Man hunts for missing Roughrider bus that is his home

By Susan McNeil

For Martin McLeod, finding a 1961 bus that was converted into a motorhome, painted green and white and covered with Saskatchewan Roughriders decals is more than looking for memorabilia.

The bus is his home.

McLeod had the bus parked at a rented acreage near Sturgeon Lake and had just finished paying off the cost of the bus when it went missing.

“This is where I was sleeping. They got everything I own, everything. Hunting rifles, they’ve got bows. They’ve got everything that I own. I’ve got the clothes on my back and that’s it,” he said.

The bus is a 1961 Coachline but its previous owners raised the roof on it, winterized it and installed a kitchen, turning it into a livable motorhome. Inside are also five binders of papers detailing all the work that has been done to it.

It has a Cummins diesel engine and is equipped with a generator for power. Along with the classic shape, the colour scheme has a distinctive look.

“It’s beautiful, it’s painted green and white and it’s got Saskatchewan Roughriders all over it,” McLeod said.

He left his property Tuesday morning ago and when he came back, the bus was gone. The thieves had broken the lock on the property’s gate, gained access to the interior and drove off.

Everything McLeod owns is on the bus, from guns to food, and the bus is his savings too. He bought the bus already converted for $25,000 with the money coming from funds he received through the Sixties Scoop survivor fund.

His quad has also broken down, making it difficult for him to look for the bus so Thursday afternoon, he was waiting for a ride to Prince Albert to get the parts he needs to repair the quad.

McLeod has a pretty good idea of where the bus is being hidden on the reserve and his concern isn’t necessarily finding it so much as it is finding it in time.

“I’m just trying to get out there and get my frickin’ bus back before I find it burned or something in the bush,” he said. “I would have found it by now if I was out there.”

He has reported the theft to the RCMP in Shellbrook but is frustrated by the time it is taking to recover it.