VIDEO: Food truck thief tracked down by GPS, arrested at gunpoint

A Fox 9 crew was in Chisago County covering another story when we came across police vehicles chasing a stolen food truck.

With guns drawn, the driver, later identified as 27-year-old Houston Schiernbeck, was arrested just off Highway 8 in Center City. At the time, police had no idea whether anybody else was inside the truck.

Bill Schlumbohm, deputy chief of the Lake Area Police Department, says it was like a traffic stop, "but with more heightened danger."

"Law enforcement always operates on partial information," he adds. "The information we have is it is a stolen vehicle. We don't know why. It could be any situation. It could be someone kidnapped."

In the end, police found Schiernbeck and nobody else inside the vehicle. He'd led a couple Lakes Area cops on a brief pursuit through two Chisago County communities.

The key to keeping tabs on Schiernbeck was GPS technology that allowed law enforcement to stay one step ahead.

As the food truck's rightful driver Mark Burbank explains, "The bottom line is there's GPS, and that's what helped track the vehicle down."

Burbank's truck was stolen mid-delivery from a Little Canada BP station when he stepped inside and left the engine running.

"Just like, 'Oh crap. My truck is gone,'" says Burbank, asked about his reaction. "The girl working called police."

Burbank was reunited with his rig and his food in just two hours, thanks to the GPS tracker and the quick work of law enforcement.

He says it was a happy ending, but one that taught him a lesson he'll carry with him going forward.

"Yeah, it's typical we go do our thing," Burbank says, referring to leaving the engine running. "Don't give it a second thought. Not anymore."

Meanwhile, Chisago County authorities took Schiernbeck to jail for formal booking. Authorities say he has a lengthy criminal record that includes fleeing law enforcement.