The Effingham County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a series of vehicle thefts that occurred Thursday night and Friday morning.
According to Effingham County Sheriff David Mahon, deputies received a report of a vehicle that was stuck or had crashed near Winterrowd at 10:00pm on Thursday. The caller had reported seeing two subjects near the vehicle. When police arrived, they found a 2015 Ford Explorer and no subjects were near the vehicle. When officers ran the plates of the Explorer, they discovered that the vehicle had been reported stolen from St. Jacob in Madison County. Police officers then set up a perimeter to locate the subjects, a Caucasian and a African-American males. At 3:00am on Friday, officers disbanded the perimeter and towed the Explorer back to Madison County.
Early Friday morning, police officers came upon a white Toyota that was traveling at an excessive speed in the area of Route 45 and CR 500N. The officers attempted to catch up when the subjects in the vehicle, matching the description of the earlier suspects, abandoned it on the side of the road and fled on foot in the Big Salt Creek. Officers determined that the Toyota was a stolen vehicle as well and called for a canine unit to assist. The canine then picked up the subjects’ tracks which led to a garage with the door open. When officers spoke to the residences, they stated that their pickup truck had been stolen. Officers then discovered the abandoned pickup truck along Route 45 south of Hord.
Sheriff Mahon stated that Effingham County deputies were assisted by Clay County deputies when the search headed into Clay County. The only reported damage to the stolen vehicles was a broken window on the Toyota.
Sheriff Mahon said that the suspects are described to be in their early 20’s or late teens. One suspect is a Caucasian male wearing a plaid shirt. The other suspect is a light-complected African-American male with a large Afro. The Effingham County Sheriff’s Department is pursuing leads.