Billy Joe Schrader, 33, stole a bus from Cascade Raft near Horseshoe Bend and drove it to the Lowman area before getting stuck on a muddy ATV trail and burglarizing two nearby homes Wednesday, the Boise County Sheriff’s Office said.

A neighbor called police after spotting Schrader in a vacation home, where deputies arrested him.

Oregon authorities believe Schrader is the “wheelbarrow burglar” wanted for a string of burglaries at Detroit Lake vacation homes east of Salem, Ore. The burglar targeted homes without alarm systems and often showered there, ate food and drank liquor.

He also stole camping gear, clothing and other items.

A Detroit Lake homeowner used his cellphone to snap a photo of the burglar Oct. 28 after arriving at his cabin to find him sleeping in the master bedroom. The burglar fled but left behind personal property that helped Marion County officials identify him.

The Sheriff’s Office alerted the public about Schrader’s wanted status on Nov. 20 and released the grainy cellphone image that showed him with a full beard and hair.

Schrader now is clean-shaven with a shaved head after a stay at a home in Lowman, said Boise County Detective John Krempa.

“He left a big mess behind from it,” Krempa said.

Schrader has no connection to Idaho and said he was headed for his home state of Michigan, Krempa said.

“I don’t think this is a master criminal,” Krempa said. “He was basically squatting and moving on and squatting and moving on.”

Krempa said Schrader hot-wired the bus, which Cascade Rafts uses to transport people on rafting trips. He turned down an ATV trail thinking it was a dirt road and soon became stuck. Employees from Cascade Raft retrieved the bus and say it’s OK.

“It’s got a few little bumps and things like that,” said owner Debbi Long. “It wasn’t too worse for the wear.” Long said the business also lost clothes and food in the burglary.

Krempa said Schrader implicated himself in at least one home burglary in the Caldwell area and several in Boise County as well the Oregon break-ins.

Schrader is in the Ada County Jail on theft and burglary charges. His court-appointed lawyer, David Smethers, declined comment Monday.

Schrader’s criminal history includes convictions for burglary and trespassing, and he has a warrant for a parole violation in Curry County on the Oregon Coast.

Meghann M. Cuniff: 377-6418