OREM — Three members of BYU's swim team were among four arrested Monday and Tuesday by Orem police in connection to a stolen rental car.

"The university is aware of the matter," Brigham Young University spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said. "It is something that we're taking very seriously and we're looking into right now."

Jenkins confirmed that each of the arrested is a BYU freshman. The three men and one woman are all from out of state, and two of the swimmers, one man and the woman, competed over the weekend for BYU at a swim meet in Long Beach, Calif.

The four students found a set of lost keys at the Orem Wal-Mart on Oct. 29, according to a 4th District Court affidavit of probable cause. The foursome noticed the keys belonged to a rented Chevy Aveo, located the car in the store parking lot and two drove away while the other two followed in another car.

Inside the stolen rental car was the purse of the woman who originally rented the car. The woman called police to report both the missing rental car and her purse inside. Police said the group then drove the car to an American Fork gas station where they unsuccessfully attempted to use the woman's bank card to purchase gas. They again tried to use the card at Sonic Burger but were unsuccessful, court documents state.

Police said the students continued to drive the car for another two weeks. Then, fearing they would be caught with the car, drove it to Nephi and abandoned it on a city street, according to the affidavit. The woman's purse, however, was not recovered.

Orem Police Lt. Doug Edwards said he couldn't report on the process of linking the students to the theft, as the investigating officer was out of town on vacation Wednesday. Jenkins said an Honor Code review of the arrests was ongoing by BYU but declined to comment on the nature of any disciplinary action by the school.

Matthew Rados, 18, of American Canyon, Calif; Christopher Seth Parker, 18, of Silvervale, Wash; Madison Elizabeth Gray, 19, of Winnemucca, Nev.; and Jacob Jones, 18, of Scranton, Pa, were each booked for investigation of theft and unlawful acquisition of a credit card.

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