A man and a woman in Washington state accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry allegedly tried to escape a police chase by car, on foot and by hopping in a rowboat before they were arrested.
The situation kicked off around 8am on December 10 when the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call reporting the burglary from a shipping container that was being stored at Killapie Beach Road, near the Hood Canal Bridge, according to KOMO News.
The caller told deputies that a man and a woman had stolen approximately $11,000 worth of jewelry from the container and were fleeing the area in an SUV. The owner of the container reportedly tried to stop the couple by chucking firewood at the SUV. One of the pieces shattered a window on the vehicle, KIRO 7 reports.
According to JCSO Sergeant Brent Anglin, deputies requested assistance from Kitsap County deputies after a witness reported the SUV driving south across the Hood Canal Bridge.
Kitsap County deputies located the SUV on the other side of the bridge after it had reportedly suffered from a rollover crash near Port Gamble.
Authorities then spotted a man and a woman walking away from the crash scene. They called for backup and tried to stop the couple, but the pair allegedly ignored the deputies and continued to try to leave the area.
Deputies the used a drone to track the suspects after learning they had stolen a small rowboat to escape. The couple were allegedly using plywood and an oar to push the rowboat, but the tiny vessel began to sink, causing them to abandon ship.
They swam to shore and were arrested once they emerged from the bay.
The suspects in the botched heist haven't been identified publicly at this time. Anglin said deputies were going to examine the SUV that crashed. He did not confirm if any jewelry was recovered from the couple or from the crashed SUV.
