Pair sought in theft of 1,500 gallons of gas from Novato bus yard

Police are searching for two suspects Thursday who siphoned gasoline from the Novato Unified School District Bus Yard. Police are searching for two suspects Thursday who siphoned gasoline from the Novato Unified School District Bus Yard. Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Pair sought in theft of 1,500 gallons of gas from Novato bus yard 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

A pair of thieves were on the run and they had plenty of fuel to keep them going after cops said they siphoned up to 1,500 gallons of gasoline from underground storage tanks at the Novato Unified School District Bus Yard.

The incident occurred about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday at the bus yard at Olive Avenue and Mulligan Lane in Novato when the thieves backed a white Ford Econoline box truck up to the yard and apparently filled up large tanks in the rear of the vehicle with fuel normally used for school buses, police said.

The thieves accessed the underground tanks by cutting a lock on a compound where the fuel is stored, said Kyle Manford, the maintenance and operations supervisor at the Novato Unified School District.

A custodian who works at the yard saw the thieves, a man and a woman, using a long hose to siphon gas from the underground storage tanks, said police, who released photos Thursday in hopes the public would help them catch the culprits.

The equipment that was used to pump the gas indicates that the storage units in the truck are capable of holding hundreds of gallons of gasoline, police said.

The two suspects fled the scene before police arrived, but not before the custodian snapped photos of their vehicle. Their box truck had a California license plate reading 7BQK347, though police suspect the plates could be stolen.

Written on the passenger side door of the truck is “Automatic, A/C, SEATS 3.” Also on the truck is a California weight sticker that has the number 15 on it and “UNDER 14,050 GROSS” written underneath.

The male suspect is described as being in his 30s, bald and of medium build. The female suspect has blond hair and is heavy set, police said.

Manford said he suspects the suspects had practice stealing gasoline elsewhere since they were able to pump so much fuel into their truck. But this was a first for Manford, who has been working for the school district for a year and a half.

“Usually not that much shenanigans going on around here, it’s pretty quiet,” Manford said.

Anyone with information can contact the Novato Police Department at (415) 897-4361.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani