Two cars that were stolen and ditched "in spectacular fashion," according to law enforcers, will be investigated by a couple of agencies.

The latest incident occurred over the weekend when a vehicle was discovered wrecked and abandoned at the bottom of a steep slope off the main road near the top of Guardsman Pass on the Salt Lake-Wasatch county lines. Investigators determined the vehicle had been stolen that day, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson.

That incident followed a similar one last week in which a stolen vehicle was sent over an embankment and down a steep slope about 100 feet, in East Canyon near the Salt Lake-Morgan county line, he said.

"We're not sure if they're connected or not, but the circumstances are very similar," Hutson said. In each case, the vehicles were abandoned the same day they were stolen."

No one was injured in either crash. The vehicles may have been stolen for joyriding or the sole purpose of driving them over the side of a cliff, he said.

Stolen cars are sometimes dumped in the Jordan River or more commonly just abandoned in a parking lot. Stolen cars are not typically driven up a mountain and off the side of a cliff.

"You don't want to draw attention to the crime you just committed or the vehicle you committed it in," Hutson said.

Anyone with information can call the sheriff's office at 801-743-7000.

— Pat Reavy