UTAH COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 17, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Three boys who ran away from a Provo youth home Tuesday are now in custody after spending their few brief hours of “freedom” getting into trouble.
Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. J. Gordon said the boys, ages 13, 15 and 16, left the youth home and stole a car out of a business area in Provo.
In Spanish Fork, an officer attempted to make a routine traffic stop, and the boys fled in the vehicle. Gordon said the officer was unaware that the car was stolen and that the occupants were juveniles.
Gordon said UCSO detectives pursued the vehicle, while the youth who was driving it raced along at 100 miles an hour at times in an effort to evade authorities.
The chase ended at about 11 p.m., when the young driver lost control of the car as he headed east on U.S. Route 6. Gordon said the vehicle went off the road at Mile Marker 186, ran over some rocks, and “came to a stop on the side of the mountain.”
The boys tried to run and hide, Gordon said, but officers set up a containment area and the boys were compliant when they were found.
Gordon said officials were still interviewing the boys about two hours after they were taken into custody. It was confirmed that they were the same trio that had absconded from the Provo youth home.
The boys were uninjured, and the vehicle they allegedly stole hadn’t actually hit anything and wasn’t damaged.
Gordon said all three will be booked into Slate Canyon, a “more secure juvenile lockup,” and will be charged with possession of a stolen vehicle.
When officials determine which of the youths was driving the car, that young man will be charged with evading police, as well as other traffic offenses.
