In a recent Intelligence Report from Overhaul, an Austin, Texas-based supply chain risk management company, the company shared information about a potential growing trend for cargo thieves overseas.

Known as “rolling theft,” the tactic involves criminals boarding moving vehicles and pilfering high-value items. The cargo is typically tossed to accomplices following behind in another vehicle.

Earlier this year, Overhaul shared information about thieves in the U.S. employing this tactic, but thieves across the pond are working to perfect it.

According to Overhaul’s report, the driver of a truck that was stopped in France and that contained stolen items from a rolling theft told officials that “there are organized training camps in Romania where individuals are learning this theft method.”

That’s right. They have bad guy boot camps, which I assume are run by crazy James Bond villain-types. I wonder what the food there is like. And do they get buzz cuts on the first day? I have a lot of questions.

“If true, this would indicate an upcoming explosion in theft rates involving this M.O.,” Overhaul said.

Hard to see that happening, but hey – they are the experts.

Look, I don’t at all support these thieves, but you have to admit it’s a pretty wild way to steal some cargo. At least there is a bit more sport in it.

All good in the ’hood

Speaking of explosions: That’s exactly what happened in Pennsylvania recently after two tractor-trailers went up in flames on the highway. According to officials, one of the trucks was empty, while the other was hauling train wheels.

Nobody was seriously injured from the incident. However, the fire and eventual explosion shut down the highway for hours, forcing residents in nearby neighborhoods to evacuate due to thick smoke.

That’s when the local news stepped in to get the reactions of

residents following the blast. Most described the magnitude of the noise – spoiler alert: it was loud – but one of the locals was quick to judge.

“I heard this ‘boom, boom, boom,’ and I’m thinking, ‘What’s my neighbor doing?’” Donna Diehl told the news outlet.

I need to know more about Donna’s neighbor and what would make her suspect this individual of being behind an explosion.

I feel like we all have that neighbor, though. You know, the one with four random dogs left in the backyard all the time. The one you would assume is the reason for police sirens if you heard them. Yeah, you know that guy.

I’m not sure what Donna’s neighbor is up to the rest of the year, but I can assure you the Fourth of July at his house is off the chain. LL