2 CAR-THEFT SUSPECTS ELUDE POLICE IN S. UTAH

Two teenagers suspected of stealing a car in Orem and gasoline in Beaver eluded officers Wednesday and fled on foot into the western Utah desert, Iron County sheriff's deputies said.

"They saw me coming after them and they took off like antelope," said Sgt. Frank Slack. "The little buggers just took off into the cedar brush. They'll have to come out sometime."Two youths apparently left a residential boys home during the night, Slack said, stole the older model vehicle and drove south on I-15.

Two youths filled the car with gasoline in Beaver about 4:30 a.m. but drove out of the service station without paying, Slack said. Officers searching for the car found it stuck in the sand just off I-15, about 15 miles south of Beaver.

"We followed their tracks for about four miles," said Slack, and finally spotted two youths. "They took off into a lava rock area, and we couldn't follow their tracks."

The sheriff's office alerted all law enforcement officers "to look out for kids hiking in the area," Slack said "and all the farmers have been told to take the keys out of their vehicles."