EL PASO, Texas -- Dozens of Horizon-area children are not picked up by their school bus on Monday morning because their bus was stolen, according to Region 19 Head Start officials.

Mark De Santos, Region 19's communication specialist, said they're not sure when the bus was stolen, but Monday morning right before the routes began is when they realized it was gone.

It affected the morning transportation schedule. The bus that was stolen has to make several stops in the Horizon area to pick up Head Start students and bring them to the Pete Duarte Center. But by the afternoon, all the routes were covered again and they will be covered Tuesday, according to De Santos.

"We called the police department. By that time, it was too late to contact our parents and let them know the bus was not going to be where it needed to be at that time," said De Santos.

The bus was recovered on Monday morning in the county area. Horizon City police officials say the culprit or culprits could face charges of vehicle theft and vandalism.