FRANKLIN COUNTY, Maine — Two teenagers and one young adult were charged in connection with an alleged vehicle theft out of Oxford County that led law enforcement on a two-day search.
Franklin County sheriff's deputies responded to a complaint of a stolen vehicle from Oxford County that was seen in Rangeley Plantation around 5:25 a.m. on Tuesday, according to a release from the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.
The vehicle was identified as a Ford F-250 Super Duty truck that had reportedly been at a garage in Mexico for repair work following a moose accident, but was allegedly stolen during the night, the sheriff's office said.
A man driving a tractor-trailer discovered the truck parked at the Height of Land overlook area in Rangeley Plantation, but when he stopped to see if he could help, the sheriff's office said he recognized the truck belonged to his boss.
The tractor-trailer driver reportedly attempted to confront two young males who had the truck, but they got back into the vehicle and sped away. The driver of the tractor-trailer rediscovered the truck overheated and on the side of the road on Route 17 near South Shore Drive, but the sheriff's office said those inside the vehicle had fled into the woods.
A search involving the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and Border Patrol ensued, lasting into the evening, then was called off, according to the sheriff's office. Deputies learned the males were lost in the woods in the area of South Shore Drive.
Early Wednesday morning, deputies began a second search and located a 16-year-old male from Mexico, who was reportedly left behind by two other males who started hitchhiking southbound on Route 4.
"They were picked up by a couple headed southbound who had no idea what the males were involved with and dropped the two males off at Walgreens in Farmington," the sheriff's office said in the release.
The sheriff's office said 24-year-old Logan Smith of Rumford was charged and released to a caregiver by Mexico police, and the 16-year-old male was charged and released to family. A 14-year-old male who had "previous juvenile conditions" was charged and brought to a juvenile detention facility, according to the release.
"Sheriff Nichols commended the great teamwork between all agencies involved during the entire two-day operation, Franklin County Deputies had the assistance of Mexico Police Dept., Oxford County Sheriffs’ Office, Border Patrol, and Interim Chief Richard Caton of Rangeley Police," the sheriff's office said.
