(Emmetsburg)– Two 17-year-old boys have been arrested in connection with a series of vehicle thefts in Palo Alto county.
The Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office says 17-year-old Charles Jenkinson of Emmetsburg and 17-year-old Sterling Hanson of Canton, South Dakota are accused of stealing four different vehicles overnight on Tuesday into early this (Wed.) morning.
The first report was called in at 5:30 this (Wed.) morning from a woman living in the 1000 block of Jefferson Street in Emmetsburg. She told deputies her 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee had been stolen sometime overnight. Officers found the vehicle around 6:35 a.m. in a ditch about a mile west of Emmetsburg. The vehicle had been completely destroyed by fire.
At 6:15 this (Wed.) morning, the second call came in about a stolen 1991 Toyota from the 1100 block of Jefferson in Emmetsburg. That vehicle was later discovered in the Depew area with an undetermined amount of damage.
The Sheriff’s Office then received a call about a 1993 Pontiac that was stolen from a home in the Cylinder area. That vehicle was later recovered with an undetermined amount of damage near the same location in Depew.
Shortly after that, the Sheriff’s Office received a call from Matt Borkowski of rural Cylinder that two people had just stolen his 1994 Ford pickup from his home and that he was chasing the stolen vehicle. The pursuit continued into the Osgood area at which time Jenkinson and Hanson jumped out of the stolen pickup and began running west toward the Des Moines River. Palo Alto County sheriff’s deputies convered on the area and began a ground search for the suspects. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources sent up an airplane for an aerial search as the sun came up. All-terrain-vehicles were brought in to search for the suspects as well. The two were eventually spotted along Jack Creek and were taken into custody around 9:00 a.m. this (Wed.) morning.
Both Jenkinson and Hanson were transported to the Palo Alto county jail where they were each charged with four counts of second degree motor vehicle theft, each a class “D” felony.
The investigation into the incident continues and more charges are pending.
Both boys were taken to the Youth Detention Facility in Cherokee.
(Story from Danielle Hitchings of sister station KDWD Hot 100 in Spencer.)
