Van Buren County Sheriff's deputies are looking for two suspects they say stole a van, crashed it, and then fled the scene. Officers were sent south of Paw Paw, just after 1:00 am on Saturday on the call of a property damage crash. The two suspects they say stole the vehicle fled the scene on foot. Officers set up a perimeter and used a K-9 to attempt to track the individuals. While this was occurring, another Deputy went to the address of the registered owner’s vehicle on Vine Avenue to attempt to locate the owners and the identities of the subjects who fled the crash. Through the investigation, it was determined that the vehicle was actually stolen from this location several hours prior to the crash. It was also discovered that the female suspect was in the owner's home prior to the theft. Deputies were able to identify the female suspect and provided this information to the other officer involved. A crime scene technician from the Sheriff's Office checked the van for latent prints and DNA after it was recovered from the crash scene. If anyone has information about this incident, they are encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 269-657-3101, Silent Observer, or Crime Stoppers.
